A woman lies crushed under a frozen typewriter. All that can be seen of her in the original divining card* are pale legs and feet. 
She is a writer – and she could have been me. She could have been me, splayed under the alluring weight of my and another’s illusions.
I contacted him after twelve years of separation. I had grown furiously weary with America 2018, even more tired of the relentless work of growing old. He proposed co-writing a novel. I was thrilled to sense a new beginning for my work – and I had been in obsession over him for years.
We called our recent connection Season Two – as though we were a t.v. series. Nine months after my initial e-mail, Season Two was cancelled. The details don’t matter. What matters is that in Season Two, as I had in Season One, I stopped writing my own work. I mentored and edited. I waved the cheerleader pom poms of the adoring co-dependent.
I don’t blame the man. I don’t blame myself. Had I not sent the first e-mail, I would still be trapped in my own alluring illusions, a part of me waiting for his return to really live. I’m 78 and I don’t have time to wait to live.
I’m now working on a t.v. series screenplay, and a novel based about the corporate sabotage of a brilliant free food distribution pantry. Without the wisdom and love of wise friends, my writing would be trapped in glacial ice. *I thank you, Amada, artist and writer, for helping me use your deeply intelligent cards to begin the thaw.
Please use this Breakthrough, readers and writers, if you, too, are frozen – by old pain, by old fantasy, by not knowing your own value. Here is a good beginning to understanding the exhausting dance between the co-dependent and the narcissist. And, if you have found yourself in service to anything that freezes your writing, please write us. Let me know if you want your work published – anonymously or otherwise.
And, I’ll be teaching a weekend hard-core writing workshop in Markleeville, California in early October. Our work is guaranteed to thaw any glacier: October 5, 6, and 7, 2018 Markleeville, CA (near beautiful Lake Tahoe) $400.00
The real writer is one
who really writes…
…Work is its own cure. You have to
like it better than being loved. —Marge Piercy
You carry stories, poems and more. You visit them, sometimes regularly – sometimes rarely. They are loyal to you, but life can have a way of intervening. JUST WRITE will restore your connection with the words that only you carry. Mary Sojourner began her serious writing when she was 45, after raising three kids on her own – make that absolutely on her own. Since then, she has seen nine of her books published nationally; been a ten-year NPR commentator and book reviewer; taught at writing conferences throughout the West; and been a columnist for High Country News’ Writers on the Range; and a private writing mentor. Writing is the most powerful tool she has found for doing what is necessary to mend – oneself and the greater world.
JUST WRITE is for those who have always wanted to write, but haven’t; those who’ve written and found themselves blocked; those who want to move their writing forward.
$400 covers tuition. Transportation, lodging and meals are on your own. Classes will be held at the home of Theresa Souers surrounded by sage fields and overlooking the beautiful Carson Valley. To register or for more info, call Monique at (707) 838-4379 or email her at monique@dewittjones.com. Confirmation letter and instructions will be sent upon registration. Class size is limited – don’t miss this opportunity.
***
Thank you, Theresa Souers for this delightful piece.
“I am time.” The nail-on-the-chalkboard voice echoed throughout the nearly abandoned Meadow Hill mall’s food court. “I am time and time will move forward.” the bellowing continued.
Share on Your Social Media
