The Gift of Hearing From Our Readers
Sometimes, my writing resonates with readers and they take the time to reach out. I cherish their generosity as much as the comments themselves.
Tonight, when my phone alerted me to a reader’s comment on one of my older posts, I felt that same mix of nervousness and wonder I experienced the first time someone commented on my very first blog post, more than fifteen years ago.
This reader had apparently just finished reading When Your Estranged Parent Dies, Grief Is Complicated, and when I read the following excerpt from her comment*, my breath caught in my throat:
“So I Googled, as you do, ‘death of an estranged parent’, and I found this wonderfully authentic and honest post, and it helped.
What I’m feeling is powerful; I just needed vocabulary to name it. And in a way, it’s healing — more than years of therapy.
I lifted myself out of generational patterns, but I mourn the loss of what could have been...
Thank you — and all the other commenters — for providing some peace and solace to another abandoned child.”
Amidst her own pain and disillusionment, this reader stumbled upon the words I’d spent time wrestling with and crying over and wondering if they’d even matter to anyone. This reader took the time out of her own grief to tell me that my words did matter.
And if that’s not a sign of hope in this messed-up world, I don’t know what is
When I wrote that piece, I set out to heal my own broken heart. But when I shared that piece, I’d hoped it might help others to feel seen and understood.
I’m constantly amazed by the alchemy that is writing through pain, a sort of magic that allows us to shape agony into words that can then create meaning and build connections with others.
Writing has empowered me to take the worst moments of my life and mold them into snippets and scenes that offer strength and support.
How lucky am I to hear from someone impacted in a positive way by this wizardry?
On behalf of all writers, thank you to everyone who takes a moment to let us know you see our work. There truly is no more rewarding or meaningful acknowledgment of our efforts than hearing directly from you.
God, I love being a writer.
Every. Single. Day.
*Reader’s comment was condensed for clarity and readability
I think the pandemic was a gift to many who love to write as it gave us time and permission in a way that nothing ever had (on a global scale) prior in our lives. I appreciate the writers who wrestle with their agony and find within the way to make peace with feelings that are prickly!