The Courage to Write About It

By Gail Kittleson

In these late summer days, I've been reading Searching For Stones by M. Scott Peck. His books have taught me so much, but it's been years since I read his work.He reminds readers of the value of making meaning of things through writing. And that fits with what a participant in a memoir writing class shared yesterday.

She read an account of her younger brother, one of those "lost" folks who never discovered his passion, or if he did, lacked the discipline to pursue it. He flitted from one job to another, one woman to another, and in the process, lost his health. 

Sometimes I get down about having taken so long to get to what I was meant to do all along. But there are worse things. You can live your whole life without even discovering what that is. 

What struck me yesterday is my writing friend's pluck to tackle this painful facet of her life, because it hurts to watch a loved one miss out. Someone who was meant to grow into healthy adulthood, function and contribute to society, doesn't. 

This older sister certainly tried to help, but there's only so much she could do. Still, she stayed in touch with her brother and attended a recent birthday party for him. That hurt, too, to see him broken and old before his time. 

But she found the courage to write about it. She used dialogue to begin her work, which fulfilled the assignment for the week. But from there, she employed several other techniques to express her pain. Not that she ever mentioned her pain--she showed it to us, made it real through description and vivid pictures. 

Hers was a kind of brave poetry that reeled us in and reproduced in us her emotional reaction. We were pretty quiet when she finished—her writing made meaning.

This retired woman has led a busy life, but still says yes to a lot of community volunteer work. And she takes time to make meaning of what's going on. That's what memoir writing is all about. 

Professor Keating in Dead Poets Society had it right: “We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”  

This writer in our little class is alive—more alive for having processed her experience through the written word. Writing it down released sadness, encouraged clarity, and to us listeners, brought understanding. It doesn't get better than that! 

After teaching English as a Second Language and expository writing, Gail enjoys her family (married 35 years, two children and two delightful grandchildren) and writing. Her nonfiction (Catching Up With Daylight/WhiteFire Publishing, August 2013) and fiction (World War II era) share a consistent theme—empowerment.

http://www.Gailkittleson.com