OT: Personal Tales

Writing Your Story

Everyone, at one time or another, has wanted to express his or her story. Writing a memoir to read privately, share with family or friends, or publish is an emotionally satisfying way to gain perspective on your experiences while sharing your unique voice. We’ve all experienced feelings and events in our lives that we are longing to write down. Giving in to that urge can give you an outlet for purging any frustration, anxiety, or long-dormant feelings. No one else has to read it. You may even want to write your story without reading it right away. Satisfying the need to tell your story is not predicated upon your writing ability. It does, however take effort to write down the truth in detail. Your memories, captured on paper as descriptive scenes, sights, sounds, and scents, may at first seem disconnected or incomplete. But rest assured that you possess the ability to shape your recollections into stories.

Everyone wants to be heard. Reading your story to others can meet that need. Writing your story can also help you understand your life experiences. And when you finish writing, you may be surprised at what you have accomplished. Your story can encompass as much or as little of your life as you prefer. You may surprise yourself with new insights, or you may find yourself exploring your roots, your identity, and your future through your words. Allow your writing to guide you and write as truthfully as possible. Don’t worry about what others will think of your personal journey, your style of writing, or your words.

Research has shown that writing a personal narrative filled with feelings and perceptions can create long-term health benefits. As you write, remember to have compassion for yourself, particularly when writing about traumatic events. If you are a young person, you can add to your life story as you grow older. Your writing may help family members know you better, or they may understand themselves more through reading about your experiences. More importantly, you are expressing yourself in a permanent way, giving a gift to yourself, and letting your voice be heard.

i keep a journal--i am not faithful to it tho--and i really find some times that i have to guard it because, if i am truly truly honest in my writing, some could be damaging to others' feelings....my own life has had such upheaval since 1999 when i left my first husband....some good and some bad...

i love to use the mead composition books-i like to paste pictures of pretty flowers or sayings and quotes that i read....sometimes, i write things in email and just print it out and stick it in so that at least i have the thoughts....

i have actually thought about writing a book--partly due to my being adopted and finding my mother and father.i used to joke and ask what someone wanted their name to be in my book! since i now know my birth name and have lived a totally different life than what it would have been with my mother; i find conflicts that i am struggling with.....i just the other day met a gal who was adopted along with two brothers and she told me that her story is in the Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul--i haven't yet read that ( have read a few chicken soups tho!) but it's now on my list! we talked about some issues that we both have faced which was cathartic since we had very very different cir****tances in  our adoptions, our growing up and our reconnecting with mothers....cathartic for me anyways because it reinforced that i am not really and truly nuts in some of my thinking and "issues".....

darlene- thank you for this "tale" today......

I have thought about doing this together with my daughter.  When she was ages 14-16 she was very heavily involved in drugs and sex.  I made a full time job out of trying to save her from herself.

Long story short, I finally asked her to leave home when she was 16.  A year later she had a baby, which seemed to have awakened her.  After failing 10th grade, dropping out of school, having a baby, she went to community college, then UCF at Orlando and graduated at the top of her class in Aerospace Engineering!  God bless her.  What a story it would make, but now I'm busy working and taking care of my husband, who has Parkinson's disease.  Sometimes it seems like my life is one long soap opera!

ns

I have kept a diary for 20 years.  It comes in handy when a grandkid is doing a school project on what was happening in the world or in our family when they were born.  I try to be very honest in it, putting in all of my feelings.  Some days it is just boring day to day stuff, some days it is pretty intense.  My Mom kept a diary for 30 years, and then, about 10 years ago, Dad made an off hand remark about the kids seeing how she really felt about things once she died and we read the diaries.  That day, she destroyed them all!!!  All the while Dad trying to convince her not to.  What a loss.   I have a copy of a transcript of a diary my great grandfather made when he was a young man.  It also has many memories from his childhood.  So priceless!  And my grandmother made tapes of her memories growing up and years up to her retirement.  I am into genealogy and any memories af any kind are worth preserving.

how tragic that your mother destroyed her diaries!

my 90 year old gramma published a book a few years back about her memories from childhood and her dad..he died when she was young ...
i have copies signed by her to pass on to all of my grandkids- well except one- need to get gramma going again on that!!!