External confirmation was necessary since I had been trained since birth to believe I was an unreliable narrator of my own life.

Jeanna Kadlec – Heretic

My guess is that Jeanna was marinated in that Jeremiah verse of the Bible –

Jeremiah 17:9 New King James Version (NKJV)“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Weren’t we all? I was also taught not to trust my own opinions, thoughts, or memories of events. Not so much because of the Bible, but more to protect the adults in my life, to make sure on the outside, they were good parents, good people. Even if they were extremely talented gaslighters. 

What does it take to learn to trust yourself, and become a reliable narrator? At least in one’s own life? Circling back to Anne Lamott? Be afraid and do it anyway, in one-inch picture frames?

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”

― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

So which is it, do I own everything that happened to me, or, did I mis-remember? Guess it depends on who you are.

Welcome to my latest exercise in an attempt to reach my goal of being a prolific writer in 2025. So, in addition to writing 1 short story each week (Because Ray Bradbury said you can’t write 52 bad ones – challenge accepted!) I will  post an entry from my Commonplace book and a short note on why the quote spoke to me on that day. I can hear you now – sucky stories and random quotes? Sign me up.

For more information about the blogging challenge, see http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/)