Sometimes the Truth Hurts

In journalism you aren’t really successful until you get death threats.  When you cut so close to the bone that the subject feels threatened, you know there is truth in the story you are trying to tell. 

My blogs are not journalism in any sense of the word.  They are personal tales and occasionally essays, packaged to entertain the many of you who choose to read, but mainly for my own exercise.  They derive from memories, disappointments, experiences, challenges, and often from personal baggage that until now has been hard to put down.  It is very cathartic to wrap up an emotion or recollection in a story, tying it with a bow and setting it aside.  But please don’t make the mistake of thinking that these are meant to be anything but my stories.

Recently I have been told that someone told someone who told someone something about something in one of my blogs.  Without having read a single one of my blogs personally, this individual chose to be offended and took drastic measures.  I try very hard to be true to my memories and my experiences, with the occasional sprinkle of satire and poetic license.  These are not fiction; nor are they historical records.  Still, I make decisions along the way about what to include and not include; these choices are mine alone.  I am careful that the person who is stripped bare in my tales is me—not anyone else.  I do not name names.  When I fear that I am perilously close to crossing a line, I consult with my husband.  Those who are acquainted with him know him to be as fair and objective as they come.  Unlike others, he has read every single blog, sometimes more than once.  With his encouragement and a gentle nudge, I then pull the trigger.

While I accept that some people may disagree with my account of certain events, and that others may conclude in error that these tales are about them rather than about me, I stand behind my stories as my own.  I am a first-hand witness to my own life but I do not live in a vacuum; I cannot tell my stories without the poignancy and irony bestowed by those who have touched me. 

I am buoyed by the incredible support and encouragement of my friends to continue on this quest unaltered.  And so it goes.

Tomorrow's blog:  Dragon Mom