5 Comments

This is scary to read. Your thoughts (the numbered list specifically) have really touched a nerve. I'm 66 now, just retired, and looking to fulfill my (life-long) goal to be a writer. (My parents refused to pay for a major in that, so I side-tracked into art education, eventually getting my Ph.D. in that--so it did work out. I had a job. i had an income, which is all they cared about.) But now, I have the gift of retirement. Now is the time. But maybe i'm overlooking something. (Hoping this doesn't read like a Hallmark movie.) I'll watch the video. [feeling like I'm being led somewhere] And I agree with Tim (below): the handwritten portion is super-vivid, and so well-supports the text before and after...hm, it's almost musical in its structure--lyrics versus instrumental??

Expand full comment

Great read. Some points to think about. Really like the way you changed back and forth between the hand written portion and the typed portion (with drawings.) The hand done part always grabs my attention and focus the most. Thank you.

Expand full comment

A creative friend of mine and I are deep into discovering our ancestors and my comment here is to express my interest in your grandmother's story in whatever form it takes. My friend and I have had many conversations about why we are obsessed about stories of our forbears and I've come to the conclusion (currently, guessing it will develop and change!) that my mid life transition includes a deep need to find the meaning making and safety of that very human construct... the clan, kinship, family. As an American mutt, it is very tantalizing to trace my kinship back to one little town in Wales and imagine the lives of those people as holding and supporting my identity somehow. Thank you for the reference to Klug's book. I love the mystery of discovering links and stories of the past and figuring out what the heck it means for us in the present!

Expand full comment