One of the books that has been a current fascination to me is this i know: notes on unraveling the heart by Susannah Conway.
Conway’s memoir tells of her struggles after the man she loved died from a heart attack as well body image and being alone. Through amazing language and extraordinary Polaroid pictures (she published this in 2012 and Poloroids are very rare), she seized control of my heart. I am half her age and never have been in love, so much of what she was talking about, I couldn’t imagine, but it was relatable all the same because of her beautiful, yet fairly simple language.
At the end of each chapter, she had a reflection for her reader to do. Some of them I felt didn’t apply to me as I am not a photographer. But as I am a writer, some of them struck me as absolutely necessary. Such as this one that I’m going to do today:
Write down ten things your audience/readers don’t know about you. Conway called it “bean-spilling.” The beans that you spill do not have shake your families foundations. They can be about parts of your personality only known to you and a select few. For her first bean spilling, she wrote about her loved one dying from a heart attack. I am not ready to spill my own darkness quite yet, although I have written about it for myself almost too many times to count, but I will try to dig as deep as I am willing for my ten facts.
1. I love the rain and the way it smells like hope and forgiveness.
2. I have a comfort book. It is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I read it whenever I’m down or stressed. I read it yesterday.
3. I am quiet, not shy. There is a big difference. The latter is being afraid to talk and the former is only talking when I deem it necessary (or when I’m nervous. I do, unfortunately, babble talk).
4. I like depressing books and find it hard to write stories and poems that aren’t depressing.
5. I have to be surrounded by music. I am currently listening to the music from Doctor Who Season 5. When there’s silence, I find that my thoughts are too distracting.
6. That said, I purposely force myself to drive in silence every once in a while because I really need to spend time with myself.
7. I like receiving letters and writing letters. The regular mail might be slower than e-mail, but I always feel a rush a pleasure at pulling out a new correspondence from my mailbox.
8. I am a very family oriented writer. Many of my creative nonfiction pieces are about my family.
9. I have a memory box which includes all my journals, letters, and other keepsakes from the past few years. Written on the lid and sides are quotes. The ones on the lid are the most important to me.
10. My favorite quote is “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” It is said by my favorite wizard, Albus Dumbledore.
Thank you so much Alice Conway for your delightful and inspirational book.
What would you, my readers, include on your list?