Letter Press
The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter - 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.
Mark Twain
It’s one thing to allow a memory to take over for a moment. Quite another to commit it to words.
Capturing it is the act of making a record. To show that we’ve taken note. To ensure that we aren’t going to let the memory slip away. That we’re keeping it.
But the words we choose shape the way we remember it.
Consider these two descriptions of the same experience - surviving a terrible auto accident - articulated 50 years apart:
“… I struggled with the feeling that there would somehow be consequences for my lucky break. Though everyone told me I was lucky, I felt unlucky for having survived. I felt I would have to pay a heavy price.”
Age 13 (Seven Springs, page 108)
This writer described her experience as “unlucky” because she would have to pay a price as her way of thinking about her trauma. Decades later, with the help of therapy and a great deal of reflection, she sees it much differently:
“I’m in awe of the intensity of our desire to be heard and the strength of that fragile light that stays lit between us.”
Age 63 (Seven Springs, page 122)
Research tells us that taking our personal narratives to the page gives us a sense of agency – a small sense of control - over how to frame aspects of our lives. Over time that feeling of agency can positively impact mental health.
The words we choose reflect our sense of identity, how we see our storyline. It’s a snapshot in time of how we frame our experience.
It’s potent stuff. But if there’s a desire to freeze a story from your life in time to hold it under the light and make meaning from it, it’s potent to know that you can be both narrator and main character in a story from your life.
Photo by Amador Louriero/Unsplash
Coming Up
Storytelling. I’ll be telling a tale from the bike trail this Sunday, July 9th at Sketchbook Brewery. 12:30 pm at Sketchbook Brewery.
University bound? I’m now booking coaching time for high school juniors and seniors and others working on essays for university applications.
Memoir and essay coaching. I am now scheduling appointments for September.
Bookaversary. Seven Springs celebrates its two-year anniversary! Audio versions are available here.
Guidebook sale. 20 percent off Craft, Creativity & Commotion for the month of July. Get your downloaded copy for $8.
YouTube Channel. Writing inspiration via video with yours truly! Check it out and subscribe here.