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Oh, wow. I'm waiting for the next part. I admire your honesty and courage, Claire. I am sensing your strong need to process this trauma through writing. I feel honored to be along on your journey.

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Wow what a huge compliment, thank you John! I really appreciate your feedback, thank you for reading it.

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I can’t wait for the next installment. This is authentic family drama and I’m riveted -- not because I’m a sadist or enjoying reading your struggles, but because I know you’ve survived them and want to know HOW.

It takes courage to open up about all of this. Thank you for trusting us with your pain.

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Thanks Christine! I appreciate your kind feedback. I sometimes wonder what is true... is it how I felt back then? Or now? Or both? This is why revisiting past trauma and drama are super interesting to me.

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Fascinating questions. It IS so interesting how our current selves see our younger selves. If that same exchange happened today with your bro (if he wasn’t incarcerated, obvi), would you have handled the exchange differently?

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Right?? I heard the questioning of "what is true?" on a podcast about an older author/writer (was it David Sedaris?? I can't remember!) but I thought it was also fascinating. I should write about that, haha.

This fight would never happen today b/c I would've never approached it in that way. I would've just talked to him, and probably peppered him with questions. My 29-year-old self was definitely aggressive and stubborn, but my brother was 10x crazier and hot-tempered than I was!

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whoa. this piece has a serious engine on it. i felt everything with you while also being pushed by the surprise twists. can’t wait to read the next part ...

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Thank you! I struggle with writing about intense emotions, but if there was ever a day I was feeling rage, it was this day, lol.

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