Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality…..
…Emily Dickenson
Introduction …. & links to stories
The specter of death and feelings of isolation are the background for these 12 stories.
Despite the grim canvas, these stories emerge largely sunny and determined, testaments of courage, and hope. Yes, along with triumph there are moments of terror and despair woven into the fabric of these stories because they are a collection of honest and thoroughly human tales of struggle against a rare disease that itself carries a measure of isolation, a threat of death. ,
These are stories of mothers struggling to extend their survival times to protect their children and gaining precious months and years….of desolation at losing a loved one and finding a way back to life…of losing a lifetime dream, and finding another…of frustration and sometimes a devil may care cruise to a dream life. These are stories about fulfilling dreams and challenges in a life beset by – and sometimes inspired by – blood cancer.
The sheer power of these 12 stories comes from the simple honesty of the telling.
Being single is a matter of circumstance and perception, but being alone is a universal human condition.
Alone in the womb we are born into human society. And at life’s end we leave that society for death, like birth, is singular, a solitary event. What continuity and transformations await us, few can know with any certainty.
It’s an enigma. To be alone is the essential nature of existence. We are bounded by our skin. The outside world, with its splinters, promises, pleasures, and weather, starts at that precious frontier. And yet, we rely on each other in all our days.
. We wrap ourselves in a blanket of humanity, or its simulacrum – visits, celebrations, lamentations, phone calls, letters, e-mails. television, tweets, Facebook pages – from our morning coffee to our dream-soaked sleep.
These are 11 stories told by our brothers and sisters facing the same enigma we each face. We are at once alone and fully together. That we are all afflicted by a blood cancer arising in the deepest most shielded parts of our bodies, a disease that washes every cell of our bodies in our life’s blood, creates an even stronger bond among us.,
Blood brothers, blood sisters. We face our future absolutely alone and inevitably together, indivisibly.
Living Single…
Giselle Garcia:A trillion loving kisses...
Ann Haehn: Ah, the single life ...
Manuela Manuel: Easier living on my own...
Sevy Goulielmos: Getting to a joyful place
How long do I have....
Beatrice Larroque: The Numbers Game
Elizabeth Goldstein: It’s a Living…
Kathy Van Meter: Five years and I’m still here…
Joe Evans: Whatever happens, I’m ready.
Tell me a story…
Mary Ann Farley: My life of crime ...
Emily Doering: The binder goes everywhere…
Anthony Tiano: I’ll take what I have
… ZS
© Named story writers and MPNforum.com, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Named story writers and MPNforum.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Comments on: "Eleven stories…an introduction" (1)
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the “stories”. This is a lonely disease, but the stories were so personal, vibrant and encouraging, that I felt less alone- liinked to the people in this odd MPN reality. Another step forward in developing a strong band of “blood brothers and sisters” to take on the world!