Memoirs and Autobiography

Why would anyone want to read about another person's childhood?

One reason: Because our stories are bigger than ourselves.

I read other people's memoirs to feel less alone than I felt when I was growing up. I felt absolutely alone - cut off and different from the rest of humanity. For that reason, I wrote my own story to extend that same hand to others.

I also wrote my stories to put them into a form that would allow me to sort through my thoughts and feelings, identify and bring them to consciousness, explore them, and to see the bigger picture ~ my life is more than the abuse. For a long, long time I identified strongly with the victim role.

[See Child Abuse: How to Move On]

The healing process (escape from dysfunction) for abuse that occurs during childhood can follow a long, hard road. Many people never escape. They lead lives full of pain, mired in the past. However, those of us who keep seeking something that feels better can become freer and freer as we move forward into a happier life.

I wrote my story, in part, to release it. I also wrote it to show that one is not doomed to suffer until death, irreparably broken, or any of the other ways I once described myself.

I read memoirs to learn of the discoveries others have made along the healing path. People in active pursuit of a better experience have wisdom to offer others on the path. People who have experienced a lot of pain and have learned to move beyond it often want to help others to feel better, too. This becomes a calling.