Category: Life Writing
Archive for the ‘Life Writing’ Category
Gone viral – Love will get us Through
Together, we will get through this challenging time with COVID-19. I have found comfort in this poem and illustration by Karyn, and hope you do, too. To share your poem or story, write to june@junealexander.com ..
‘What can I do?’ the COVID-19 pandemic
By June Alexander Our world is facing a health challenge unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. COVID-19, which developed late last year in China, is now reaching all corners of the world with far reaching..
Finding your inner poet
By Karyn Braveheart Words without a tune, paper without a picture Nights without the moon, lessons without a Lecture Love without a heart, years without a season Hold onto your poetry, it’s within you for..
When disaster re-ignites past trauma, reach out
Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes the cause is visible and sometimes it is not. The bushfires blazing over much of eastern Australia, including my beloved childhood region of East Gippsland, are sparking..
Being true to yourself and others through writing
I think it’s time my past was made public. I’ve always felt ashamed of it, I suppose, though I realize now I shouldn’t feel this way. I haven’t done anything wrong; I’ve just had an..
Astronauts, ice-cream and eating disorders
Fifty years ago, Man landed on the Moon. As an 18-year-old exchange student studying in the United States at the time, my memory is vivid of this historic moment. My memory is not so much..
Using two-way written narrative to escape the anorexia prison
DE: What is Anorexia calling out to you at the moment, Helen? What is it saying to you as you struggle towards the Anti-Anorexic side? What is it calling out to you? HW: Punish yourself!..
Mothers, daughters and eating disorders – stories to divide or conquer
By June Alexander Mothers, daughters, and eating disorders – the combination can be constructive or destructive. On Mother’s Day, 2019, I share thoughts on how facing an eating disorder together can be a beneficial release..
The story of how a river helps to write about the ebb and flow of life
By June Alexander Water helps me feel good. Besides quenching physical thirst, it comforts my soul, helps me to be resilient and go with the flow, and to be eternally hopeful. In the 1950s, the..
Writing in a journal for 20 minutes a day provides a mentor for myself
9.19am, writing desk: I’ve been sitting here for four minutes, ruminating. Hugging Benji Cat and reflecting on why I did not write an entry in my online journal yesterday. Usually if I miss a day,..
Pets make great life story mentors and this is why
By June Alexander I don’t need to read research papers to know that pets are great mentors for me. For me and many others, animals contribute to feelings of wellbeing. They teach about love and..
Stories have a role in evidence-based science
By June Alexander Increasingly, stories have a role in science. For instance scientific eating conferences are becoming a sounding board for stories of recovery and ongoing healing. This month I attended the 26thinternational conference on..
A foreign exchange student story 50 years on
By June Alexander A pamphlet attached to the noticeboard outside the school principal’s office caught my eye. The year was 1967 and I was 16. The words ‘essay’, ‘scholarship’, ‘USA’, drew me in. The American..