We are building a new book about growing from our past experiences.
We are looking to inspiring others by sharing stories of people who have grown from their past.
This is what we are looking for from you:
A story about a past experience that was horrible at the time but through growth, reflection, and time you come to realize that the experience that was horrible was, in fact, something beautiful. Something you can grow from. Something that you can look at in a new light and understanding.
Maybe you had a horrible marriage and years later you realize why it wasn’t.
Maybe you were hurt by a friend and you had problems with making new friends, but after learning about the past through current experiences you realize why it happened.
Here is an example from our book:
I had a couple of friends in elementary school who I did everything with. We played together almost every day. And then, they beat me up after school one day. It hit me very hard and for many years I had trouble with making new friends. It wasn’t until I was growing and learning as an adult that I was able to look at that situation in a different light. I was able to see that it wasn’t about me, I just happened to be part of the situation. You see, I did nothing wrong. In retrospect, I have no idea why they did what they did. I can easily see that perhaps it’s because my friend had a birthday the weekend before and his mom (divorced) gave me a little more attention because I didn’t like the food that was being served and she made me something special. Perhaps she didn’t give that kind of attention to my friend. And maybe he only got that attention when he acted out. So maybe, he was jealous of the situation and wanted the attention for himself and he beat me up because of it.
When looking at it in a different light it is easy to forgive him for what he did and easy for me to forgive myself for being afraid of having friends again. And forgive myself for thinking I did something wrong. That past now helps fuel me when I build new friendships. I use that past to help build my future, not to keep me from growing.
Requirements:
Your story should be at least 250 words. This short example is 261 words as a reference. Feel free to expand your story and provide details.
Your story must be about a change in perception about a past experience. How you grew later in life from an experience you didn’t like.
We will share your first name and last initial in the book. If you don’t want to use your real name, please let us know what name you would like to use.
We do need your real name and email address for our records. We won’t be spamming you or selling your information.
We do retain the right to modify your story so that it flows better or reads better. We will keep the essence of the story intact. And if there is time, we will send any revisions to you for your approval. We reserve the right to skip this step for any reason and most especially if the modifications are simple grammer and structure changes.
All entries are unpaid. You will not receive any royalties or payments for your stories.
All entries that are used will entitle you to a free or extremely discounted book. Shipping charges may be applied, but is yet to be determined. We hope to be able to give you a copy without any monetary exchange.
