“Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there.” – Thomas Berger
If any of you consider yourself writers or have even ever fantasized about becoming one, you might enjoy occasionally reading this blog.
I was an academic librarian for decades before I got dumped because I threatened my new boss’s fragile male ego. As a librarian I regularly came in contact with some of the best writing in the world. It seemed far too presumptive of me to think I had anything to add to that conversation. Whenever I got a great idea for a book, I would search the literature and invariably find a better book than I could ever write on my subject.
Then I lost my job, and midlife crisis rocked my world. I was surprised to find nothing interesting or useful to read about how to cope with these massive changes I was going through. It seemed that no one else appreciated the unique thrills and spills brought on by menopause, midlife depression, and a growing consciousness of aging. You try changing everything in your life in a mere three year time span (husbands, homes, careers, hair colors) and see where that leads you!
That’s pretty much how I became a writer, out of pure necessity. Nobody else seemed to have the courage to talk about the shock of losing a job for the first time EVER at age 49, or that horrible feeling of failure when your marriage which truly needed to end, finally ends. Nobody cared to confront or even mention the depression and suicide running rampant among my fellow midlife sojourners, so I took on that job.
First I tried out freelance writing for two years, and got totally frustrated with the lack of courage and extreme limitations of the mainstream media. (“We don’t want an article about that. That’s too depressing.”) My response: “Life can be depressing at times, and those are exactly the times when we REALLY need to hear from others going through the same thing.”
So I started this blog the end of 2007. One thing led to another and by the end of 2008 I had published my first book: Midlife Magic: Becoming the Person You Are Inside. Now I have over 200,000 page views on this blog, three other blogs, two workbooks and a bestseller with How to Believe In Love Again: Opening to Forgiveness, Trust and Your Own Inner Wisdom.
Do you feel like you have something to say and no one to listen? Writing may be worth a shot. It’s a great intellectual and emotional outlet, keeps your neural networks alive and growing, a marvelous creative outlet, and I’m sure you will also find others who need to hear your unique voice.
In the immortal words of hockey great Wayne Gretzky:
“YOU MISS 100% OF ALL THE SHOTS YOU NEVER TAKE.”
