Transforming Memories: Sharing Spontaneous Writing Using Loaded Words

[italics]From different families and from different childhoods, three women remember and speak out about the secrecy, silence, and shame of having an alcoholic parent. [/italics] Through spontaneous writing with ?loaded words” and person-to-person sharing, three women embarked on a transformative journey in which secretive and painful images and interpretations were exposed to the light, were accepted, and became less painful. Transforming Memories is a collection of their writings and an invitation to others, whatever their past burdens, to use the technique of spontaneous writing to address their own memories. Readers are encouraged to use the power of spontaneous writing to reveal difficult memories more clearly. Transforming Memories is not just for children of alcoholics, but for anyone who has experienced challenges or trauma in their lives. Alcohol abuse in a family is not the only experience that sets up feelings of abandonment, fear, emptiness, or constant guardedness. The healing effects of spontaneous writing are not trivial. In addition to offering emotional relief and a sense of burdens being lifted, there is growing evidence that translating stressful events into written language improves both brain and immune system functions. Readers can simply read and share the authors’ journey, or they can explore the possibilities of using words to spark their own memories, or find a friend and share something they’ve not discussed before. No rules! All that is needed is curiosity about potential discoveries and the desire to heal.