Wow! What a hellfire journey through the pain!! › to the crushing realisation of being 'already a statistic' ›› giving the impulse to the all important question: “How the hell did I end up here?”
A tragic and traumatic story, excellently told. Very much looking forward to the next chapter 💕🙏
Oh 🫢 🤭 Thanks for the timing, which just proves that reading 2700 words is a whole lot faster than writing them! Full disclosure ~ I even read your chapter twice, before writing my comment. I was a reader before I became a writer, started age 5 and never stopped. But I had no idea I was that fast.
I’m the same way. Always thought it would translate into being a “natural” writer when I finally picked up the pen at 40. It’s been anything but natural so far 😆
To me that sounds normal! I also started writing at 40. Having worked as a literary translator, I thought I knew how to write a book 🤔 Big mistake!!! It turns out the translation work was my training for other things, not least to become a speed reader.
The pain in this chapter is palpable! Not only the illustrative physical pain symptoms, but the agonizing emotional wounding Paul is suffering as he experiences the diminution of his masculinity and forced victimization by his own body. I think it hits home because many men have had similar experiences, or us women have witnessed it firsthand. As always, eloquent and excruciating! Thank you for the shout out as well. :)
“Because that was what “Real Men” were supposed to do, after all. “Real Men” were warriors—and pain was a part of life to be fought and forced through, to be overcome and banished.” —ahh how us ‘real men’ get brought to our knees by the harrows of pain.
The descriptions of pain and the internal turmoil Paul feels in response to it — are fantastically vivid. Wonderful writing :)
Wow! What a hellfire journey through the pain!! › to the crushing realisation of being 'already a statistic' ›› giving the impulse to the all important question: “How the hell did I end up here?”
A tragic and traumatic story, excellently told. Very much looking forward to the next chapter 💕🙏
Thank you Veronika. You devoured this 2700 word chapter the same way I read - barely clocking seven minutes from publishing to your comment. 🤣
Edit: meant this comment to sound much more complimentary than it came off.
Oh 🫢 🤭 Thanks for the timing, which just proves that reading 2700 words is a whole lot faster than writing them! Full disclosure ~ I even read your chapter twice, before writing my comment. I was a reader before I became a writer, started age 5 and never stopped. But I had no idea I was that fast.
I’m the same way. Always thought it would translate into being a “natural” writer when I finally picked up the pen at 40. It’s been anything but natural so far 😆
To me that sounds normal! I also started writing at 40. Having worked as a literary translator, I thought I knew how to write a book 🤔 Big mistake!!! It turns out the translation work was my training for other things, not least to become a speed reader.
The pain in this chapter is palpable! Not only the illustrative physical pain symptoms, but the agonizing emotional wounding Paul is suffering as he experiences the diminution of his masculinity and forced victimization by his own body. I think it hits home because many men have had similar experiences, or us women have witnessed it firsthand. As always, eloquent and excruciating! Thank you for the shout out as well. :)
“Because that was what “Real Men” were supposed to do, after all. “Real Men” were warriors—and pain was a part of life to be fought and forced through, to be overcome and banished.” —ahh how us ‘real men’ get brought to our knees by the harrows of pain.
The descriptions of pain and the internal turmoil Paul feels in response to it — are fantastically vivid. Wonderful writing :)
Thanks! Maybe not the most fun thing to read or write about, but for better or for worse we can all relate to the experience of pain.