One Tuesday night at the jail several years ago, I asked the women to write about “an ordinary disguise.” The idea was inspired by a book I was reading at the time about the Underground Railroad and the disguises fugitive slaves adopted to go unnoticed.
Mandy I have to say the one place that I have felt undisguised was at the writing group at off center. Many prompts led to places I didn't know I was going when I started to write from it. Reading them later I see parts of myself I had always kept hidden. The less the bullies know the less they have to torment you over. The group has almost always felt open and as if you were among friends, or else we'd never be able to read what we wrote. Thank you for fusilitating the group in a way that makes us feel like we can be ourselves and write about our ups and downs.
Happy to read this. Reading about your work always makes me nostalgic for my work.
I totally agree with you about feeling at home in jail. But for me it was a relief to work with women in rehab who were so broken that it actually boosted my self-esteem to feel like the functional one! I didn't have to pretend that I knew what I was doing, put on airs, etc. I felt accepted for who I was, no airs.
I learned to be a chameleon as a kid growing up with an alcoholic/mentally ill mother. I instinctively knew how to keep on her good side. It wasn't until I was an adult in recovery that I started being honest with her and others. Xo
Hi Jeannine, You nailed it, the chameleon-survival game as a child and the previous places where we don't have to put on airs. In a way, so counter cultural. Thank you for writing this!
Mandy I have to say the one place that I have felt undisguised was at the writing group at off center. Many prompts led to places I didn't know I was going when I started to write from it. Reading them later I see parts of myself I had always kept hidden. The less the bullies know the less they have to torment you over. The group has almost always felt open and as if you were among friends, or else we'd never be able to read what we wrote. Thank you for fusilitating the group in a way that makes us feel like we can be ourselves and write about our ups and downs.
Hey Mandy-
Happy to read this. Reading about your work always makes me nostalgic for my work.
I totally agree with you about feeling at home in jail. But for me it was a relief to work with women in rehab who were so broken that it actually boosted my self-esteem to feel like the functional one! I didn't have to pretend that I knew what I was doing, put on airs, etc. I felt accepted for who I was, no airs.
I learned to be a chameleon as a kid growing up with an alcoholic/mentally ill mother. I instinctively knew how to keep on her good side. It wasn't until I was an adult in recovery that I started being honest with her and others. Xo
Hi Jeannine, You nailed it, the chameleon-survival game as a child and the previous places where we don't have to put on airs. In a way, so counter cultural. Thank you for writing this!