Summary
In these two stories the main points are the things that happen in life make you who you are and can help you see what you've become. In "Is writing a memoir therapeutic", Jerry Waxler talks about how his writing has helped him find himself from the past. He has studied and read from others books to help him understand the effects of memoir writing. After many hours of research he has now realized that the best way of healing his mind and answering his questions is by taking storytelling and turning it inwards into his own life. In the NPR listening, the aunt(Iriel) and niece(Antoinette) speak about their experience through Hurricane Katrina. The hardest thing for Antoinette was not knowing where her aunt, mom, and father were. After the most terrifying experience of her life, she has come to see that the ones she loves are the most important. Iriel's hardest time was when she saw the strongest two women she had ever known break down. At that moment she realized that she had to be the strong one and hold up those who couldn't hold themselves. Through these hard times in life they have found themselves and come to see that the little things are the most important.
Reaction
My reaction to the two stories were a bit different. The reaction I got from "Is writing a memoir therapeutic" was surprised. I always had a sense that writing your feelings and emotions down on paper helped but never really thought it could do as much as it did for Jerry Waxler. In the NPR listening my reaction was something I can't quite describe. I felt bad for their loses but at the same time happy because they all survived through something so horrible and tragic.
3 Questions
1. What made Jerry Waxler feel the need to research and find out if memoir writing was therapeutic?
2. What was Antoinette's first reaction to the series of events of Hurricane Katrina?
3. How could Jerry Waxler's self discovery help influence others to do memoir writing?
4 comments:
Hey girl, your first question was the same one I had in mind when I read the article. I wondered why and how Jerry may have came to the conclusion that he wanted to study psychology right off the bat. And to suggest an answer to your third question, I think Jerry Waxler may have influenced others just by setting the example that “if he was able to do it, why not I.” Just by reading his memoir, maybe readers where able to create a strong connection with the author and produce a memoir of their own. I also do agree with your statement about how you never really saw writing in a therapeutic way. In comparison I never encountered a situation where I used writing as a crutch. Your blog was nicely written and would like to read more in the future, and I would appreciate it if you posted your reaction to my previous blog.
I like that you pointed out the difficulties that contribute to making one appreciate the good things in life.
Nice work.
After reading your reaction to the Waxler's journey to peace I realized that maybe we as people don't realize how therapeutic writing or sharing our feelings can really be. I too was surprised upon first reading that Waxler has been searching for therapy for over a decade. But, it also made me realize that sometimes the best help isn't not always a favor some else can do for you the way you can help someone may just be letting someone tell you their story like the NPR listening. Expressing yourself whether through writing or speech may be the best therapy there is. I think that your blog was point our minds in that direction. Which leads me to believe that Waxler's memoir writing may lead people to try therapy through writing as he did. Thats just am idea. Good job on your blog I like how you broke things down into sections.
I imagine it was Waxler’s own success with memoir writing that prompted him to do research and share it with others. Memoir writing comes across as something that’s not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, and I liked that you wrote that you were surprised and actually gave a second thought to memoir writing after reading the article. I’m sure Waxler doesn’t expect memoir writing to be for everyone, but he has used his influence and personal experience to encourage people to at least give it a shot. Great thoughts, keep up the good blog!
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