Living With COPD: Stories Matter, Stories Heal

I asked a writer fried of mine, “Carla, what if nobody buys my book?”

“They will, but even if they don’t, your book has already been a success.”
“What do you mean?”

“The people who’ve told their stories have already benefited by doing just that. She looked right at me and said, “You’ve given them the chance to tell their story.”

I thought back to all the interviews I’d done, all the words I’d heard and recorded, listened to again a hundred times, and written down. Those words would now bring to the world the experiences, the lives of ordinary people with lung disease living extraordinary lives in spite of it. I remembered how I felt when these amazing people thanked me for letting them tell their stories so they could help others. And in expressing themselves they healed their weary souls and did something very worthwhile.

Carla was right. Preserving your story will enrich your life, as well as the lives of those who read it. Do you have a story inside you? I’m sure you do! Tell it today; if only to a journal, an audio or video recorder, or perhaps a friend, family member… or yes, even a writer! You’ll feel good about it, and you will help someone else in the process.

So, you see, my plan… my original plan, probably wasn’t going to do all that much to help pulmonary patients. But once I stopped and listened, to my patients – and my heart – together we learned that stories matter, stories heal.

The lives of people who live each day with chronic lung disease matter. They so very much matter!  If their stories are not told, their voices not heard, how will anybody know? If the stories are not preserved in some way, they will be gone except, perhaps, for some vague verbal accounts passed along to close friends or family, but lost forever to those beyond the circle, those who need them most.

Read more from Jane:

Take Control of Asthma: How One Young Athlete Took Back Her Life and Her Sport, Part I

Reclaiming Your Life Through Pulmonary Rehab

Is Your Doctor Meeting Your COPD Needs?

From Breathe Better, Live in Wellness: Winning Your Battle Over Shortness of Breath.
By Jane M. Martin  http://www.breathingbetterlivingwell.com