10 Comments
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Mary Pierce's avatar

Beautifully written, Deanne.

Deanne Ames's avatar

Thank you, Mary. It takes a writer to appreciate how another writer has “sweated bullets” to get something down in a way that conveys the emotion involved.

HVR's avatar

Saved!

Kristin Meadows's avatar

I finally remembered to start reading your posts. I felt for that girl on the motorcycle trying escape from hell. Thank you for sharing.

Deanne Ames's avatar

Thank you, Kristin. "Crossroads" was the first piece of my writing I posted on Substack. Your comment means a lot.

Kristin Meadows's avatar

It is well written and I look forward to reading more when I have the brain power.

Sil (she/her)'s avatar

What a powerful and moving piece. Thank you for sharing. I'm glad you're here.

Christine Wolf's avatar

Thank you for sharing. I just read the piece. It’s fantastic. I’m so sorry that happened to you, and I’m thrilled to see you wrote about it. You’re a skillful author, and I have memoir clients who dream of writing as well as you. This essay / chapter opens with such power and keeps delivering. I was hooked from the start.

I had only ONE moment when I was slightly confused. It’s in the paragraph when you refer to your teenage self with care. At first, I thought you were referring to the kind therapist you’d referred to in the previous sentence. The “she/her” reference about yourself was at first unclear — an easy fix.

Wishing you all the best!

Christine Wolf

www.christinewolf.com/memoir-coach

Deanne Ames's avatar

Thank you for your kind encouragement. It means a lot to me.