I believe I mentioned before I wasn’t allowed to write, during active abuse. I wrote for about six months for a small, entertainment/arts paper in the town that I live. I enjoyed the heck out of it. Got paid $30 an article and $10 a picture. I didn’t do it for the money, but for the sheer love of research and writing.
You see, I started off life, when I met my abuser, as a journalism student. I wanted to write and photograph for National Geographic Magazine. However, upon entering college, I found out how entry-level writers made welfare-level wages. I was still pretty determined, but then found out I was pregnant with my first child. Yikes! We weren’t even married!!!
As a wife and mother, I would journal, which I always felt was a private thing. Little did I know that he was reading my private thoughts! I found out when he mentioned something that I had written, mistakenly, as something I had “said.” I confronted him and he admitted to it, but without remorse.
I put everything I had into being a wife and mother. My writing was kept to my academic papers and essays. Many professors and instructors told me that I had a way with words, but I just concentrated on doing my best and on my studies.
Jump to present-day. So, now being nearly five years out of active abuse, I write almost daily. I write blog posts, guest blog posts, and magazine articles. I am currently working on two personally authored books, simultaneously. I am collaborating on However, I found an opportunity to submit writing prompts for publication in upcoming Chicken Soup for the Soul books — I’ve read them for years and loved them. I had no idea that they had been going strong for over thirty-two years! WOW! I hope my submissions make it! What an honor it would be to be chosen!
I think my heart and my psyche are healing. Chicken soup is always good for your health! Cheers!