AWP in Minneapolis 2015 Day 3

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference came to a close Saturday, April 11, 2015, but I'm still reeling from all the information I took in. As my husband likes to say, "I was drinking from the fire hose."

I sat in on three panels, all revolving around memoir and telling the truth in our stories. Since I write both Women's Fiction and Memoir, these were smart panels for me to attend. In a panel called Writing Into the World, Honor Moore said, "Where would the history be without those sharing their views?"

Take The Diary of Anne Frank for example. Where would our knowledge of what the Jews suffered be had she not written her personal experience? What if the others had also remained silent? How would we know the history that took place before we were born? Our stories will lend a hand to those who come after us.

"Make something beautiful out of your grief," Alysia Abbott said. Ask yourself what is the larger story that needs to be told. This can be said for memoir or writers of fiction.

Waiting outside a room for the next panel to begin, a gentleman asked me, "Why did you come to this
conference?" To see Sue Silverman! And I did, and I got her autograph on her book I Remember Terror Father Because I Remember You. As soon as the doors opened, I headed straight for the front row and dropped my bag on the chair. Sue signed my book and someone took our picture.

But what happened in that panel had me regretting the front row seat.

Ann Hood stood and told the audience about the days before her young daughter died. I fought with everything within me to not get up and run out of the room. In 2012, I lost my sixteen-year-old daughter Michaela to a treatable fungus called Histoplasmosis. You can read Michaela's story here if you so choose.

As soon as the panel was over, I didn't run out or run up to Sue Silverman. Instead, I walked over to Ann. Her memoir about her daughter is called Comfort. I've already purchased it and am waiting for it's delivery. "Memoir has two characters on the page. The girl you were, and the woman you are," Ann said during her speech. No matter how old you are in your written story, there's always going to be the you before and during the trauma and the you after the trauma.

Write your stories, your truths, your insights, but always remember to keep the reader in mind. You aren't just writing for yourself, but for a world who needs your story at any given time. You never know what's going on with that person who's sitting in the front row of your panel.