re-Defining Diabetes

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Healing through Writing (and other forms of creativity)

Writing my book was a transformative process for me. There were times when I got teary talking to the nearly 100 women I interviewed as they shared stories about the challenges and triumphs of life with diabetes. There were many women who told me they were surprised by how emotional it was to share their stories with me, that they hadn’t ever written about being diagnosed or hadn’t talked about the various topics we discussed. I too was surprised by the emotional impact of writing the book, and I think it changed me from feeling victimized by diabetes to feeling empowered.

Writing, drawing or painting our stories is a powerful tool that is overlooked by the medical community. Using our hands to create something ‘beautiful’ out of something ‘ugly’ is an experience we all must share.

Check out my latest  Smart Woman’s Guide post, an interview with Heather Stuckey, a professor at Penn State who is studying the healing effects of creativity for people with diabetes.

Another great creative resource is Lee Ann Thill’s Diabetes Art Day.

Let’s all get our hands dirty and create…..