What a stunning piece! The "compassion, shame, or a shared sense of not belonging," the darkness, the "unknowable truth of it." This one will stay with me.
I will miss Still precisely because they publish work like this- good writing full of nuance. I think this is an important part of the "me too" conversation that we don't often hear. Thank you for sharing your story.
Sad indeed to read about another good journal going away. But great that they published such a thoughtful, evocative piece by you. I appreciate the “complicatedness” of your experience. Definitely upsetting and distressing that you couldn’t talk to the one person you should have been able to talk to—your mother. Been there. And you leave me—the reader—empathizing with you but also wondering about the older boy/man. There’s no excuse for him touching you and yet he seemed like he had a world of hurt in him too.
What a stunning piece! The "compassion, shame, or a shared sense of not belonging," the darkness, the "unknowable truth of it." This one will stay with me.
Thanks for reading, Diane💜
I will miss Still precisely because they publish work like this- good writing full of nuance. I think this is an important part of the "me too" conversation that we don't often hear. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you for reading, Brandy🍁
What a gripping piece, Charlotte! It makes me think of writing about things we've never told anyone, a great prompt.
That’s exactly what this is - something I never told anyone until now. Thanks for reading, Olga 🌻
Thank you, Charlotte!
Sad indeed to read about another good journal going away. But great that they published such a thoughtful, evocative piece by you. I appreciate the “complicatedness” of your experience. Definitely upsetting and distressing that you couldn’t talk to the one person you should have been able to talk to—your mother. Been there. And you leave me—the reader—empathizing with you but also wondering about the older boy/man. There’s no excuse for him touching you and yet he seemed like he had a world of hurt in him too.