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18 total reviews
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Comment by | | Premier Author | | | Premier Reader | | | Poet Rating
 | Author Rating For Short Works
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| Review Stars
 Rank: 153 | | | |
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Comment by | | Premier Author | | | Premier Reader | | | Poet Rating
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This meets the contest requirements beautifully. Being flawlessly constructed, the reader is allowed to completely immerse themselves in the story without any distractions. As I read, I could not help but think about all of the folks out there that have memories much like yours and how the despair and loneliness of the holiday season escalates the number of suicides each year. For me, this one paragraph said it all, not just about Christmas, but how any childhood trauma can impact and entire life:
"There's a lot of mileage between the heart and the head. What one deals with intellectually does not necessarily connect emotionally. Of course, as time went by, I came to terms with an eighty-seven-year-old man's death. In fact, his death was not the focus of my despair. It came down to me demanding something for myself that came with a cost to another person."
I wish you all the best in the judging and thank you very much for sharing it.
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Comment Written 04-Jan-2017 |
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reply by the author on 04-Jan-2017
Yes, we can deal with the issues and overcome any preoccupation with what we can't change, but triggers can still awaken emotion responses, and those ;ast a lifetime. Thank you very much for the stars.
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Comment by | | Keep right on | | | writing on | | | Poet Rating
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Ingrid, this is a strong, heartrending story about your traumatic Christmases, especially the one in which your grandfather died and your mother said to you, "Maybe now you'll learn you can't have your way. Your temper tantrum cost all of us Christmas." The guilt you felt from that, as well as from your sexual abuse, devastated you, as you eloquently but painfully explain why "At the core of my spirit remains the loss of innocence and dreams."
You shared a powerful story about "many strong people who become vulnerable at this time of year." Yes, suicides do increase and the stresses of faking Christmas are lethal.
One result of this rough childhood is how you react today, "Should I see a parent abuse a child, I WILL get involved, and my mind-set traces back directly to my childhood Christmases."
I only found one spag: "sacrilegious" as one word and not "sac religious" as two.
Thank you for sharing. I am glad Christmas is over. I wish you contest success.
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Comment Written 04-Jan-2017 |
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reply by the author on 04-Jan-2017
Thanks for the alert and the review. We need to get rid of shame and guilt when circumstances are such that nothing can change. I am a better mother and stronger--could have used less of that--because of my past.
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Comment by | | Premier Author | | | Premier Reader | | | Poet Rating
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Rank: 3 | Author Rating For Novels
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 Rank: 43 | | | |
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Yours is a tragic story. I read much of the background before, in your 60s memoir, but it moves me anew now. It took courage, I know, to dredge it all up again. You've come out this side of it a stronger person. It shows in your writing.
Just a few things to point out:
Europeans open gifts and enjoy their big family dinner on Christmas Eve. [I'm guessing that, with this as an introductory sentence to a paragraph about your elderly grandparents, that they were Europeans. Probably wouldn't hurt to include that fact.]
but in my ten short years, it was oneI treasured.
[spacing error.]
/everything was my fault,[I don't know what the forward slash is for.]
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Comment Written 03-Jan-2017 |
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reply by the author on 03-Jan-2017
Yes, you've travelled this path with me before. Its been years since I brought this up or wrote about it, primarily because my status as a writer is no rooted in being a martyr. I may have needed a way to express and deal with this shit once upon a time, but I can honestly say--with pride--I am a writer, /this is a dip, a naked reinforcement of the strip tease act we writers need to face. No pretentions, no apologies--just write it out. I have no intention of exploiting this or retreating to victim status. A passing reality, a hard time of year. I answered the how, what, what, where and when. Mot bad, huh? Thanks for the stars.
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reply by Jay Squires on 04-Jan-2017
Being invited on a journey such as this, Ingrid, demanded a six. I thank you for the companionship.
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Comment by | | Premier Author | | | Rhonda | | | Poet Rating
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Rank: 150 | | | |
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