Soul Mosaic

How to tell the story

Aside from making order out of chaos by deciding which of life’s millions of details to include or leave out, there is the issue of how to order the book and tell the story. I am still working on that. But at least for the first draft stage, I have a rough outline to follow as I write.

Introduction & “in media res”

The book’s Introduction will cover the ground rules for the privacy of others, my work to portray things as best as I can, and trigger warnings for readers. The story begins “in media res” — the Latin phrase for “in the middle of things” — with a prologue that recounts a couple of more recent life moments.

The skeleton of the book

The main part of the book is split into sections, the first being a chronological retelling of certain times and events. It is followed by a section of essays dealing with recurring themes, struggles, failures, insights, and successes. It wraps up with a “What’s next in life?” section and a “Greek chorus” coda written by my husband. As my co-sojourner through all of this, I asked him to share something from his side of things. He has been a source of strength and insight for me throughout our life together.

The visuals

The overarching structure of the book comes from the visual elements I have been working on for 3 years: paintings, maps, and photos. The text and insights were made possible only through the visuals—they freed the frozen and hidden emotions— so those visuals are the most crucial…and unique part of this.

The Beginning: Infancy…

Here’s a sampling of two “chronology” pieces from the “infancy” section:

The Place My Body Remembers, But I Don’t

She Had No Idea What She Was In For…

Now, back to those insane charts!

Tags: 1954 Chevy Belair sedan, chronological telling of a story, co-sojourner, coda, frozen and hidden emotions, Greek chorus, health, house my body remembers, how to write a memoir, how to write a story, in media res, infancy, insights, Lati, Latin, lifestyle, maps, memoirs, paintings, photos, prologue, she had no idea what she was in for, source of strength and insight, visual elements, what's next in life, writing

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