There will be tough love today, and even a bit of cursing. If it’s too much for you, feel free to leave now.
Do you worry what others think about you? Do you sit at your computer screen, paralyzed to type what you desperately want to say for fear of what your mom, husband, brother, friend, or best friend from second grade might say? Truth is, most of our family and friends won’t read our books or give them much thought. We only THINK they will.
Stop censoring yourself!
Maybe you have shared your writing and been burned, relationships severed, friendships or family relationships strained or even ended. It’s terrifying, all those what if’s.
Others people’s problems are other people’s problems. Don’t take that shit personally. #WriteWhatScaresYou
Fuck that shit. As Cheryl Strayed says, you need to write like a motherfucker. What does she mean by that? Does she mean to write with papers everywhere, cartoon balls of trash flying across the room, keys tapping to the beat of Copacabana? (Let’s hope not. We’ll never get that song out of our heads.)
No. She means that you need to own it. Own your shit. Write your shit. Ignore the voices of others, get in your head, your heart, grab your soul and write the shit out of that shit. This resonates with me because that’s how I wrote Broken Places (my latest release) and Broken Pieces. Let’s deconstruct.
Censoring Your Writing
Why are you censoring yourself? If I came up to you, stood over your shoulder, read your latest paragraph, and told you, “You can’t say that!” what would you say to me? Because if you said that to me, I’d tell you to go the hell. Not only because this is my book, but because who are you to tell me what to write? Isn’t this my book? My work? My story? My name?
This person telling you what to write — does their name go on that book cover? Are they the ones spending countless hours writing and rewriting the work? No. So, fuck em.
I get it, though. People attempt to tell us daily what we should or shouldn’t write about, right? It amazes me, to be honest, that others who don’t know our story, or who think they know our story intimately but can’t possibly because they don’t live in our heads and don’t feel our emotions or live our lives, want to censor us for what we may or may not say. What makes them so scared? That’s the real question, isn’t it?
Scenario #1:
I shared a Brené Brown quote the other day about having courage and vulnerability when sharing your story, and someone replied that when she’d done so, people had chastised her, she’d lost good friends (and even family members) because her truth upset them too much, so she’s done. She’s ‘taking a break from truth.’
This saddens me deeply. I’m not judging her — she’s had enough of that. What saddens me is she’s allowing others to make that decision for her, letting them dictate what is okay or not okay to share, because they are embarrassed she shared her abuse story; now others know and can’t deal, which is another form of censoring her and shaming her for something she didn’t do.
Censoring: The Loop of Shame
Fast forward to adulthood: we choose to write about it as a form of catharsis, healing, therapy, or simply sharing so others will know they are not alone, only to have our loved ones shame us for sharing, or further chastise us for going public in some way. Shaming a survivor is one of the most selfish acts there is.
We survived the abuse — dealing with your discomfort isn’t our issue. It’s yours. If you can’t get over yourself, oh well. Survivors don’t have to accept that. We have a basic human right to speech. We have a right to tell our story.
Scenario #2
One fellow, T, shared his story in a public Facebook post, and with his permission, I’m sharing his story here with you today. T’s sister immediately chimed in to scold him for ruining the family name, embarrassing her, accusing him of lying, of creating current drama when all that happened in the past, and on and on. I complimented T on his courage and she came after me, warning me to “keep my mouth shut, to stay out of their family business, etc.,” even though this was all on his public wall.
What I love about the survivor community is that we support each other, and we understand that many people don’t understand that we have a right to tell our stories. We don’t do it for pity or attention (more on that in a moment), but as a way to heal and bond with others who have also survived, and to help educate non-survivors what it means to live the lives we do, to deal with all this on the daily.
Real or Imagined Censorship and Risk
Sure, there’s risk involved in opening up those dusty doors of honesty. I’m not immune to the coughs and sputters of family and friends, even strangers who may or may not judge me for my words, or who place blame on me for their behavior. I’ve been called a liar, an opportunist, one person even went so far as to accuse me of ‘prostituting myself for profit and attention,’ and I’m told often to just move on (as if I haven’t).
I find it interesting that people equate sharing my story with victimhood, or ‘being stuck in the past,’ when that’s not the case at all, yet they are determined to tell me that yes, that must be so. It’s sadly comical, the judgments people make about survivors.
Truth is, those are not my issues.
Scenario #3
I wrote a guest post recently as part of my Broken Places blog tour and the host shared it, as hosts kindly do. Someone on Twitter replied that basically I am ‘playing the victim’ by sharing my story, that I’m somehow magically compelling people to “feel sorry for me.” Fortunately, people supported me without me saying a word (I don’t respond to those types of comments). If you know me at all, you know that I am anything but a victim…yet, these comments aren’t uncommon for survivors.
I’m not offended. I’m not religious. If anything, I want to thank this person for reinforcing I’m on the right path to help remove the stigma of childhood sexual abuse (or any abuse survivors) have to face. This person is a light for me — further helping me realize I still have a lot of work to do. In a strange way, I find comfort knowing my advocacy work is not done, and I have many more people to reach with my story, giving voice to others’ stories, and sharing my platform so other survivors can share their stories.
Ignorance needs an audience so sexual abuse survivors have one, too.
“What I love about the survivor community is that we support each other, and we understand that many people don’t understand that we have a right to tell our stories. We don’t do it for pity or attention (more on that in a moment), but as a way to heal and bond with others who have also survived, and to help educate non-survivors what it means to live the lives we do, to deal with all this on the daily.”
YES YES YES. I’ve gotten the, “Why can’t you just let this go? When are you going to stop talking about it?” quite a few times. I used to feel angry and laugh it off. Now I feel annoyed and say, “NEVER. I will *never* stop talking about it.”
Get it, girl. I so respect you and every story you share. xoxo
Seriously, that’s such a ridiculous question to ask a survivor. All the scientific research shows there are permanent scars to our psyche and even cellular damage from sexual abuse. Of course, most of the non-surviving public has no idea. They consider sexual assault, rape, and the like no more serious than a mosquito bite or an ear infection. Something that will go away without a trace.
Someday, ONE DAY, people will get it. Hopefully, sooner than later.
First of all, I love Cheryl Strayed! I listened to Tim Ferriss interview her and was amazed at her candor.
I can totally relate to this since I’m a breast cancer survivor. I still cringe when writing those words and I’m almost five years cancer-free! Why? Because I don’t like to sound like a victim. I’m nothing like that “feel sorry for me” person either. I wrote Boob Reports chronicling my journey but began to hesitate to post them over the last two years. I need to remind myself that my story is unique to me and putting it out there really helps others. I plan to publish it someday! (I have always said I wanted to wait until my five years are up and that’s in two months!!!)
Hi, Susie and grats on your upcoming anniversary. That’s so great! I love Boob Reports — you will definitely be helping others. Getting that diagnosis is (I imagine) terrifying. I have lost friends to breast cancer and family members are dealing with skin cancer right now. You are a warrior so own that shit. 🙂
I was online ‘friends’ with Lisa Adams, who sadly lost her battle with breast cancer about 2 years ago. You can look her up. She was a well-known writer and blogger, and was extraordinarily open about everything. She helped so many women and survivors with her raw, honest truth. And yet — a male critic (NYTimes I think?) gave her a hard time for being so open about it. He stated that some things should stay private #eyeroll. I was really proud of her — she replied in kind right back that maybe his discomfort was part of the problem.
People who see those of us who have survived and share our stories as ‘victims’ — well, that’s their issue, not ours.