Post #50 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
Your Life Story, Your Forest
I don’t usually post writing prompts, but a friend made such a provocative statement that I thought it deserved to become one of our writing prompts. You see, I was in Washington, DC for my high school reunion. I’d been invited to make a presentation based on the collective memoir, Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story, that Kendra and I co-authored. Many of my classmates were at the reunion and I had a great deal of fun hanging out with “our gang,” a small group of us who have stayed closed over the years.
On Sunday, several of us had lunch together. While we were waiting for our meal, Cissy said, “I stopped by St. Albans this morning to walk the athletic field where we used to watch our boyfriends play football. You’ll never guess what was there.” We turned toward her in anticipation, thinking she might have run into her old boyfriend, also there for a reunion, or that she saw some interesting sporting event. “The field is gone and it’s now a forest,” she continued. In unison, we said, “A forest!” I mean, how could there be a forest growing in the athletic field.
“I finally realized that it’s possible to grow a forest in the 50 years since we graduated.” Of course, Cissy was right. It had been 50 years and trees can grow both in height and in circumference in that many years and become substantial.
I loved that story because I realized that we could think about our lives as if we were growing trees. What kind of forest are we leaving behind? Are you growing evergreens, or deciduous trees, ornamentals, or fruit trees. Are all your trees, your years, the same or have you planted a variety of trees?
I prefer trees that produce fruit I can eat and share with family and friends. I grow lemon and orange trees, apple and plum trees, almond and olive trees. I wonder what is the link between these trees and the years of my life?
I’ll confess that one of the reasons I planted olive trees is that they can grow for more than 300 years. I like to imagine they will still be growing in 2310. It pleases me to think I’m leaving something so substantial behind.
Our stories are like that. We grow them during our lifetime and then leave them behind. Of course, writing our stories makes it easier for others to remember and appreciate them.
Memoir Writing Prompt
1. Imagine the type of forest you are growing. Then describe the trees. Are they tall or short? Lean or ample? Evergreen or deciduous? Does each have many branches or just a few?
2. Compare your life story to your forest. Do you think you’ve been too busy to plant trees? Imagine that you can take each year of your life and turn it into a tree.
3. Look forward 10 or 20 or 30 years. Write the stories that will become your best trees.
Have fun with this prompt. Too busy to write at the moment? Then spend a few minutes thinking about how the years go by, almost without notice. Resolve to plant and nurture your years so that the lifetime forest they produce can be enjoyed by others.
