168 - How to Write from Trauma

Episode 168 - How to Write from Trauma without Retraumatizing Yourself with Mary Adkins

January 10, 2023

I talk with Mary Adkins about HOW TO WRITE FROM TRAUMA WITHOUT RETRAUMATIZING YOURSELF, including choosing between memoir and fiction, having one driving theme in memoir, the emotional intensity and physical experience of returning to trauma, balancing the needs of the writer and the reader, and the healing power of writing. I want to let you know in advance that the trauma Mary discusses is having suffered multiple miscarriages in one year, so be aware if that might be a triggering topic for you.

Mary Adkins is a writing coach, podcast host, and founder of The Book Incubator, a 12-month program to write, revise, and pitch your novel or memoir. She is author of the novel WHEN YOU READ THIS, PRIVILEGE, and PALM BEACH, which was described by Associated Press as “like a sandy beach, equal parts beautiful and uncomfortable.” Her books have been published in 13 countries, and her essays and reporting have appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. A graduate of Yale Law School and Duke University, she helps aspiring authors finish their books with joy and clarity.

"There's this saying that I had heard before, and that I had always thought it sounded very smart and now I don't agree it, which is, write from your scars, not from your wounds. And I think it's all kind of BS. My understanding of that adage is that it's to protect people from retriggering themselves, retraumatizing themselves by writing about something that's raw. But I think that it doesn't distinguish between writing and publishing." —Mary Adkins

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Links

Mary's Links:
maryadkinswriter.com
Craft Talk Book Club
https://twitter.com/AdkinsMary
https://www.facebook.com/maryadkinswriter
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk https://amzn.to/3hDU95m (Matty affiliate link)
Email: mary@maryadkinswriter.com

Related Episodes:
Episode 149 - Using Vulnerability to Feed your Creativity with Annmarie Kelly-Harbaugh
Episode 069 - Writing Memoir with Beth Kephart

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I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Mary! Have you incorporated a traumatic experience from your own life into your writing—fiction, memoir, or other non-fiction? I’d love to hear whatever you’d be comfortable sharing.

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