writeforlifebook

[writeforlifebook]

The Forward of Write for Life: Communicating Your Way Through Cancer

Every once in a while, a book comes along that permeates my editorial insouciance and grabs hold of my heart. Write for Life is such a book. Written with compassion, humor, and a passionate belief that David can help somebody, this is a life-changing gift. Reading this book makes me feel happy to be alive and doing what I love: writing and coaching writers who have stories to tell. When David asked me to write the foreword for this book, I asked, “Why me? I'm nobody.” And herein lies the answer. We are all nobody. And we are all somebody. We are all equal as suffering human beings, all capable of joy, creativity, self- expression, and transcendence. Our nobody-ness is an illusion based on our feelings of separateness, isolation, and disconnectedness, from ourselves and others. It is a state of humility. Ironically, it is that same question, Why me? that we scream out to the universe when trauma strikes us down and makes us feel helpless and defeated. The life-and-death wake-up call that grabs our souls and makes us shout, “I'm somebody. I want to live. I'm not done yet. I deserve a second chance.” A third chance, and another, and another, until we feel we've fulfilled our greatest potential and made our dreams come true. That's what Write for Life is about. At the simplest level, it's a companion, a mentor, a guide. David will run alongside you while you're running for your life. He will help you write to the bottom of your fear and panic, and guide you back up again. As my late acting teacher used to say, “Don't abdicate from the character's circumstances. Go out scared.” I am a survivor of many life-threatening traumas, some I'm willing to talk about. Some remain my secret. As a child, I survived seizures and scarlet fever. While my mother prayed and cried at my bedside, I hallucinated pink elephants dancing around my bed. They were there. I saw them. When David talks about the elephant in the room, I remember my pink elephants that sustained me, made me laugh, and gave me a second chance. As a young adult, I survived a brutal assault––twice. I was left for dead for three days and endured three surgeries for my injuries, but the damage was permanent. The second assault, at gunpoint, had me begging for my life. Another second chance. My biggest scare was cancer. Surgery saved my life from a constellation of precancerous cells. Imagine. A “constellation.” A metaphor for stars had to be cut out of my body, adding insult to injury to my poetic soul. Again, another chance at life. So as a member of the Survivors Club, I offer Write for Life to my fellow club members. With all due gratitude to the doctors who saved me, I confess that what really saved my life was writing. From early childhood, writing journals, poetry, plays, and stories kept “my pilot light going.” David understands how vital this is––for your sanity and your soul's survival, in the most profound sense. Writing is a way to stay alive while you're alive. It is the most direct route to your soul and its voice, your Self, your deepest will to live. For those who believe in the power of prayer, writing is like meditative prayer. It can be your salvation. It connects you irrevocably to who you are. It's another way to express your pain and, at the same time, release and separate yourself from your soul pain. Writing is a way to take care of yourself by loving yourself, as only you can do. It says yes to you, yes to your pain, yes to letting the pain pour out of you onto the page. Another profound irony that David knows well is that staying connected to your true self through expressive writing keeps you “living in three tenses at once”: the past, the present, and the future. They are all one state of being, of living in the moment, in the here and now. I learned that from my dad, who lived many years with Alzheimer's. He experienced everything, every memory, as the absolute present tense. As David says, through expressive writing, we have the chance, the capacity, “to get in touch with everything you're dealing with: the good, the bad, and the ugly.” Writing for your life is about telling the truth. Trust your feelings; they tell you the truth. When you are in communion with the truth, you can feel at one with the universe because you are self-expressing. Self-expression is our raison d'être as human beings. It is a fundamental human need––for reflection, introspection, and transcendence. It transports you from your dis- comfort zone to a new comfort zone, a new feeling of being “at home” with yourself in the universe. When you are in your new comfort zone, you will discover the other truth about your writing. You will know whether it is truly private for your own healing and comfort, or whether you want to share it with others. know that they are somebody, that their feelings, thoughts, lives, and stories are to be cherished by themselves, their loved ones, and the human community. They are writing for their lives and saying, “I am here. I am alive. I write. Therefore I am.” Write for Life is for all the scared and the brave people who  ––Linda Roberts  August 2013

[writeforlifebook]

Hester Hill Schnipper, Program Manager, Oncology Social Work Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

"It has been a pleasure to work with David Tabatsky through his writing workshops for cancer patients and survivors at our annual Celebration of Life. His energy, commitment and expertise have enabled the participants to learn a valuable coping skill and begin to process their experiences in a new and often healing way."

[writeforlifebook]

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[writeforlifebook]

COMMUNICATING YOUR WAY THROUGH CANCER

Every 23 seconds, someone in America is diagnosed with cancer. In an instant, fear and uncertainty take over. everything comfortable and familiar suddenly feels out of control. 

What if you began expressing yourself in writing, and that led you to communicate more effectively with your family, friends, and doctors? What if writing relieved some of your stress and helped you feel more in control of your situation? What if other people in your life became inspired by how you began coping with your challenges? 

Expressive writing can be a therapeutic, educational, and artistic tool for anyone coping with chronic illness or life-changing challenges like cancer, divorce, grief or addiction.

My book, Write For Life, offers a place to play and to experiment. It suggests exercises and tools to help people communicate through these terrifying and life-altering events.