I really enjoyed this post KK, and the story is supurbly written. I wanted to meet you here in the comments section, as per your invite, but I don't really have a lot of experience of writing through trauma. I don't know if the following is of interest: after my aunt's suicide I stuggled a lot with wanting to write about the grief, pain, guilt, but everything I wrote came out strange and sounded alien to me. In the end I learnt that I needed some distance from the emotion to be able to write about her, fictionally or otherwise. That was just my experience. In general, I find it find hard to draw a line between lifewriting and fiction and often just mix them up. Looking forward to more post from Metanoía Road!
Kathryn, so good to hear from you and listen to your voice telling the tale. Your “fiction” grabbed me. I have now read it. Cinny and I listened over breakfast. Emotional edgy….with keen images. I have been writing “tales from an average and ordinary life” for over a year. They are short short stories. Working with memories. Riddled memories that allow me to embellish a bit. Your writing encourages me to go further. I have been fearful of making fiction. Thanks for modeling and pushing me to be bold. Looking forward to Part 2.
So gorgeously and generously written, KK. Thank you for sharing this thought provoking piece and yes, it really spoke to my heart.
I did start to write a life story as fiction and it was probably more to do with processing trauma through writing than I realised at the time. I'm not sure that I can go back there now. It's someone else's life. But I think if I had read Metanoia Road then, it would have inspired me to keep going and that it will encourage others to write and to share.
Aww Kathryn, this writing played harp with my heartstrings! I love how you weave the childhood drawing with its vibe of happiness together with the troubled marriage mood. I have never tried imaginative writing to work through trauma, but it seems a promising avenue to take. Like your first reader-friend, I also hope that not everything in the story is factual, albeit true. The velvet voice in the voiceover is simply superb! I am grateful for everything you share and look forward to Part 2.
I'd been saving this post to read/listen during a time I could do it justice, and I'm so happy to have done that. In this moment, my heart is utterly invested in and connected to the story of Adele and Greg while my mind is excitedly buzzing with the discovery of a new mode for exploring those most difficult experiences that can feel too raw to pen as memoir. Thank you KK for both these gifts!
Thank you for this Kathryn, yes it resonated with me. The very first short story I wrote soon ended up being a piece about grief and loss, from a word prompt, although that was not my intention at the start. Mind blowing what is hidden in the subconscious and the healing power of writing to access it. 💛
I really enjoyed this post KK, and the story is supurbly written. I wanted to meet you here in the comments section, as per your invite, but I don't really have a lot of experience of writing through trauma. I don't know if the following is of interest: after my aunt's suicide I stuggled a lot with wanting to write about the grief, pain, guilt, but everything I wrote came out strange and sounded alien to me. In the end I learnt that I needed some distance from the emotion to be able to write about her, fictionally or otherwise. That was just my experience. In general, I find it find hard to draw a line between lifewriting and fiction and often just mix them up. Looking forward to more post from Metanoía Road!
Kathryn, so good to hear from you and listen to your voice telling the tale. Your “fiction” grabbed me. I have now read it. Cinny and I listened over breakfast. Emotional edgy….with keen images. I have been writing “tales from an average and ordinary life” for over a year. They are short short stories. Working with memories. Riddled memories that allow me to embellish a bit. Your writing encourages me to go further. I have been fearful of making fiction. Thanks for modeling and pushing me to be bold. Looking forward to Part 2.
I just saw this on the BBC website & it made me think of your childhood house https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0hsb7xx
I loved listening to you read your substack, and I look forward to reading part 2 xx
So gorgeously and generously written, KK. Thank you for sharing this thought provoking piece and yes, it really spoke to my heart.
I did start to write a life story as fiction and it was probably more to do with processing trauma through writing than I realised at the time. I'm not sure that I can go back there now. It's someone else's life. But I think if I had read Metanoia Road then, it would have inspired me to keep going and that it will encourage others to write and to share.
Looking forward to joining you again for part 2
Aww Kathryn, this writing played harp with my heartstrings! I love how you weave the childhood drawing with its vibe of happiness together with the troubled marriage mood. I have never tried imaginative writing to work through trauma, but it seems a promising avenue to take. Like your first reader-friend, I also hope that not everything in the story is factual, albeit true. The velvet voice in the voiceover is simply superb! I am grateful for everything you share and look forward to Part 2.
I'd been saving this post to read/listen during a time I could do it justice, and I'm so happy to have done that. In this moment, my heart is utterly invested in and connected to the story of Adele and Greg while my mind is excitedly buzzing with the discovery of a new mode for exploring those most difficult experiences that can feel too raw to pen as memoir. Thank you KK for both these gifts!
This is very moving and powerful Kathryn - both via your voice and on the page. Congratulations. Fiction has a way of revealing deep truths.
Thank you for this Kathryn, yes it resonated with me. The very first short story I wrote soon ended up being a piece about grief and loss, from a word prompt, although that was not my intention at the start. Mind blowing what is hidden in the subconscious and the healing power of writing to access it. 💛