March, 2022

Writing About Past Trauma

On March 1st, I had a creative nonfiction piece published by Glassworks, a literary journal at Rowan University’s Master of Arts in Writing. They invited all accepted authors to submit a short reflection on their accepted piece, to be shared on “Through the Looking Glass.” (Link below).

I struggled for a few days with the decision. The topic of my piece was incredibly personal, and it was very difficult to write. While releasing the work was cathartic in many ways, talking about the piece in a more direct conversation with potential readers seemed daunting, even unbearable. I am still haunted by this past assault, and I’ve worked hard to leave such traumas in the past.

March 8 is International Women’s Day. My sweet daughter, Melissa, who will turn 20 this year, was born on this day. She is the reason some of my creative nonfiction work addresses such difficult topics and past traumas—because I believe our daughters and granddaughters will have a better chance of leading safe, confident, and empowered lives if we tell them the truth about some of the dangers that still reside in this world.

So, off the reflection went. You can find it here

https://www.rowanglassworks.org/spring-2022.html.

You can read my piece, “I Lay Amongst the Stones”, on page 46, here

https://issuu.com/glassworksmagazine/docs/issue24