narrative healing for everyone

 

Five years ago I attended the first annual conference on narrative medicine at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. It was based on the ground-breaking work of Rita Charon, MD, PhD of Columbia University. The emphasis of the conference was to introduce health care providers to narrative skills that help them explore their patients' entire story, not just the timeline of their symptoms. I was attracted to it because I'm a physician and a writer. 

Unfortunately, the conference didn't last for long. I attended every year, and then, for some reason, it was renamed "Narrative Healing." This year, if it hadn't been for the Covid-19 pandemic, it would have been held at a different site. Instead, it was cancelled.

The good news is that narrative technique is no longer solely targeted at health care providers. As the expression "narrative healing" suggests, the invitation has been extended to include the patient. The implication is that writing about the experience of illness is a healing process in and of itself, whether you're in your doctor's office or not.

"Tell your story

because your story will heal you

and it will heal someone else."

~Iyanla Vanzant~

Chances are pretty good that you have an illness narrative to share. Most of us do. Have you ever been sick? Hospitalized? Are you still suffering? How and why? Have you ever cared for someone who has been sick or injured? Have you ever saved someone's life, or lost one? Has your child ever scraped his knee? Have you had a baby...or not? Then you have a story to tell.

"Share your story with someone.

You never know how one sentence

of your life story could inspire someone

to rewrite their own."

~Demi Lovato~

If you're not sure you're ready to talk about it yet, or you're having trouble finding the right words to express it, or if you don't think your experience is worth writing about, think again. People need to hear from you, and they are willing to help. Read up a little on writing memoir. Sign up for a class on-line. Silence your inner critic. Release your muse. Let the healing begin. 

"Every secret of a writer's soul,

every experience of his life,

every quality of his mind

is written large in his works."

~Virginia Woolf~

Remember: The harder it is for you to tell your story, the more important it is you do!

jan