Member-only story
Writing Should Be a Safe Place
For everyone, but for women especially
Before I started to write and publish, I was journaling, freewriting, rambling — for the bin or the drawer. I spent decades hiding my writing from anyone, only a select few knew me for writing poetry or short stories. No one knew about my dream of writing a book, or books really, of wanting to express myself.
Then it changed overnight. From not publishing anything I jumped off the cliff of being cosy and safe, into an abyss of a whole new world I had only dreamt about and never could imagine.
I started to write about trauma and abuse and my sexuality, I opened up my most vulnerable parts for the whole world to see.
And it was exceptionally liberating. It was still my safe place for a self-paced therapy, a way to heal myself with words, an opportunity to know that I am not alone. I connected with fellow writers who went through the same things, or worse.
Women who were abused just like me, who were raped, and assaulted, who were ridiculed and doubted. Women who stayed for too long because they didn’t know how to leave. Women who went through miscarriages and abortion. Women and men who talked openly about their mental health issues, depression and anxiety.
