Relying on memory to write a memoir may not be the best approach. You can experience long stretches of nothingness—no images to grab onto as a way of entering the story. Unfortunately, when memory has nothing to offer, thinking mind steps in.
“Did we take a train directly from Florence to Helsinki?” it asks. Obviously thinking mind sees itself as a colleague of memory.
When memory shrugs her pretty shoulders, thinking mind responds.
“Probably not. That’s a long distance for a single train ride, right?”
More silence.
“And isn’t there a sea to cross? The Scandinavian Sea or something? Oh wait, there is no Scandinavian Sea. There’s the Black Sea. The Bering Sea. Oh I know, let’s go to Wikipedia,” thinking brain suggests.
Memory sighs. All she wanted to get started, all she needed, was an image of a couchette, a route—Greece to Italy, Florence to Munich, Munich to Hamburg, Hamburg to Copenhagen. A ferry. A traveling companion with the kilo of carrots she’s brought from Athens. A line of dialogue: “It’s going to be winter in Helsinki. You can’t get fresh carrots in Helsinki in the winter.”
But thinking mind is already punching keys.
“Here, here,” it says, urgency in its voice. “Look at this: the ferry from Patras takes all night to reach Brindisi. Isn’t that the way you’d go?”
Memory sighs again, opens her palm and runs it along the soft velour of the seat in the couchette. She looks out the window at the garden plots along the tracks, all gone to seed now. Tall stalks of corn, beige and torn, weary of standing; the corn itself remembering the green of summer, silky tassels golden against a sky blue with longing.
Hope your retreat went well Judy….
And welcome back to the world of blogging!
Namaste
Michael
Thanks Michael, the retreat went well, though as I suspected might happen, I didn’t get nearly the work done as I generally do when I have the opportunity to go away away. Anyhow, here I am again. Hope to be more present in the blogosphere, as I think it’s called. Always enjoy yours, too.
best always,
Judy
Such a perfect post, Judy…memory vs the thinking mind…. as I sit and rewrite my first draft my own memory and thinking mind have daily discussions too. For the most part memory serves me, but there are those oh so vague blocks that twist my thoughts and often give me pause. ” Wow! Did that really happen that way?” thinking mind rears her head.”Yes, unbelievable as it is, thinking mind, it absolutely did!” memory sighs.
Thanks so much Laura. That old thinking mind. I’m glad memory has a mind of her own. xoxo
Love the sense of touch in the last paragraph. Sensory imagery of touch, sound, and scent always trigger writing.
Thanks, Penny. You use those sensory images and prompts so often in your blogs, which I always appreciate.
Thank you this was helpful
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
I love this sweet post about memory. Thanks, Judy.
thanks, Jill
Hi Judy,
How was your retreat?
My paternal family childhood memoir is short ergo I remember everything except for the name of the river. A quick call to an aunt straightened that out and we had a nice chat. Aunties like that. They all loved the memoir but I scared them with the copyright notice.
No no I said, that’s just for those journalists (Fernie, BC is an old town and a favourite of historians). They want, they pay.
Glad to have you back albeit more rested right?
Cheers.
Hi Linda,
Retreat was great, though not so productive and restful as those I’ve taken away away. That’s next time. I’m still working on transcription/editing as I put the notebook stuff into Scrivener. I can do a couple of good hours, then revert to the voice-recognition feature, which I then have to spend some time cleaning up. Some of the non-recognition, I’ll-just-make-up-my-own-version-of-what-I-think-you-said, is funny, some is baffling.But it gives the fingers a rest. Then I can get back to it.
on and on,