“The kind of reader who will pick up my book…”

The Hay House Writing Community program journal prompt was: “The kind of reader who will pick up my book…”. I set a timer and wrote in a stream of consciousness for seven minutes in my journal without lifting my pen from the page:

The kind of reader who will pick up my book is someone like me. From a family, was a sister and things didn’t feel right when the abuse was happening and in the family since. She felt guilty, questioned herself, then shut it all deep inside. Someone from any kind of family. Not expecting it to be a professional resource but a story to relate to, in its simplicity. The simple child’s version then the flickers of memories, to operating numbly or on auto-pilot, pleasing, not knowing that she is, nor why. The survivor who is ready because this book found her in the right moment. The survivor whose radar is attuned and is seeking an answer, even if she don’t know what the question is yet. The survivor who doesn’t know to put things together as being repercussions of the abuse, so doesn’t know the path to resolving any issues. She doesn’t know yet that the abuse is the source of what’s become her way of living, loving or being. The survivor who needs to crack open and pour out the emotions and find herself inside there, raw and open, ready to change her life now and forever. The survivor’s lover who can help by gaining a shared knowledge, understanding and being open to conversation about what’s happened and what can be.

From Alice’s handwritten journal notes in 2021 to clarify her vision for writing a memoir.