High emotions?

When I shared my story about clergy sexual abuse last week in class, the question was raised if it was difficult to write about because I am Catholic. Was I too close to it? Was I too emotionally invested in it? The answer actually was no. Naturally, as with any story, I had to take a step (or sometimes two or three) back to look at the angle of the story, the people I was talking to, the questions I was asking and the way I was writing the story. I never felt driven by anger or anxiety. I was comfortable letting the story speak for itself. I believe that is the way it is supposed to be.

I was very intrigued by this topic, and I think that could have been a bit more of a distraction than emotional turmoil. I wanted to share about the process for handling cases in this diocese. As Jeremy can attest to in viewing the first draft, I was very caught up in the details. In that sense, I may actually have been too far removed from the emotional side of the story. In subsequent revisions, I have worked to bring in the empathy and more human side to the story. One piece of that I had hoped to include was the voice of a victim. Unfortunately, at this point, my resource for finding that person has fallen through. I have reached out to child services this week as well, so hopefully that will turn up today to avoid slanting the story and appearing to have that emotional problem.

Best of luck to you all on your final drafts!