Writing a Memoir

My first book signing.

Writing My Memoir

For most of my life I’ve wanted to write a memoir. In 2012 I wrote and self-published a memoir about my experiences as a belly dancer called Dances with Veils, A Journey to the Divine Feminine. At the time I listened to someone I trusted and left out the “heavy” stuff. I briefly mentioned certain things and alluded to others. Apparently I wasn’t ready to speak my whole truth because I was afraid of hurting certain people’s feelings and decided to gloss over the more painful experiences.

A couple of years ago I had a long talk with an acquaintance in the parking lot of a grocery store. We ran into each other and she mentioned my book. I told her that there was so much more I wanted to write but I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I named one name, someone she knew, and she looked at me and said, “She never worried about hurting your feelings!”

Wow! It felt like a gut punch of sudden awareness and I realized I had once again, bitten my tongue, kept my mouth shut and walked on eggshells. I had done all the things I’d been conditioned to do my entire life by parents, teachers, husbands and even well-meaning friends.

I realize now that my trusted mentor was trying to protect me when she advised me to gloss over the hard stuff. She knew me well, knew that I was a sensitive soul and that I was very loving and wouldn’t…