Adrienne Starr 
Singer -Writer
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On Oversharing

3/8/2013

4 Comments

 
I was completely stunned when I heard I had won Real Simple's Life Lessons contest. I am an aspiring writer, but an amateur. It was my first submission to anything, ever. The essay is starkly honest because I never dreamed anyone would read it.

I started writing as a kind of therapy when I got sick. I needed a new creative outlet that I lost when I stopped singing. I was a life-long voracious reader but I never thought I could come close to creating anything as substantive as the work of the authors that I admired. Before I my diagnosis, my feeling was if I was going to do something, I wanted to do it well. That attitude held me back from trying. There isn't a soul alive who can sing as gloriously as Pavarotti could in his prime. Does this mean we shouldn't sing?

When I first got my diagnosis, I told only a handful of close friends, and I begged them not to tell anyone. Speaking so publicly about my cancer is daunting. But it was a story I needed to put on paper. And in the end, it felt like I lost one voice, but I gained another.


4 Comments
Michelle
3/10/2013 03:05:52 am

Thank you for your powerful words. I just finished reading your winning submission in Real Simple. Your moving words have reminded me to sing as if today were my last day to sing. I am truly thankful you have found your voice and took the time to share part of your heart with me.

Reply
Adrienne Starr
3/10/2013 08:58:00 am

Thank you for your very kind feedback, Michelle! Very best of luck to you.

Reply
Emma
3/15/2013 12:21:21 am

Beautiful and brave essay! It brought tears to my eyes. I don't think you are over sharing - I think you are very inspiring!

Reply
Adrienne Starr
3/15/2013 11:35:16 pm

Thank you, Emma!

Reply



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