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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

On writing memoirs.


"I had never thought about these things until I wrote them down..."

Writing your story is like standing under a big rock that had been there all along and just now, in this moment, you see all its fissures, colors, fossils embedded deep in its veins. As the water laps in and out of sight, you notice the intricate ecology all around, and you marvel at how much history reveals itself once you stand still and wait and pay attention to the minutiae.


  

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful analogy, Rosaria. I have been working on genealogy and in a search browsed Jerry's late mother's journals which sit in a big box in our garage...neither his sister nor brother wanted them and they are bound for the dump..MIL did not write much just her daily chores or weather, but I had a question about a family event in 1996; I was not journaling so much then myself but found mention of it in my journals without the detail I wanted. I looked at MIL's for that year on a hunch and there was the name and date I wanted. ..I seem to be ever so much more researching about our ancestors than ever before. Is this because of retirement, because I am now the oldest generation in my heritage and Jerry in his, access to the Internet, more time to do so, or are the spirits stirring from beyond wanting tales told?

Brian Miller said...

nice...there is truth in this...in the things we see and remember as we begin to write it out...i like the metaphor of the rock as well..

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

Yes! It's so true, Rosaria. It's in the quiet, standing still that we not only remember, but also understand.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Rosaria .. this reminds me of a Cornish beach, near Virginia Woolf's lighthouse, where we used to spend the day playing, darting in and out of the water, waiting for the tide to come in or go out and jump from rock to rock as the waters swirled below .. loved those times .. and now so much history is there, that I never knew then .. the mines, the sand movement, the ship losses hence the lighthouse ..

Memoirs can take all forms can't they .. and until we write them down .. they are memories only ..

Cheers Hilary

the walking man said...

See Rosaria that is why I am more than happy to have ....err taken a lot of trips in my youth...every fissure is tinged with psychedelia.

troutbirder said...

I did one of those books you fill out once. It was a Christmas gift from and then given back to my son. We both enjoyed it...:)

Jenny Woolf said...

What an interesting analogy. I like the idea of one's life as a solid. expansive and three dimensional rock, rather than as something that is just linear.

yaya said...

That's why I blog. I want to journal but I'm much better at blogging! I have my blog put into book form at the end of the year and I surprise myself when I sit back re-read posts...wow, I do have a life!

Journeyin' Lady... said...

Very true. Periodically I sit down and write an episode of my life. I also have kept a journal for nineteen years. Sometimes hard to dig thoughts out of my head!

Maggie May said...

Yes..... this looks so like Cornwall. Very restful and beautiful.
Writing is very good for most problems in life. It can have a very cathartic effect.
Maggie x

Nuts in May

ds said...

What a beautiful metaphor, and so true. If we take the time to stand still and truly pay attention. Thank you.