Original Wounds
Tens of thousands of words on one single topic.
Hello Friends,
I’ve noticed something. Please bear with me while I ramble.
A lot of people are talking about trauma, in particular, its use as a plot device in fiction. Some don’t like it. Some do. Some say it’s taking over our lives. Some acknowledge its faults and write characters with more agency. Some say, “There is no plot unless the plot is trauma.”
Tens of thousands of words spilled to describe one thing and I read them all… Well, I skimmed some. These literary types can be wordy.
I saw the title, “The Case Against the Trauma Plot,” and suddenly the whole world was writing about the topic, or maybe my algorithm just figured me out?
I’m not sure I have an opinion on the trauma plot. To me, good story is a good story. I guess I was just doing what I always do when I read, I look for where I might fit into the narrative, and in some of these articles, I wasn’t so sure.
In a two-dimensional sense, my whole life is a trauma plot. I lost my dad at four and my mom at 18. I drank alcoholically for the next ten years and got sober at 28. Then at 40, just as I was starting to feel normal, my son got brain cancer and died. Throw in some postpartum anxiety and the dog dying and I have a whole lot of reasons for bad behavior.
But life isn’t fiction and I am a three-dimensional human being. As this writer points out, “it is all too easy to position damage as the endpoint in a conversation, rather than the beginning of it.” Trauma is just what happened, the interesting part comes when I actually find meaning, truth, or something that moves me forward.
People tell me all the time, “I don’t know how you do it.” I don’t know either, but I think it has something to do with always feeling like I’m just getting started.
This is where I am today. Thank you for listening.
xoxo
Emily
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Read This Week
I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short
Martin Short really is as nice as I thought he was. Mostly, I was impressed by the deep and loyal friendships he has with his other famous friends; Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Goldie Hawn, Paul Shaffer, and Eugene Levy. I loved the scenes from their annual Christmas parties. (more)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Shakespeare Story by Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross
This is part of a series of Shakespeare stories we got as hand-me-downs from another family. So far the kids haven't been interested, but I enjoyed this one. (more)
Links to Ponder
These mobile libraries in Portland are so cool. (OPB)
It’s never too late to be a reader (Book Riot)
A woman does to the dentist and gets advice on her divorce (Modern Love)
Banana Joy (Grace Rother)
These recipes are a delicious excuse to use the three cans of chickpeas in my cupboard. (Kitchn)
Shonda Rhimes has fabulous taste in wallpaper. (Architectural Digest)
And Maybe it’s Enough (Seth Godin)
Become a frog watcher (Santa Barbara Zoo)
Bike Batman, Calling Russia, and a Ukrainian zookeeper (This American Life Podcast)
Amanda Gorman reads a poem and makes me think hard (The New Yorker Podcast)
Your Journal Prompt for Today
What are you reading or listening to this week? What have you created that wasn’t there before? Post your response in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @emilykathleenwrites