This toolkit is a companion resource for use with the book, Don’t Count Me Out, a collection of personal stories and poetry of Memphis public housing residents describe often intense and unsettling experiences. Chronicling first-person accounts, the book depicts the plight of the under-resourced and often disenfranchised members of Seek to Serve members and their involvement in a grassroots leadership program that changed the course of lives derailed by domestic violence, illness, crime, family deterioration, education, and poverty, and their subsequent journey to inclusion and empowerment. This guide allows those interested in exploring innovative ways in which to engage seniors and other un-heard voices, and magnify their significance. By creating this dynamic validates Blues City Cultural Center’s commitment to amplify and make space for under-heard voices. Excerpt from the Editor’s Note “This project consists of poems and stories narrated or written by current and former participants of Seek to Serve. Many of the stories, narrated during sit-down sessions at their high-rise buildings, share the theme of domestic violence, and are compelling for their poignancy and authenticity. We commend these emerging voices for their courage as they …show more content…
share vulnerable turning points with us.” When we first started this project, the purpose was to create a book that eventually would realize revenue. I was asked to do a series of writing workshops with members of Seek to Serve ( STS) participants. We plowed through several writing exercises over the course of several weeks, but eventually, it was evident that we were not moving at a pace to meet the publication deadline. The dream of writing the book, Count Me Out, was a rallying point for its STS members, called Nspirers. Extolling the benefits of the servant leadership program, members expect the book to become a program-funding mainstay. Emerging issues Most stories in the book centered on trauma that members endured at some point during their lives, but our mission was to praise the virtues of Seek to Serve’s leadership training, cultural exposure, education opportunities, community networking, etc. Instead, stories of domestic violence, family deterioration, crime, poverty, and illness continued to surface and resurface, like waves pushing the tide to shore. My job, I thought, was to gently bring all back to the mission, the headline, the central point—how has your involvement in STS changed the quality of your life?— simple enough question. There was just one big problem. Everybody was saying the same thing. How do we move beyond this canned commercial verbiage? Moreover, it became increasing clear that the writing process was intimidating. There had to be another way to flesh out the narrative. We decided to try the interview process; employing the interview format would extend the book publication deadline. The Silver Lining Observations from life often provide valuable insights.
In this case, I observe the process used to cure a whiskey barrel. Curing the barrel prevents leaks and kills off bacteria. In addition, the process of curing the barrel makes the oak swell and makes space for more room inside. Likewise, it takes time to distill an emotional experience into a good story. It takes a suitable container to keep the potent substance of the story from leaking or becoming infected by less authentic narratives. It takes a mature facilitator to listen generously and make room for the true gift. Allowing the narrators to relive, rehearse, and recount these rich but traumatic experiences, bore witness to their survival, courage, and
resilience. Once we settled the issue of which narrative bore the emblem of authenticity, energy, and metaphoric value, we were able to move on to the elements of publishing and marketing. While these elements are critical, they would be moot point had we dismissed the art of discovering the narrative vital to our story. The story so powerful that it raises awareness about how seldom heard voices of ordinary individuals transform the way in which we envision leaders of social change.
Diane Urban, for instance, was one of the many people who were trapped inside this horror. She “was comforting a woman propped against a wall, her legs virtually amputated” (96). Flynn and Dwyer appeal to the reader’s ethical conscience and emotions by providing a story of a victim who went through many tragedies. Causing readers to feel empathy for the victims. In addition, you began to put yourself in their shoes and wonder what you would do.
Each day that we live our lives we are faced with the opportunity to believe and tell many stories and dramatizations. As a young child in Hebrew School you were taught that the world was created in six days and on the seventh day God rested. In a Christian home you were told about Saint Nick. On a juvenile level, stories serve a purpose to teach something and to give hope. As adults we continue to tell stories to ease the pain of a subject or to get us through a hard time. A mother that has lost a son in a tragic accident will never be told by the doctor that her son died in pain, but the doctor might say he died peacefully. Tim O'Brien uses storytelling in his book to teach lessons from the war, and to have us understand about the baggage that he and his fellow men had to carry.
Many times readers lose interest in stories that they feel are not authentic. In addition, readers feel that fictitious novels and stories are for children and lack depth. Tim O’ Brien maintains that keeping readers of fiction entertained is a most daunting task, “The problem with unsuccessful stories is usually simple: they are boring, a consequence of the failure of imagination- to vividly imagine and to vividly render extraordinary human events, or sequences of events, is the hard-lifting, heavy-duty, day-by-day, unending labor of a fiction writer” (Tim O’ Brien 623). Tim O’ Brien’s “How to Tell a True War Story” examines the correlation between the real experiences of war and the art of storytelling. In O’Brien’s attempt to bridge the gap between fiction and non-fiction the narrator of the story uses language and acts of violence that may be offensive to some. However some readers agree that Tim O" Brien's "How to Tell a True War Story" would lack authenticity and power without the use of crude language and violence.
Last but not least, O’Connor confirms that even a short story is a multi-layer compound that on the surface may deter even the most enthusiastic reader, but when handled with more care, it conveys universal truths by means of straightforward or violent situations. She herself wished her message to appeal to the readers who, if careful enough, “(…)will come to see it as something more than an account of a family murdered on the way to Florida.”
Ideas of community, social progress, and culture are an ever-evolving social work issue. How do we as social workers choose to approach needs of groups and communities at the macro level? In order to grasp an understanding of true helping systems it is important for one to have a range of knowledge to justly participate within the formal helping structures an models that comprise of the social work field. In attempt to create our identity as active justice based social workers it is essential for one to conceptualize the framework of intersectionality. According to Kirsten-Ashmen, “Intersectionality involves the idea that people are complex and can belong to multiple, overlapping diverse groups “The intersectional perspective acknowledge the breath of the human experience, instead of conceptualizing social relationships and identities separately in terms of either race or class or gender or age or sexual orientation”; rather an intersectional approach focuses on the “interactional affects” of belonging to multiple groups (p. 48).” In order to remain committed to intersectionality I will apply theories and models to a progressing community in the city of Boston. A critical analysis of the strengths and weakness within each theory related to the specific community will be discussed. I will expose the intersecting layers, allowing for identity development through the lens of the macro social worker. I will begin by discussing my experience through the research process with my team members. After giving a detailed description of the project we can further explore the empowerment theory and systems theory to better explain the development of Dudley Street. The two theories are able to give an understanding of Roxbury’s forward progre...
A good story is one that isn't demanding, that proceeds from A to B, and above all doesn't remind us of the bad times, the cardboard patches we used to wear in our shoes, the failed farms, the way people you love just up and die. It tells us instead that hard work and perseverance can overcome all obstacles; it tells lie after lie, and the happy ending is the happiest lie of all. (85)
Narratives are an important part of an essay as they create a sense of tone needed to describe a story or situation with ease. If the narrative is not correct, it can leave a false impact on the readers or viewers because it lacks the main tone of the story. Having a perfect narrative can not only enhance a story, but it can also prove evidence. In her essay, “An Army of One: Me”, Jean Twenge provides some of the best examples of how narratives enhance a story and she also emphasizes on how the tone of storytelling matters on the impact that the story would have on its readers or listeners. Apart from Twenge, Tim O’Brien also focuses on how the narrative of the story can help in understanding the truth and falsity of the story in his essay, “How to Tell a True War Story.” In addition to O’Brien, Ethan Watters also emphasizes on the narrative of cultural progress in his essay, “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan”, when he talks about the anti-depressants to be sold in Japan. All three authors agree to the fact that narrative, the art of telling a story or explaining a situation, has a major impact on the story and on how it is taken by the audience.
When one faces a traumatic experience, his or true nature often reveals itself. Trauma forces its sufferers to cope. How one copes is directly linked to his or her personality. Some will push any painful feelings away, while others will hold onto pleasant memories. Both of these coping mechanisms can be observed in Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and “A Rose for Emily,” the two protagonists’ prominent characteristics distinctly affect the way they cope with trauma and influence the short stories’ outcomes.To begin, Granny Weatherall is a prideful control freak. In contrast, Miss Emily is delusional and stubborn.
Throughout Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, a plethora of stories are told concerning the lives of a select number of soldiers in and out of the Vietnam War. In his writing, O’Brien also conveys his own thoughts on the art of storytelling and the nature of stories themselves. In these passages, O’Brien provides a detailed analysis of the challenges of storytelling, the effects of time on memory, the role of imagination in storytelling, the reason for retelling a story, and a story’s purpose and process for the reader.
Writing is generally referred to as being a hard to endure, long-lasting task, but my practice has changed and improved over the duration of this course. The choice to write these types of stories stemmed from my interactions with young women who had given up on life because they felt no cared about them or those who had become completely emotionless so that they wouldn’t be taken advantage of again. In a paper for Creative Research Journal, Charlotte Doyle writes, “Like other creative endeavours, the creative process in fiction writing is a voyage of discovery but differs from most other arts in one of its major modes of thoughts- narrative improvisation, a non-reflective mode that typically involves stances in a fiction world from viewpoints different from one’s own” (1998). The general advice given to writers is to write what they know; emotional abuse is something I know a little about from experience. Transferring that knowledge into a narrative that would appeal to readers in a way that would allow them empathize with those women was my
Stories are told through a seemingly limitless number of vessels: oral traditions date back thousands of years, literature revolutionized the way information is carried, and in the more recent years film broke through barriers and revolutionized modern media. What all all of these forms have in common is a medium, a method in which to tell their story. Though there are some exceptions, the traditional format includes a narrator of sorts, who will illustrate the events of a story from their own personal perspective. As one can imagine, a story is vastly influenced by the narrator that tells it. Details, opinions, even whole events are included or left out at the discretion of the individual or individuals sharing it. A brilliant example of the power narration holds lies when comparing Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness to Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, a film based off of the previously mentioned novel. The novel’s aspiring seaman, Charles Marlow, is a stark contrast to Benjamin Willard, the movie’s special operations officer. Though both pieces of art tell similar stories, the way each tale is told changes the way they story is told.
...do this and how to do it well by not only putting the reader’s feet in the story, but putting the reader’s heart in it.
Without women’s shelters, millions of abused women would not have a “way out” of the danger they face each and every day. Based on the statistics, survival stories that are typical of victims helped at a shelter, and the beneficial resources provided at shelters, it is obvious that women’s shelters are very effective and necessary. It is crucial that these shelters receive adequate funding in order to give victims of domestic violence a hope for a better future.
Around the 1950’s and 60’s, the Civil Rights and Anti-war movements began to lay the ground work for the feminist movement. During the 1970’s, spousal abuse became a public issue and the battered women’s movement was brought to the public eye. At this time there were several movements under way such as, women’s liberation, women’s health, and anti-rape movements. As a results of the success of these agencies and the resources and networking that already was in place, many battered women’s shelters were opened across the United States. The first of these, was the Women’s Advocates shelter in St. Paul, Minnesota which opened in 1973. It was not until 1984 that a bill, The Family Violence Prevention Services Act was passed through Congress. This act would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Service to give grants to States that would assist them in creating, expanding, and maintaining programs and projects that aid in the prevention of family violence.
Domestic violence is an issue that has affected many people regardless of age, race, or gender. The seriousness of it can vary dramatically. Domestic violence is the intentional intent to physically and/or sexually assault, batter, or has abusive tendencies against a sibling, parent, child (ren), or domestic partner. The overwhelming emotional, psychological, and physical ramifications of domestic violence can cross generations and last a lifetime. Bringing an end to abuse is not a matter of the victim choosing to leave; but the victim being able to evade their abuser safely. Establishing, I Choose Life Organization, gives those victims a safe haven to get back that confidence and self-respect that they lost due to their abuser.