Kay Bruin's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

When I was young, my mother was diagnosed with several inoperable brain tumors. She and my step-dad worked hard to make sure that me and my three sisters were happy regardless. They did a great job, but one day my mother couldn’t take it anymore. She told us that she was going to the grocery store. When she didn’t return, we started to look around the house for some clue as to why she’d been gone so long. It was then that we noticed all of her things were gone.
Once my step-dad came to terms with my mother leaving, he called my biological father. My father then took me to live with him and his wife. His wife was abusive both mentally and physically. To say that she didn’t like me or want me around is an understatement.
For years I’ve battled phobias, nightmares, and anxiety because of the things she did to me and put me through. It was only when my husband suggested that I use my writing as therapy and turn my tragedy into something I could be proud of. I can honestly say that he was spot on and I couldn’t be prouder.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, all of my emotions would just pour out on paper. It was mostly poetry back then. I was never brave enough to share my work on a regular basis. One day my class got an assignment to write a poem to be submitted for publication in a young writers book. I ended up being published. I was only in the fourth grade, but I like to think that experience is what made me want to write professionally. I used to have a copy of the book, but after my mom left and I had to move around I ended up losing it. I can’t even recall the name of the book or the poem I wrote because I’ve blocked out so much of my younger days.
That same embarrassment and hesitation happened with “Jane Doe”. I tried so hard, but I wasn’t brave enough to put it out there. I had been working on it for three years, before my husband convinced me that I was more than capable of writing something other people would want to read. With his encouragement and my three children cheering me on, I was able to push past my fear of rejection, and I couldn’t be prouder.