I never meant to write a book, much less an autobiography or memoir. I had been writing all my life (at least since I wrote & illustrated my first book at age 6, which was about my dad, called "My Daddy"). But it was mostly short stories, fiction, poetry, some children's stories and/or professional papers, essays, articles, blogs, etc.
But suddenly, after not writing for 20+ years, I found myself writing about myself (something about which I had never felt comfortable writing). Yet here it was, all this personal stuff just gushing out like stale, clotted blood from a reopened wound. After decades of searching for a way to heal, I had somehow stumbled upon the realization that true healing is a personal journey that is unique to each of us. And forgiveness is not so much for the other person as it is for ourselves. That was the crucial epiphany.
This book, which I'd apparently been “writing” my whole life without realizing it, is about that: a journey through healing &..
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m_jankovic Joined: Jan-29-2020 |
"I've been searching for ways to heal myself, and I've found that kindness is the best way" is a quote from Stefani Germanotta (aka Lady Gaga) which was a catalyst that got me on my own journey of healing. You see, I had spent my life beating myself up for so many things: the choices I made, choices I didn't make, actions I took, actions I should have taken. There was no shortage of reasons to berate myself. Then there was the, "You should be over it by now. You need to move on," and "You need to forgive" that I heard from all sides (including my therapist and the person who was the source of the most traumatic incident).
It's been decades since the events that resulted in my PTSD. And perhaps they were right, maybe I should have been able to move on or forgive by now. But my healing began when I realized that true healing is a journey and the first step is learning to forgive ourselves. I also learned that when we help heal each other, we help heal ourselves.
Here's to the journey.
