Trauma Representing Itself in Writing: Definitely a Notebook Post

(There will be a paratactic application somewhere in this text, I will italicize it.)

Trying to bring awareness to how common abuse is in everyday life is an important topic and I wish more authors would bring awareness to it--but it is absolutely painful to try and recount the different forms of abuse one has gone through, even if it's for a greater good.

Beginning my writing on personal accounts of abuse I've encountered, and still am encountering, turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought. Not only is trying to write it down difficult, knowing a handful of my peers are reading about it made it way more terrifying...and real.

I still want to talk about traumas and abuse and contribute in some way to normalizing talking about it to allow others who have gone through it a safe place to listen and talk about it--but I think I would rather turn my focus on other authors whose own traumas and abuse shows up in their writing, like it shows up in mine.

This way, it's still almost the same topic--I can still relate to it and bring awareness, oh, and also absolutely geek out on some of my favorite authors I adore.

One I want to start with is Edgar Allan Poe, and also potentially segue into Virginia Woolfe as well. Both authors, from my vague knowledge before research, have encountered similar traumas and abuse that I have and it shows up in their writing. Both authors have inspired me in multiple ways and therefore, it seems right to start with them.

His alcoholism, family traumas. Her physical abuse, also family traumas. Dark poetry, horror stories. Tales of women and overcoming. Tales of what trauma does to the mind. Paranoia. Feeling small. Significant insignificance. Showing the world what is.