Mental Health: The Giver

The Giver

Remembering a classic:  The Giver.

Writing about one’s experiences:  Lois Lowry

Speaking about her writing, Lois Lowry said, first quoting from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “‘Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o’er-fraught heart and bids it break.’” Lois then added, “And I think that’s true. I think it’s something that literature does, that writing does, that speaking about things does. It keeps our hearts from breaking.”

Writing, reading, sharing a story – helps us heal. When I counseled children dealing with loss, I listened as they “told” their stories with puppets, dolls, or drawings. Over and over a child would tell the same story, a story about loss or their story about trauma or abuse.

We all have losses.