Charlotte Wilkins
Essay and Memoir Writer
Charlotte Wilkins
Essay and Memoir Writer
Why I write
I believe every woman's story is valid, unique, and universal. Our stories--spoken, sung, signed, painted, or written-- are the way we feel into understanding how a difficult childhood can impact our entire life. I want to help women use their past, to live happy, healthy lives now.
About My Writing Journey
My Writing
When I was six, I wrote rhyming poems for Valentine's Day cards. By 5th grade there were adventure stories and plays I made my sisters act in. Drawn to the theater in high school, I pursued an MA in Speech & Dramatic Arts in college. Late in life, I returned to college to become a social worker. As a therapist, listening to the lives of women who had experienced childhood abuse, I saw how each was a story of courage, strength, and spirit that held its own healing within the telling.
My Community
I love to have company when writing, preferably awake!
Feedback and support are so important when putting your life on the page. I have a wonderful in-person writing group, and an online community of published authors whose energy and generosity keep me writing.
My Evolving Memoir
There's so much that goes into writing a book! I'm learning the craft of writing as I shape and edit my stories and notes into chapters. In my memoir, I write about what I call stealth abuse and the insidious impact it had on my life, as it does on many women's lives. This writing journey is remarkable as I explore and reflect on my life.
Join My Journey
I'd love to think you'll keep me company, writing your own story a little at a time. That's how I started and continue to write. I catch the thread of a memory or a wondering and let it take me where it will. And who knows, maybe yours will become a poem, a song, a dance, a book, but always it will be your very own precious story.