"I wrote this piece to change up my memoir writing process. I knew I wanted to talk about my mother, but I was hitting a bit of a wall and needed to shake things up. The other chapters in my memoir are long form so I broke from that and wrote about my mom in an essay. I don't know if it will end up in the book but now I have this testament to her and the change reinvigorated my process."
"I wrote Improvising My Way through Loss to reflect on how hard it is for us to show up emotionally when the people we love the most are dying. The improv class I took when my mother was dying of lung cancer helped me be present to her and offered a release valve for a number of emotions I had at the time. The class left me with the gift of presence, so I could say goodbye like I wanted to."
"A Deaf Heart Story, They Hear with Their Eyes, is my real-life story about a dream I had to learn sign language to communicate with my Deaf brother. But, after our Deaf friend died at local hospital, I set out on a mission to change how Deaf people were perceived in healthcare and created the first ever Deaf Access Program (DAP) at a major medical teaching institution in Chicago."
"My story, What I Have Forgotten, came from a prompt in a writing class with Natalie Goldberg. During the timed writing exercise, many details about my late husband spilled out on the page. After the class, I worked on the piece. It became apparent that the need I had to forget the sweet memories was as strong as the need I had to remember them. This was my first submission and first publication. ."
"I was moved to write and submit the story entitled My Mother the Pro in response to comments I heard from people after I told them that my mother lived with mental illness. “Then your mother must have not loved you,” was a comment I heard often. Quite the contrary, although it became more difficult to find my mother inside her illness, I never doubted her affection. Even though the mother I knew slowly vanished, there were still moments I knew she loved me. I hope my story illustrates this."
"I wrote my story because all of us should have a love in which we feel safe to be wholly and completely ourselves. I also think there are moments in life that are magical, unexplainable and they often occur when we need them most. I hope my story inspires readers to love with abandon and to stay open to those unexpected moments when the universe, or your own heart, speaks to you."
"When I decided to submit a story for Storytellers True Stories of Love, many came to mind. Over my lifetime there has been love, loss, regret, and triumph. But one story stood out, that first “what if” love story, a love presented and declined, not realizing until too late what a gift it could have been. That prompted “Letting Go”, which details the regret of acting on one’s feeling too late and the hope that eventually takes its place. I wouldn’t have met my husband had I not said goodbye to that long-ago love, for which I’m grateful."
" I wrote Airborne because I feel that love saved my partner's life. He should have been dead falling 45 feet off a waterfall in the winter, bouncing off jagged rocks on the way down. Somehow, I was pulling him out of the frigid water in moments. How I got down the steep, icy cliff to save his life is still a mystery. I think I flew."
"I was grieving my husband's passing during the pandemic, and I signed up for a memoir writing class. The writing experience helped me feel closer to him yet moved me towards acceptance to process my feelings. Most importantly, I wanted to share him with other readers."
"I come from a long line of storytellers. The languages, characters, and themes in stories I heard from my elders growing up were that they were not represented in books or newspapers. When I read of the murder of Adam Toledo in 2021, a Latinx seventh grader from Chicago, it hit especially close to home. He reminded me of friends and neighbors I grew up with, and of myself. Folks from divested communities are seldomly invited to write our own stories or to represent ourselves beyond one dimension."
"I wanted to write about Baby because she was a bright yellow light during the dark pandemic. She was an orphaned duck we rescued. I didn’t want to bring her home, but I knew I couldn’t leave her. I keep a picture of Baby on my wall. Looking at it still brings me hope, reminding me of the power of the Universe."
"On my fifty-sixth birthday, shortly after leaving a long-term marriage, I made a pledge to do fifty-six new things in the coming year. Despite the pandemic, my year was filled with adventure, wonder, and novelty. My story, Fifty-Six Ways to Say I Love Me, captures the essence of that year and my realization that my love for myself was all I needed to build a life of joy."
"I was prompted to write the story because my foster daughter, Patty, had a profound effect on my life. When she came into my world, it shook up everything. I wanted to find a way to communicate the beautiful journey that fostering had on my life and find a way to honor her."
" With Anne E. Beall and Judi Lee Goshen’s excellent coaching and editing, the story I wrote about my pony, Dandy, was made much better. I’m pleased to pay tribute to an animal who helped teach me me about life and love. It’s an honor to have my story in this glorious book surrounded by other poignant personal stories of love."
"On October 25th, 2021, Lou Greenwald (thank you, Lou) invited me to my first Moth show in Chicago. The theme for that show was “Heroes,” and I told this story on stage. I always thought of my middle school French teacher as my hero. The relationship we had brought me the love that was missing in my family life, and later inspired me to become a French teacher myself."
"I know everyone thinks their family is crazy, but I will always argue mine is a cut above the rest. This story is a love letter to them. May we always focus on the deep love that lies buried beneath all our crazy."
"Standing at the cemetery with my mother, six months after my father’s passing, I was deeply aware of my father’s presence. The sky was brilliantly blue; its beauty was striking. Meanwhile, it was obvious to me that my time left with my mother was as fleeting as the wispy clouds that danced above us. I became very interested in exactly what allowed me to still feel my father’s presence. In “Portal Magic” I wrote into the wonder of ensuring that whatever that was, I was determined to create it in advance of my mother’s departure, hopefully still far away."
"About six years ago, I was talking to a friend about childhood adventures, and I found myself telling her about the time my younger brother and I climbed up to the Blue Flag at Green Pond. I realized that the story encapsulated so much that was unique about my childhood, and I tried to bring it to life as a solo piece. The more I worked on it, the more I realized that the key was my parents’ spirit of adventure, which they generously passed along to us kids."
"All new mothers, or so I’ve read, have a certain level of insecurity. Mine had nothing to do with whether the bonding process would be the same if I’d given birth to my kids. In fact, I felt robbed of giving birth to them, like something with wings had plucked out their little embryos and put them in another woman’s womb until they made their way home. So why was it that I was all too eager to tell total strangers they were adopted? “The Verb to Mother” was an exploration of my own insecurity, beginning with the woman in the park who was horrified I wasn’t breastfeeding my son."
" I often write about things after they happen as a way to make sense of them, and as a way to grapple with the big feelings I often have. Writing about my family is typically something I shy away from, but I am motivated to write to help others, and this felt like something others may want to hear. Perhaps they could find a little comfort in someone else’s experience. In the end, I found the right spot for this story because it’s all about love."
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