Circling the Mountain: Lessons Learned on My Memoir Writer’s Journey by Cee Cee James

Posted by Kathleen Pooler /@kathypooler with Cee Cee James/@SunshineonMe3

“There is nothing wrong with writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Ernest Hemingway

I’m thrilled to feature  author  CeeCee James in this guest post about lessons learned from her memoir writer’s journey. Cee Cee and I met in the We Love Memoirs Facebook group and later during the Inspirational Authors’ Facebook Event on July 2.2015. 

Cee Cee is the mother of four amazing kids, and wife of a hard-working husband. She’s written four nonfiction books. In August, she dipped my toe into the fiction world with a new book, Wrecked and Yours, about three homeless teens, and how they reconnect later as adults. In her three-part nonfiction books, Ghost No More Series–Ghost No More, Lost No More, Fear No More– she chronicles her journey of  enduring and overcoming childhood abuse.

 

Here are my reviews of  book one, Ghost No More can be on Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThings and Riffle

Welcome, Cee Cee!

Circling the Mountain: Lessons Learned on My Memoir Writer’s Journey

Photo Credit: Google Images www.fanpop.com

The story about overcoming strife is one that resonates with me. I lived it myself. My first book, Ghost No More, chronicles my childhood in an abusive home. It was tricky to write, because first and foremost, while I wanted to share my memories and experiences, I wanted to do it in a way that did not disrespect my parents. My story wasn’t about them, per se, but about my own journey moving from fear to hope.

I think every one of us has an important story. In writing the Ghost No More series I hoped to give other people validation in their own experiences. We’ve all heard horrific child abuse stories. My person childhood didn’t fall in that category. But it was still something that brought fear, anxiety, and shame that I had to overcome as an adult.

I used to balance my own experiences against the experiences of other people. Somehow someone else’s heartache seemed to empty my own suffering when I compared it with myself.

But at the same time, I still feel like I was dealing with the affects of past trauma. By comparing to others, I ended up belittling my own reactions as if I were somehow failing by still struggling, when other people who went through so much worse and seemed to be able to be so strong.

Many times in my life I have felt like I was going around and around the mountain, trying to overcome whatever struggle was in front of me, whether it was stress, fear or something else.

It was years later when I heard the analogy of an outdoorsman who hiked up a steep mountain in the desert that things began to make sense. He said that to hike straight up the mountain would be dangerous, even deadly. The only safe way to the top was through switch-backs. His words gave me a picture of what I thought was circling the mountain. My journey really was spiraling up. Because, despite how I didn’t always react to the same situation the way I wanted to, I was changing through the years.

I’ve noticed in my life that I often had more grace on other people than I ever did myself. I think kindness to other people is key. I do believe it’s important to be as understanding as possible to others since we don’t always know what they’re going through. But, just as critical, it’s important to be kind to ourselves. I’ve said terrible things to myself, negative things I would never tell another person. Words like, “failure, can’t believe you said that, get it together, ugly, fat.”

But I’ve learned I have to value myself to have peace in my life. It’s what rallies me as I continue to deal with issues like fear or stress. I hope this post will remind you of the same thing. Maybe you don’t struggle with negative thoughts, but I’d still love to remind you in case you haven’t heard it in a while- You are stronger than you think, more talented than you believe, and truly an asset to those in your life. Even if you don’t feel like it’s true, I promise it is.

And now, because I’m so excited about my journey into the fiction world, let me share a bit about Wrecked and Yours. It’s a story about three homeless kids, and how they navigate life. As adults they reconnect, and it’s messy, like life often is. It’s their season to make a choice, look at life honestly and deal with it, or continue to run away. I absolutely loved writing it.

Author Bio:

CeeCee James loves to write, paint with watercolors, and eat chocolate—but not necessarily all at the same time. She loves to play pranks, too, usually on her poor husband, who luckily puts up with her and lets her think she’s clever. 

You can visit her blog at :

http://joyfullivingpafterchildabuse.blogspot.com/

Twitter @SunshineonMe3

Amazon Author Page- http://www.amazon.com/CeeCee-James/e/B00IJNN6LA/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1440037462&sr=8-1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostnomore

Here’s a link to a Blog Talk Radio program, “Stop Child Abuse Now” where CeeCee was interviewed about her story, It’s well worth listening to. “Our stories matter.”

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Synopsis of Ghost No More:

Behind the glitz and the glamour of the beauty queen mother lies a web of secrets. CeeCee is a child desperate for a touch of approval, the love of her mother. Her reality is her mom’s retreating back, abandoning CeeCee in front of a burning car.

But somewhere amid the chaos and despair, CeeCee holds onto something precious, the only thing that drives her on – hope.

Ghost No More is a child abuse true story that proves joy can be found beyond abuse.

“Hauntingly beautiful. Honestly and unflinchingly written, Ghost No More held me in its grasp as I turned from shock at the cruelty of some people to awe at the strength of one little girl to overcome. It is more than the story of an abused child; it’s a story about the capacity of the human spirit to survive and thrive. It will leave you feeling empowered in your own life journey.” — Leslie G Nelson, author of Everything I Needed to Know About Parenting I Learned in Prison: A Correctional Officer’s Tale

 

 

Synopsis of Wrecked and Yours:

What could drive best friends apart?

Once Miranda, her little sister Cassie and Jason were inseparable—homeless teens standing together against the rest of the world.

But those days are long gone.

Unable to deal with the ghosts of her past any longer, MirandaTemple abandons her life and everyone she knew, determined to carve a new identity.

She thought nothing could make her go back, but when her beloved younger sister Cassie is in a car accident, she discovers she was wrong.

As Cassie fights for her life, Miranda has to try to pick up the pieces of the destruction she left. And face the inner turmoil she’d always tried to deny before it permanently destroys any chance for happiness.

Jason swears his friendship with her is ruined. But as Miranda and Jason worry about Cassie, they start to rediscover each other and learn how to forgive. But with so many scars separating them, can they learn to trust each other again?

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Thank you Cee Cee for sharing your writing journey and for showing us how you found your way around that mountain to tell your story of resilience, courage and healing from abuse. Many will benefit from your sharing.

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How about you? How many times do you find yourself  “circling the mountain as you write your story”?

Cee Cee has graciously offered to give away eBook copies of both her memoir, Ghost No More and her novel,Wrecked to two commenters whose names will be selected in a  random drawing.

We’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below~

Next Week:

Monday, 09/28/15:  

“Story Strand Series #1: Oh, No, Now I’m a Single Parent of Two Teenagers”