National Write Your Story Day - a Call to Action
I’ll bet you thought March 14 was only Pi Day, the day that now symbolizes free pizzas while celebrating the mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Thanks to a supercomputer, we know there are 62.8-billion digits to Pi, commonly referred to as 3.14 or 3.14159.
Several years ago, I read Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant, a memoir by Daniel Tammet. His story is unique because even with autism, he was able to live a fully independent life. He has been compared to him to Dustin Hoffman’s character, Raymond, who possessed superb intellectual abilities while remaining emotionally expressionless and adhering to strict routines in the movie, Rain Main.
Tammet recounts how he saw numbers as shapes, colors, and textures. Tammet equated the word “snow” with the number 89, and “shy” with the number 4. With a reported I.Q. of 150, he can perform extraordinary calculations in his head. He taught himself to speak new languages fluently, in a week, mastering English, Finnish, French, German, Lithuanian, Esperanto, Spanish, Romanian, Estonian, and Welsh. In 2004, he memorized and recited more than 22,000 digits of Pi.
Every March 14, since reading his memoir, I think of Tammet and his magnificent mind. I picked up the book on a whim when I went to the local Barnes and Noble looking for something else. Not the type to browse – I abhor shopping - I’m glad I stopped by the sales racks near the checkout.
Tammet’s book was an invitation to a world I knew nothing about, despite working at a nonprofit that serves adults with disabilities. I was the chief storyteller and the public relations manager. It was my job to augment abilities over disabilities. Still, there was so much I didn’t know about the incredible capacity of the mind.
Tammet’s book wasn’t only a recounting of his amazing mathematical and linguistic abilities, it opened his world to reveal the person behind the numbers. Tammet used to hide under the bed, perhaps as an escape from his large, thankfully compassionate, family. His parents refused to separate him from his siblings, which is common when one child is born with significant, perceived deficits. The result is marginalization, which isn’t productive for anyone. His family instead chose to accommodate his differences, embracing Daniel as a member of the family. This acceptance was the catalyst that enabled him to become the person that he was destined to be.
The power of stories lies in the capacity of an author to accept vulnerability as a mechanism for sharing significant parts of their lives, and personal stories of themselves. Struggles, triumphs, emotions, fears, and transformations comprise core elements of memoir. Memoir isn’t merely a recounting of past events. It’s the storytelling that connects a reader to the main character, in this case, Daniel Tammet, who bravely invited readers into a world, that is often mistaken, even ridiculed, and most certainly misunderstood by many.
In addition to this day that celebrates a mathematical phenomenon, it’s also National Write Your Story Day. These days, there is a day to celebrate anything, from our beloved pets, to margaritas, to traditional holidays. March began with obscure observances, like National Pig Day, National Horse Protection Day, and National Fruit Compote Day. Most people marked X through the calendar without even realizing the celebrations that could’ve been.
National Write Your Story Day is one we can all get behind. We all have stories to tell. We can all recall instances when we were summoned to write our stories, namely high school English class, when the teacher scribbled a prompt on the board and told to have 500 words by the time the bell rang.
Authoring our stories is more than a typical high school assignment. The practice deserves to be celebrated, whether out of a desire to publish a book, for legacy purposes, or simply as a catharsis.
When we choose to segment part of our life, recalling key moments, emotions, events and transformations, we’re embarking on the process of writing memoirs.
Jeffrey Brown of PBS News Hour reported in 2023 that during the pandemic, people pondered questions of legacy, and what is left behind when we die. This introspection gave rise to a new group of memoirists, who write because they know their stories have value and they want to contribute to the collective history of their families and communities. Brown reports, “These books – once reserved for the famous – are becoming more accessible than ever.”
Read the full transcript of Brown’s story HERE.
This shift in thinking from the idea that only the famous are qualified to write their memoirs has created opportunities for budding authors who may have shelved the idea of ever publishing a book. Walk into any bookstore, and you’ll see crowded shelves, table displays, and author events every night of the week. Thankfully, libraries remain a haven of accessibility and education so that everyone who wants to can read as many books as they please. In the publishing world, each Tuesday (and sometimes other days) are what authors call “Pub Day,” when new books come out.
Too many new titles to count, the sheer plethora of choices for reading materials can lead aspiring authors to wonder if there’s room for everyone. The availability of varied publishing paths, the accessibility of online tools, and the recognition of independent authors means that all who desire to share their stories through written word can, and I believe, should.
Certainly, the writing should be of the highest caliber possible, meticulously edited, with an attractive cover, but the point is that all stories have value, and the call to authorship deserves to be heeded.
National Write Your Story Day is an ideal time to consider your writing aspirations, and even begin penning your book. If not now, when? Some topics to use as a launching pad:
· Your first memory as a child
· Hobbies or interests you enjoy
· Who has influenced your life the most?
· Your first job
· Family traditions
· An achievement you’re most proud of
These don’t seem like book material, but give yourself permission to dive deep, engage all your senses, cultivate the characters withing these stories, and the essence of the life lessons and poignant moments that punctuate a life.
When I sat down to write Accidental First Lady in early 2018, I wondered whether anyone would care what I had to say, and whether I was qualified to write a book. Once I accessed the memory bank of feelings and emotions around specific stories that became chapters, I realized I was doing more than recounting a period of my life. I was inviting my future readers into my world, giving them a glimpse of an often-unseen sector of politics. In doing so, readers learned, they related, and to my surprise, some were even inspired by my words.
That’s what sharing our stories can do. Let this National Write Your Story Day inspires you to dig deep, find that unique and compelling story that’s waiting to be told. I promise your readers are waiting.