fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
Hudson Valley One
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Oncology Support Memoir Group at Benedictine

by Ann Hutton
April 1, 2016
in Books, Community
0
quill Walt Stoneburner @
(Photo by Walt Stoneburner)

When cancer knocks on your door, you open it and walk out into a wholly different world – one of devastating fear, pain and loss, and one (here’s the surprise) of remarkable possibility: the possibility of living in the moment and excising all the superfluous crap that fills your days and keeps you from being present; the possibility of reimagining the past and appreciating it somehow; the possibility of cleaning up relationships and recovering love. This is the message of a new anthology, Holding On, Letting Go, a collection of brief stories and poems written by members of the HealthAlliance Oncology Support Program in Kingston.

Meeting weekly at the Herbert H. and Sofia P. Reuner Cancer Support House on Mary’s Avenue, a group of people living with cancer has been working under the guidance of author and teacher Abigail Thomas to express their feelings and explore their lives in search of the good stuff – not just the happy stuff, nor necessarily the dramatic details of their bouts with the disease, but the stuff that made them who they are, the stuff of soulcraft.

Distinct from mere journaling, memoir involves probing for truth and candor. And that’s where Thomas comes into the frame. Having published two startling memoirs and a book about the art of writing one, and also having an adult daughter who suffered that dreaded visitation from cancer, she offered herself up to the Oncology Support Program for what was slated to be a five-week class in writing. Fifteen people eventually joined. They’ve been convening every Thursday afternoon for coming onto two years now, to share their current work and give each other heartfelt sustenance.

Carol Dwyer, who contributed “The Wrong Line” to the anthology, talks about choosing a support group to attend. “I wasn’t really game until after my brain tumor. I started coming to a metastatic support group and stuck to it. At first I didn’t think I needed it. I had gone two times to a breast cancer support group in New York City. The problem was, they were all worried about their next mammogram, about the ‘what-ifs.’ They’d all been through something; but I had just finished chemo. I was bald, I was going in for a bilateral mastectomy, then radiation…I was sitting there, and I’m like their nightmare. How am I helping them? And they’re certainly not helping me. Like, ‘You’re worried about a mammogram?’ Actually coming and being a part of a metastatic group opened me up to being on a team that…yeah, we’re a little more frail; we’re watching friends die. Then Barbara [Sarah] told me I should join the memoir group. I was writing with friends once a month, but I wanted to write more, to get the habit of doing it; and this really spurred me on.”

As the group’s facilitator, Thomas has the ability to tease subject matter out of people who don’t necessarily consider themselves writers. She gives prompts like: “Write two pages about What Comes Next and How to Like It” or “two pages about Your Most Memorable Indulgence.” For example, working on the assignment to “Write two pages of What You Wish You Had Said or Done,” Barbara Sarah relates how, amidst the confusion and shock of her late husband’s cardiac emergency, she wishes that she’d said and done things a strong patient advocate might have, such as insisting on getting clear information about what his condition was, demanding the opportunity to ride in the ambulance with him, even expressing her outrage at a doctor’s insensitivity.

Craig Mawhirt mentions the obligatory prompt that everyone must write upon entering the group: “two pages on Any Ten Years of My Life in Three-Word Sentences.” Thomas is famous for these three-word-sentence instructions, and the imperative to brevity forces the writer to pare ideas down to basics. Keen remembrances emerge, and the very process of recording them provokes new revelations, new perspectives. The only rule of thumb is to keep the piece no longer than five minutes when read aloud.

Page 1 of 2
12Next
Thank you for reading Hudson Valley One. We rely on your support to continue providing local, substantive news. Please check out our subscription options to keep local journalism alive in the Hudson Valley.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Personally speaking with Craig Chapman

Next Post

Saugerties Independence Party primary: where to vote, who’s running

Ann Hutton

Related Posts

Spring at the Kingston YMCA Farm Project
Community

Spring at the Kingston YMCA Farm Project

May 16, 2022
New children’s music garden at Kingston Library
Community

New children’s music garden at Kingston Library

May 16, 2022
City of Kingston celebrates its 150th anniversary
Community

City of Kingston celebrates its 150th anniversary

May 16, 2022
Abortion rights march in Kingston
Community

Abortion rights march in Kingston

May 16, 2022
Olive Free Library exhibition “Behind the Scenes” opens May 21
Art & Music

Olive Free Library exhibition “Behind the Scenes” opens May 21

May 15, 2022
Trinity Episcopal Church in Saugerties holds plant/bake sale May 28
Community

Trinity Episcopal Church in Saugerties holds plant/bake sale May 28

May 15, 2022
Next Post

Saugerties Independence Party primary: where to vote, who's running

Trending News

  • Bubbe’s Deli opens in Gardiner’s former Mountain Harbor 1.5k views
  • Woodstock Library bond passes 1k views
  • Saugertes man faces multiple charges after domestic disturbance 0.9k views
  • The moon is down in Central Hudson 642 views
  • D&H Canal Museum in High Falls poised for June 18 Grand Opening 428 views







Latest HV1 Podcast

Weather

Kingston
◉
59°
Cloudy
5:33am8:11pm EDT
Feels like: 57°F
Wind: 5mph W
Humidity: 90%
Pressure: 29.59"Hg
UV index: 0
TueWedThu
72/46°F
73/52°F
70/52°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Ulster County COVID-19 Active Cases

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • #47632 (no title)
  • A very special, members-only message
  • Account and membership info
  • Ad Setup Overview
  • Advertise in Hudson Valley Health
  • Advertisement: Expert Tree Service
  • Almanac Weekly E-Subscription
  • Celebrating 50 Years
  • Columbus Day Subscription Sale
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Curbside Pickup & Delivery
  • Edit profile
  • General Assignment Reporter
  • Gift Subscription
  • Give the Gift of Community
  • Holiday Gift Subscription
  • Hudson Valley Employment Opportunities
  • Hudson Valley One E-Paper
  • HV1 Account Details
  • Jobs
  • Join HV1 Premium
  • Kingston Times (Subscriber view)
  • Kingston Times E-Subscription
  • Legal Notice
  • Legal Notice: 2-lot subdivision
  • Mailchimp RSS
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • My HV1 Account
  • New Paltz Times E-Subscription
  • New Paltz Times subscriber view
  • One Day University
  • Place a classified ad
  • Print subscribers
  • Publisher’s note
  • Read Special Sections
  • Real Estate Guide 2020
  • Register
  • Renew your Premium Web Subscription
  • Renewals
  • Restrict Content Pro (RCP) overview
  • Saugerties Times E-Subscription
  • Saugerties Times subscriber view
  • Six-month trial e-subscription
  • Snow Emergency Declared
  • Sponsored content: 147th Kentucky Derby: Top Horses in the Current Ranking
  • Sponsored content: 5 Ways to Rebuild Your Business After COVID-19
  • Sponsored content: A Gardening Guide: 5 of the Best Plants to Grow
  • Sponsored content: Alternatives to Casinos in New York
  • Sponsored content: Bad Credit? Here’s How to Get A Loan
  • Sponsored content: Beginner Striper Fishing
  • Sponsored content: Credit Union Application And Factors That Help Even With Bad Credit History
  • Sponsored content: Do Mail-Order Pharmacies Help You Save Cash on Prescription Drugs?
  • Sponsored content: Five Reasons Why Travel Is Good For Your Mental Health
  • Sponsored content: Horse Race Betting
  • Sponsored content: How to Rebuild Bad Credit and How Long It Will Take
  • Sponsored content: Kentucky Derby Horse Racing Odds Explained
  • Sponsored content: NCAA Men’s College Basketball Betting Futures
  • Sponsored content: Personal Loans — Why Should You Get One?
  • Sponsored Content: Publish Your Book – Here’s How!
  • Sponsored content: Soup-er Douper Soups
  • Sponsored content: Tips You Need to Know in Managing Your Debt
  • Sponsored content: What You Need to Know in Getting a Home Warranty
  • Sponsored content: Where to Play and Win Bingo in Hudson Valley
  • Sponsored content: Who Will Win the Stanley Cup 2022?
  • Sponsored Post
  • Sponsored: Elect Vincent Altieri for Saugerties Town Council
  • Sponsored: Vote John Schoonmaker
  • Submit a letter to the editor
  • Submit a press release or story idea
  • Subscribe
  • Subscribe to HV1
  • Subscribe to HV1 Digital
  • Subscribe to HV1 Digital & Get First Month for $1
  • Subscribe to HV1 Print
  • Subscribe to HV1 Print + Digital
  • Subscription Information & FAQ
  • Subscriptions offer
  • Success
  • Summer Camp Guide
  • Summer Camp Guide 2020
  • Support
  • The path forward: Publisher’s letter from Geddy Sveikauskas
  • The right to disappear
  • Tutorials
    • Simplify the Edit Post Screen
    • Updating the Sites (plugins & themes)
    • Using Mailchimp
  • Update payment info
  • Uploading Tips (Editorial)
  • Users
  • View your e-subscription
  • We’re back in print
  • Weekly pdf notification in iContact
  • Where to buy Hudson Valley One
  • Where’s my paper?
  • Woodstock Times E-Subscription
  • Woodstock Times subscriber view
  • You’re invited!
  • Your subscription
  • Kids’ Classes and Programs
  • About
  • Advertise in Healthy Hudson Valley: Healthy Body & Mind
  • Advertise in our Holiday Gift Guide
  • Online Holiday Gift Guide
  • No Access
  • Back to School Guide
  • Contributors
  • Advertise in Celebrations of Love
  • Sample Page
  • Subscribe to Saugerties Times
  • Subscribe to Kingston Times
  • Subscribe to New Paltz Times
  • Subscribe to Woodstock Times
  • Special Sections
    • Advertise in Home Hudson Valley: Spring Home Improvement
    • Advertise in Home Hudson Valley: Home, Lawn & Garden
    • Advertise in Healthy Hudson Valley: HV Health Magazine
    • Advertise in Healthy Hudson Valley: Healthy Communities
    • Advertise in Explore Hudson Valley: Summer in the Valley
    • Advertise in Healthy Hudson Valley: Health, Sports and Fitness
    • Advertise in our Taste of New Paltz guide
    • Advertise in Home Hudson Valley: Fall Home Improvement
    • Advertise in Explore Hudson Valley: Spring in the Valley
    • Advertise in the Back to School Guide
    • Advertise in Explore Hudson Valley: Fall in the Valley
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Browse by paper:
  • Newsletters
  • Our Newsletters
  • Summer camp guide
  • Real Estate Guide
  • Subscribe to the Kingston Times newsletter
  • Our newsletters
  • Advertise in Explore Hudson Valley: A Wintry Mix
  • Uploads
  • Correction
  • Tags
  • Uploading info
  • Test page
  • Test Page for Landing

© 2022 Ulster Publishing