On February 17, 2025, a Delta flight crash landed at Canada’s Toronto Pearson International Airport. Seeing the footage triggered memories from an Amtrak collision I survived 32 years ago.
Thank you for this. I'm currently taking an online grief-writing class, which is bringing up a lot but is also incredibly productive. I woke up this morning realizing I'd erased a chunk of memory a few years after my mom's death. Today, I'm going to look back at old journals to hopefully remember what happened during that time. For nearly 17 years, I've been writing/changing/transforming a memoir-to-novel-to-hopefully-now-a-memoir-AND-novel. I've gone down the therapy and EMDR routes, I've moved multiple times, I've created, and now I'm back in the city I was living in when it all began. The universe sure is funny sometimes. But, for several reasons, since it happened, I've also had to continuously live in the event and that trauma. It's been a long and tumultuous journey with lots of triggers. But last year, I suddenly gained a lot of closure. This year, I need to finish the book(s). I'm finally ready. Throughout it all, writing – and a few other creative outlets – has been my saving grace. But it's time to finish this and write something new. "My trauma will always be a part of me, but it no longer controls me. I’m no longer afraid to talk about it." Well said. Again, thank you for this piece. It definitely hits home.
WOW, Anne-Julia. You nailed it when you said, "The universe sure is funny sometimes." I need that on a T-shirt. And a sweatshirt. And a coffee mug. And a bumper sticker. And printed on my toilet paper. I swear to God, it's so true. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond. I often wonder if the messages come through...and it makes me so happy to know this one did for you. Keep going! Keep digging. Keep healing. I'm rooting for you, and I look forward to following your journey.
Thank you for this. I'm currently taking an online grief-writing class, which is bringing up a lot but is also incredibly productive. I woke up this morning realizing I'd erased a chunk of memory a few years after my mom's death. Today, I'm going to look back at old journals to hopefully remember what happened during that time. For nearly 17 years, I've been writing/changing/transforming a memoir-to-novel-to-hopefully-now-a-memoir-AND-novel. I've gone down the therapy and EMDR routes, I've moved multiple times, I've created, and now I'm back in the city I was living in when it all began. The universe sure is funny sometimes. But, for several reasons, since it happened, I've also had to continuously live in the event and that trauma. It's been a long and tumultuous journey with lots of triggers. But last year, I suddenly gained a lot of closure. This year, I need to finish the book(s). I'm finally ready. Throughout it all, writing – and a few other creative outlets – has been my saving grace. But it's time to finish this and write something new. "My trauma will always be a part of me, but it no longer controls me. I’m no longer afraid to talk about it." Well said. Again, thank you for this piece. It definitely hits home.
WOW, Anne-Julia. You nailed it when you said, "The universe sure is funny sometimes." I need that on a T-shirt. And a sweatshirt. And a coffee mug. And a bumper sticker. And printed on my toilet paper. I swear to God, it's so true. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond. I often wonder if the messages come through...and it makes me so happy to know this one did for you. Keep going! Keep digging. Keep healing. I'm rooting for you, and I look forward to following your journey.