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Diane Morrow

Goodreads Author

Born

in Akron, Ohio, The United States

Website

http://writingandhealing.org/

Twitter

_WritingPrompt

Genre

Self Help, Psychology, Ebooks

Member Since

July 2016

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/writingandhealing

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Diane Morrow is a former physician who for the past several years has worked as a high school English teacher in North Carolina. Along with teaching writing to high school sophomores and juniors, she’s taught writing to recovering addicts, and to a wide range of men and women facing chronic illness, including cancer, depression, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue. She began a website, One Year of Writing and Healing, in 2006 (writingandhealing.org) which has now grown into a considerably more comprehensive and reflective book. She’s grateful to all who have contributed to this work, in a myriad of ways.

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My ex wife has cancer in her liver and brain, we have three beautiful children together who will be so devastated, I want to be strong for them but I've lost my passion and vital energy that precludes productivity. How does one pull themselves out of the depths of despair when so many traumatic events have manifested in the pathology and psyche?

Diane Morrow Dear Bobby,
I am so sorry. And I’m sure you know there are no easy answers to your question. As I read your question, what comes through most strongly …moreDear Bobby,
I am so sorry. And I’m sure you know there are no easy answers to your question. As I read your question, what comes through most strongly is your care for your children—and how this will affect them. I suspect in the end it is this kind of caring that pulls us out in the end.
Right now I happen to be reading a book about trauma called Upside by a journalist, Jim Rendon. He uses stories and scientific research to explore how different people, including war veterans, navigate their lives after trauma and loss. I’ve only read a few chapters so far, but one strong thread that emerges is that finding meaning somehow—including in terms of trying to reach out to others who need us or who are in the same boat—that this can make a difference—that finding meaning in impossible situations—having a sense of purpose—can transform them somehow. Starting a journal or notebook of some kind—simply beginning to gather one’s thoughts—and perhaps also gather quotes and stories that inspire us—can be one way to help us sort through and find this sense of meaning and purpose.
The other medicine that comes to mind for loss is poetry and as I read your question 2 poems come to mind. The first is called “Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower.” A young woman who has made her way through very difficult times shared the poem with me. Another poem that comes to mind is the poem, “Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye. (Here are links to the poems: http://bit.ly/1Lq3Oib and http://bit.ly/2aP9GIC )
Finally, one other book comes to mind. It’s a memoir by Andre Dubus called Broken Vessels and the long final essay by the same name is about how he navigated in the wake of difficulty—in his case the loss of his legs from an auto accident. It’s very, very well written and very moving.
I am wishing you strength and peace as you go through this. All best--
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My sister is dying from a stage IV lung cancer, an inoperable pancoast tumor. She has no one to talk to except her daughter who doesn't speak to her much and our family but that's by phone because we all all either in another state or city but 4 plus hours away. I feel this is something my sister could greatly benefit from. If you were still practicing medicine, how would you suggest this to your patient or would?

Diane Morrow Dear Terry,
This is such a good question and it’s so clear that you care about her. If you, as her sister, think the writing could benefit her, there’s…moreDear Terry,
This is such a good question and it’s so clear that you care about her. If you, as her sister, think the writing could benefit her, there’s a good chance it would. So much depends on her situation now—her energy and so forth. Some thoughts about how to approach it: you could have a conversation with her in which you simply talk to her about writing and what you’ve learned about the potential for writing to be helpful and ask her if she thinks it would help her; you could buy her a lovely blank journal and give it to her as a gift with a nice pen; you could also put at the front of the journal quotes, prayers, and/or poems that she would find inspiring and consoling. It’s so important that her thoughts be peaceful as she moves towards death. Another thing you could do is write down stories or memories you have of her, especially those stories and memories which show her being good-hearted and benefiting others and using her life well; you could invite other family members including any children to do this as well—and then you could give this to her as a kind of gift, perhaps along with a blank journal. I wonder if she’s involved with hospice yet? Such a powerful resource. I will hold her and you and your family in my thoughts and am wishing you peace and blessings.
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Diane Morrow’s books

Average rating: 4.36 · 14 ratings · 5 reviews · 1 distinct work

One Year of Writing and Healing: Writing to Transform the Experience of Illness, Grief, and Other Trouble

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19 posts
Diane Morrow's Blog: Healing Poetry and Writing Ideas

Why an ebook of One Year of Writing and Healing?

I am delighted to announce that One Year of Writing and Healing is now an ebook!

I’ve completed a project which I’ve been intending to complete for a while: an ebook of the book I self-published back in 2016: One Year of Writing and Healing. It’s revised a bit—I couldn’t resist—but it is not fundamentally different from the 2016 book and thus I am not labeling it as a new edition.

My inte