When I& #39;m teaching students how to write about trauma, I often ask them to carry five other stories about themselves for protection. Like a verbal medicine bundle: there& #39;s what happened to you, how you survived, and carry some other stories, like:

How you learned to gut a fish, or how you used to bind your own books as a child, the time you stood up for yourself at work, occasions where you felt joy. Carry many stories about yourself, ... give yourself dynamism and let that dynamism inform your work.

We& #39;re more than what happened to us, but it& #39;s also okay if you just need to sit in the pain and execute how awful it felt. I support all victim and survivor stories, any way you tell it. Holding five other stories is mostly a safety measure to not feel like I& #39;m only one thing.