Join Me As I Write My Next Book
As I write TRAINING GROUNDS, I'll thank my paid subscribers by posting unedited scenes, ideas, bits-o-research, and glimpses into my writing process. Your support keeps me moving forward.
I sit at my desk, looking for a stock image that speaks to the memories of a day frozen in my mind, March 10, 1993, when the commuter train I was on — bound for Battle Creek, Michigan — collided with a propane truck, killing one and leaving several of us injured.
I type the words “Amtrak” and “snow”, but I want so much more. I want an image that represents that unbelievable day, but how to show the sound of an insistent horn…or a muffled crash? How to depict a sudden force that throws us from our seats? How to illustrate the searing heat and explosive flames shooting through multiple train cars? Is there a stock photo of a woman crouching on the floor, speechless, with images from her 24 years flickering behind widened eyes like a silent movie running in fast-forward? How to show a brain trying to understand what’s happening, or a body knowing it’s about to die?
Miraculously, every person on our train survived, and for the longest time, I stayed quiet, convinced that I’d endured the hardest moment I’d ever know.
I had no way to see that things would get even harder.
In the 30+ years since the train accident, I’ve navigated numerous crashes — some that I saw coming, many others I did not. Training Grounds examines how life has prepared me for every struggle.
Scrolling through photo after photo of trains, I finally land on one from Justin Hu on Unsplash. It’s an oncoming Amtrak train on a snowy day, and the word “Midwest” catches my eye. What are the odds? Then, I see “Wolverine service” in faint, digitized letters — and I immediately know this is the same train line I rode on the day of the crash.
It took decades before I ever found the courage to write about the accident. In doing so, I discovered an astounding, unforeseen path toward healing. My intention for this book is to encourage readers to open up about difficult subjects sooner than I ever did.
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I hope you’ll join me as I write this book, because it’s easily the most important thing I’ve ever written. My paid subscribers will receive unedited scenes, work-in-progress ideas, bits of research, and glimpses into my writing process.
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Christine Wolf is the author of Politics, Partnerships, & Power: The Lives of Ralph E. and Marguerite Stitt Church. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University and works as a memoir-writing coach.