Trust the Rough Draft
Last week, I shared on Instagram that I finally finished my memoir.
This book has been a long and intense labor of love. The story highlights the early days of work and marriage and the circumstances that led me to exit my career in television news—a decision that changed my life forever.
Looking back now, I can see that I’ve been trying to write parts of this story since I was in college. That’s because the decision to change my life didn’t happen in a vacuum. The memoir is about how, and why, I used my success to fill a void. It's a story about loss, and longing. It's about healing and breaking generational cycles.
The story is heavy and light. It’s a coming of age story and a love story. It's about how writing saved my life and finally finding home.
When my first son (who’s almost 16) was about two years old, I started sharing stories about my life online. Almost everything I’ve written since then—blog posts, social media posts, magazine essays—has had hints of this memoir seasoned throughout. These stories are the after stories.
The memoir is the before story.
Back in November, I shared that I was going head down, shifting my focus (and my identity) from one who is writing a book, to one who has completed the book.
I got so many replies. Some were encouraging words. Others shared that they have stories locked inside them, too.
We all do.
If you feel the pull to write, I encourage you to do it.
Open your laptop, or grab a notebook, and just write. Silence the inner critic. Step into the maze. This part of the process isn’t for anyone else. It’s for you.
Writing helps you create a relationship with yourself. You’ll discover all of your beautiful insights and wise perspectives. You’ll discover that you’re funny, quite hilarious. You’ll notice the shift that happens when you finally reconnect with the you that sometimes gets lost in the day-to-day hustle and humdrum and grind.
Life is a lot like the messy rough draft. Trust the rough draft. Inside the rough draft, there’s gold.
xo
