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Alexander Dy's avatar

“Writing is the cruelest form of striptease,” said the professor in a journalism elective I once took. I thought I knew what he meant back then—be careful for you reveal who you are by what you write. Having read this piece, and having discovered your writing over the past few months, I now see what his words could mean—be carefree for you can liberate, create, and fully realize yourself by writing. Thank you, Amanda, for all that you write.

Amanda Norgaard's avatar

Thank you for reading!

Katie Scoggins's avatar

This was a beautiful exploration of writing as art and as medicine and as a tool for clarity and beyond. I so relate to the voice of the parent-figure, mine being my mother. It was through my own secret writing practice that I freed myself from her abuse and began to process and heal from it. What an amazing tool and gift this thing of documenting words of our minds. Thank you for sharing so vulnerably <3

Amanda Norgaard's avatar

Thank you so much for sharing this Katie ❣️

Karli Florence's avatar

I was talking to a friend last week about our childhoods, her experience of her dad and I shared my experience of mine - both father figures were absent in their own way, both very ‘non-traditional’, emotionally distant and unavailable and whilst they were incapable of giving us everything we needed, they individually gave us something so big (probably without realising). They shaped us through one small but impressionable and memorable interaction, it literally became the filter through which we navigated our lives. For her it was chess, she sees everything 3 steps ahead. For me it was zooming out seeing things differently. For you it is writing. A small thing flourishing into a lifeline

Amanda Norgaard's avatar

Thank you for sharing this — it moved me so deeply and brought me to tears.

Carlie Petraitis's avatar

“Writing, therefore has been my most essential rite of passage in my own becoming. As sort of reimagined womb space, where I could outgrow the shapes I was originally given. The shape of a woman, carved by a man.”

This gives me chills n brings immediate tears behind my eyes. I love this piece. Thank you for sharing it. Writing has been my solace and I relate in my own way with your father figure. I love seeing myself on the paper, I love the processing of writing, I love connecting with others through their world building and sharing. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Amanda Norgaard's avatar

Thank you so much for this beautiful reflection and comment, Carlie ❣️

joy on earth's avatar

writing is an urge that i cannot resist to. 🤎

Amanda Norgaard's avatar

One we shall never resist <3