I spent much of this weekend huddled in my house, hiding from winter storm Nemo. I have to be honest– it was kind of fun. I secretly enjoyed the driving ban– in a weird way, it was nice to have about 24 hours where I had no choice but to stay home and relax. Normally I push myself to get out on the weekends and prove to myself that I still have a social life, but this Friday night was different. No one was doing anything; it was illegal to drive, and nothing was open. So I took it as a chance to stay in and catch up on blogs I’ve been meaning to read.
I found some really great blogs/posts this weekend. There are a few in particular that I find myself still thinking about, hours later. Great writing transforms you; it takes your breath away and makes you forget where you actually are. To the authors of these posts: thank you. I really feel like I learned something.
Interestingly, all of the posts I am choosing to link to are part of a series of posts on each blog. I didn’t want to link to all the posts in the series (thereby spamming their respective authors with a million pingbacks) so I am only linking to one post for each. I’m sure you guys can figure out the rest 🙂
Here are the links, in no particular order:
Does Your Journey Seem Long: a series of posts by author Stina Morrison on her experiences with endometriosis. Her story really resonated with me. Click here for part one.
Fibro Feist: an ongoing series of posts by my blogging friend Sarah called “What I need you to know.” I just read her most recent post and it completely blew me away.
While I Wait: A Journey of Recovery: a blog written by Ana Turck, a native Sarajevan who survived the Bosnian War. I was incredibly moved by her series of posts “They Are Coming.” By the end of Part 2 I was actually crying (another sign of good writing!)
I hope these stories resonate with you all as much as they did with me. And again, thank you to the authors of these posts! Your writing was truly thought-provoking.
Hope everyone had a great weekend (and that anyone else in Nemo’s path had as relaxing a time as I did!).
The dog was on patrol, as you can see.
stinamorrison
February 10, 2013 at 10:27 pmI’m so flattered that you would find my posts about endometriosis worthy of sharing. Thank you for your kind words! I can’t wait to check out the other blogs you listed as well. I agree that great writing is transformative!
sunlight in winter
February 10, 2013 at 10:39 pmYou’re welcome! Thanks for putting your story out there. I haven’t done much personal writing yet on this blog– still trying to figure out just how brave I am– so I really admire people who aren’t afraid to tell their story, and tell it well.
Fibro Feist
February 11, 2013 at 6:30 pmYou are brave and totally worthy of telling your story and of having people listen to it. 🙂
sunlight in winter
February 11, 2013 at 11:28 pmThank you 🙂
Ana Turck
February 11, 2013 at 8:02 amThank you for your beautiful and kind words. The transformative power of narrative is just a part of the healing process.The relationships of our readers with our stories make the writing ever so important.I was touched by your response and I am thrilled that I’ve found your blog.
sunlight in winter
February 11, 2013 at 11:27 pmYou are welcome! I’m happy I found your blog as well, and that I could help to pass your story on.
Fibro Feist
February 11, 2013 at 6:31 pmThank you for including my series in your post. It’s my greatest joy to know my readers connect with my experiences and the words I use to relay them. I also love, love Ana Turck’s blog. Simply breathtaking.
sunlight in winter
February 11, 2013 at 11:42 pmYou’re welcome! I always look forward to reading your posts. I admire your ability to write about the hard stuff without sounding like you’re getting mired in it (not always an easy task!)
Ana Turck
February 12, 2013 at 9:28 amOften I question the need for another war story and then the readers help turn the self doubt into a writing process of purpose.Thank you. Your blog is my daily treat so please keep up the great work you do.