My editor turned it down. She wanted me to write a novel about that marriage, what went wrong, what went right, then friendship, illness, and death. But life doesn’t arrange itself conveniently into chapters – not mine, anyway. And I didn’t want to write a novel. My life didn’t feel like a novel. It felt like a million moments. I didn’t want to make anything fit together. I didn’t want to make anything up. I didn’t want it to make sense the way I understand a novel to make a kind of sense. I didn’t want anywhere to hide. I didn’t want to be able to duck. I wanted the shock of truth. I wanted moments that felt like body blows. I wanted moments of pure hilarity, connected to nothing that came before or after. I wanted it to feel like the way I’ve lived my life. And I wanted to tell the truth. My truth doesn’t travel in a straight line, it zigzags, detours, doubles back. Most truths I have to learn over and over again.
~ Abigail Thomas, Thinking About Memoir
Notes:
- Photo: Workman Publishing
- Related Posts: Abigail Thomas
Live & Learn 
“most truths I have to learn over and over.” You and me both, Abigail, you and me both…. Sigh…
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And THAT was the punch line. 😀
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Yup…our lives..no straight lines, lessons repeated in different scenarios, bumping up against ourselves as we try to get out of our own way. Not to mention, the number of times I’m looking down, when I should look up, etc…
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Yep, so very true.
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Over and over…..
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and over and over and over…
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yes, there is no straight path. far from it.
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My dad once told me (or twice told me… or 100 times told me) “Remember what you already know.” So simple yet profound. I love Thomas’s punch line, “most truths I have to learn over and over again.” It speaks to this. Have a great day, David. I get busy and don’t check my favorite blogs as often as I used to…but every time I check yours, I find something great! Thank you for sharing!
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Your Dad was a wise man Kristin. And thank you for dropping by and for your kind words.
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“Children don’t heed the life experiences of their parents, and nations ignore history. Bad lessons always have to be learned anew.” Einstein. Krisitin Barton Cuthriell’s Dad had it right! Oh were life to be organized. It would be simple – but dull, dull, dull!
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Smiling. True. True. True.
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Reblogged this on On the Homefront and commented:
She is my soul sister–my life is a “zigzag” t00 – in fact “zigzag” is my magic word……………
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Oh, so mine too. Thanks for sharing LouAnn
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The car was turning into a tight mountain corner when the passenger door hit a rock, only because I opened the door into it. Not once but several times since I passed that way frequently.
Slow
Sharp
Curves
Ahead
Dents in our doors…
Reminders of where we’ve been.
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Love this…
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Love this point of view. Life doesn’t always make sense. Why do you have to have a reason for everything? Or a direction?
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And why can’t we just accept this POV?
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Yes. I came to this myself in the middle of memoir-writing. Spirals and sharp blurts of splatter.
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You are a master in this genre Friend.
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High, high praise. I’m verklempt.
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Consciousness meanders, though I really want the happy ending.
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We all want the Disney ending…
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Zigzagging is the way life goes and that’s the truth!
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Smiling. That is the truth Lulu.
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