“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
- Maya Angelou
The Attic of My Soul
An Essay
I have always been passionate about writing and storytelling. I describe myself as curious about
what makes us who we are.
In this memoir, short-story, I dove deeply and poignantly into a set of childhood memories and experiences that influenced the woman I have become.
In doing so, I dealt with childhood guilt and sorrow that has, in many ways, altered the relationship I've had with my mother. On a personal level, writing The Attic of my Soul helped me reconcile those feelings.
But it wasn't until I shared The Attic of My Soul with my mother that reconciliation was fully realized.
I came to understand that by the process of putting my own experiences into words, that I validated for my mother the many trials she experienced as a parent raising six children mostly alone, were real. I also validated that a special connection between us, even decades ago when I was still a child, has always existed.
In this memoir, I let my aging mother know those challenges and difficulties she experienced
had not gone unnoticed, and that even as I kid, I felt and cried from my mom.
When I shared The Attic of My Soul with my mother, she croaked out through her tears, "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever read. Thank you." Then we hugged and cried together.
It was a moment I had waited for all my life!