There is such love for you in the first poem. And the second is so raw and honest, one needn't read another word to understand her life circumstances. They're both treasures.
This stung my heart in good ways and bad. I sent it to someone I love - it made me think of their mom. Thank you for writing this. I’m so glad to see your mom published. ❤️
My mother's poetry changed too, from love poems for my dad to abandonment poems written to either him (as divorce approached) or her mother who left her when she was 8. I have her writing now. One 12-page story in the back of her English II notebook was her childhood story and it changed my life.
What I find fascinating in my mom's work is how she was this whole other person I didn't know, and that person changed over the years in ways I couldn't possibly have seen at the time. It offers such a unique view. I assume the same is true for you. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
You just made me so happy that you even looked for it. Thank you! It's not out yet. I'm trying to wrap it up in the next month or so and will be querying agents shortly. I've been working on mine for about a decade too. Is there someplace I can read your writing?
Thank you for asking about mine. I was blogging it as I revised, but with AI being the new issue, and revisions changing the order of things, I took it down. Readers deserve a finished product. I blog at SecretBoxes.org. I'm on a writing retreat now working on the memoir and my latest experiment is to share my writing journal on the blog as I revise the memoir. I hope that writers will see the value in using a writing journal.
Thanks for the link! I'll check out your writing. I love the idea of you sharing your writing journal. I'm not formally doing that, but I'm including the topic in my morning pages a lot as I'm processing the edits. Definitely a valuable tool. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're doing with yours!
My memoir is about growing up in dysfunction with an alcoholic dad and a chronically ill mom. She had multiple sclerosis and passed away in 2010.
Mine is about finding my mother's boxes after she passed in 2013, pictures of strangers who I found out through research were her biological family. Her mother abandoned her when she was 8 and then other stuff happened. She kept all of her family, the photos, the stories to herself, or so I thought. Also in the box was her notebook where she wrote it all down. Anyway, this first book is a journey story. The next will be about growing up with a BPD mom and how it affects generations of mothers and daughters.
Sorry for the long description. I'm deep in the book now after being away for a few months. Thanks for chatting with me today. I look forward to your future posts here. I think we've been friends on Facebook for a bit, probably from a memoir group or something. I hope we stay in touch in some way. Have a great evening.
I knew your mother a long time ago. And she was already kind of fed up and tired. And she had reason to be. But I also saw her being a loving Mom and aunt. These poems, placed beside each other, capture something she could never have known she would share.
There is such love for you in the first poem. And the second is so raw and honest, one needn't read another word to understand her life circumstances. They're both treasures.
They are treasures indeed. I'm so grateful to have them. Thanks so much for reading and commenting.
This stung my heart in good ways and bad. I sent it to someone I love - it made me think of their mom. Thank you for writing this. I’m so glad to see your mom published. ❤️
Thanks for such a sweet comment and for sharing this. It felt good to honor my mom and her writing. I think she would have liked that.
My mother's poetry changed too, from love poems for my dad to abandonment poems written to either him (as divorce approached) or her mother who left her when she was 8. I have her writing now. One 12-page story in the back of her English II notebook was her childhood story and it changed my life.
Thank you for posting this. 💜
What I find fascinating in my mom's work is how she was this whole other person I didn't know, and that person changed over the years in ways I couldn't possibly have seen at the time. It offers such a unique view. I assume the same is true for you. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
Michelle, is your memoir out in the world yet? I couldn't find it.
Mine is 10 years in the making, and still working on it.
You just made me so happy that you even looked for it. Thank you! It's not out yet. I'm trying to wrap it up in the next month or so and will be querying agents shortly. I've been working on mine for about a decade too. Is there someplace I can read your writing?
I had a feeling you were wrapping it up.
Thank you for asking about mine. I was blogging it as I revised, but with AI being the new issue, and revisions changing the order of things, I took it down. Readers deserve a finished product. I blog at SecretBoxes.org. I'm on a writing retreat now working on the memoir and my latest experiment is to share my writing journal on the blog as I revise the memoir. I hope that writers will see the value in using a writing journal.
Is your memoir about your mom?
Thanks for the link! I'll check out your writing. I love the idea of you sharing your writing journal. I'm not formally doing that, but I'm including the topic in my morning pages a lot as I'm processing the edits. Definitely a valuable tool. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're doing with yours!
My memoir is about growing up in dysfunction with an alcoholic dad and a chronically ill mom. She had multiple sclerosis and passed away in 2010.
Oh our childhoods, wow.
Mine is about finding my mother's boxes after she passed in 2013, pictures of strangers who I found out through research were her biological family. Her mother abandoned her when she was 8 and then other stuff happened. She kept all of her family, the photos, the stories to herself, or so I thought. Also in the box was her notebook where she wrote it all down. Anyway, this first book is a journey story. The next will be about growing up with a BPD mom and how it affects generations of mothers and daughters.
Sorry for the long description. I'm deep in the book now after being away for a few months. Thanks for chatting with me today. I look forward to your future posts here. I think we've been friends on Facebook for a bit, probably from a memoir group or something. I hope we stay in touch in some way. Have a great evening.
I knew your mother a long time ago. And she was already kind of fed up and tired. And she had reason to be. But I also saw her being a loving Mom and aunt. These poems, placed beside each other, capture something she could never have known she would share.
I don't blame her being fed up and tired. I just wish I knew her before she got there and wonder what her life would have been like if she hadn't.