I too am in awe of your narrative writing and command of language. Your style is fluid, with a strong voice holding wit, edge and open-heart-surgical-precision word choice and metaphor. Life has sent you a truck to excavate your brain and despite the odds you’ve refilled it. You are a remarkable woman.
“Imagine what it would be like to lose your best self”—so thought-provoking. You certainly did a hell of a job with this essay—perhaps now you are just a *different* version of your best self…
>Imagine what it would be like to lose your best friend. Then try to imagine what it would be like to lose your best self.
My God, that made my heart crawl up into my throat. Know this: Your writing skill sure as heck came roaring back. Wishing you many more good years of wordsmithing.
You may also like my stack, "Dispatch from Bewilderness." Each piece in the "stack" takes two minutes or less to read and can be read in any order. Subscriptions are free. Thank you again.
Beyond words!!! But I'll try ... Your words are poetry beyond thought, thought within emotion, emotion beyond and within loss, loss being found ... U R an inspiration! Thank you for who, totally, you have become, and the who you will continue to become even more!!
As a recovering alcoholic, decades since my last drink, I grieve the damage done to you and countless others by people like me and countless others. I never caused such harm as was inflicted on you. Ironically, though, while I was in recovery, my six year old daughter was killed and her ten year old brother was badly injured in a car crash involving an impaired driver. The evidence of her impairment was ruled inadmissible in court so, in my estimation, she got away with murder. My son is thirty now and is still a very different person as the one who entered a vehicle that day. But he is who he is, and that is the person I know and love. I still go to meetings, in part, to atone for those affected by my alcoholism, and to testify as to what, as you say, “a drunk with a truck” can do. I would never have heard of you were it not for what you have endured and now so eloquently recounted. Your piece is a blessing to me. My Substack is “A Life Worth Waiting For!” Peace Whenever Possible, Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter
Dear Judith, my 1980s girl and fellow Madonna fan. Your title alone drew me in. Does no one else find it hilarious? Like a version. Come on people. And you did the artwork too!
And then your story, which I’ve read three or maybe four times to try to totally grasp it. It’s stunning. It’s a roller coaster ride. My oldest brother died last summer from dementia, and I felt like it was a visit inside his mind in words that he could never express.
But what you’ve written is not just prose — it’s poetry. I’m overwhelmed by it. It’s just the most beautiful thing.
Dwight Lee Wolter, I don’t think Mary, the commenter, meant that the piece is hilarious. She’s referring to the title, Like A Version, which is a play on Madonna’s hit song Like A Virgin. Check to see if I’m right! (I’m in year two of concussion recovery myself so I certainly am not always right).
The good news, if I can dare put it that way, is that you have retained/retrained your writing skills. This is an incredibly moving piece but also incredibly witty, which must be incredibly hard given what you have gone through. Thank you for sharing, everyone - and I hear you re: "no one was seeking old/un-brand-name writers." And if it is fact that "as one agent said, no one was seeking “brain-damaged” books," then, without trivializing anything, I suspect it is the agent who needed to check their head. A memoir with consistent quality of writing like this has the potential to be an absolute best-seller. Thank you.
alarming. I'm heartbroken. And I'm old, fearful of the dark facing me, but alarmingly do not have the words to talk about the darkness. Perhaps I can borrow some from you.
Gosh if this is the way you write now I can't imagine how it was. It's so beautifully written, I was riveted.
Thank you for sharing. Wishing you all good things.
I am honored by your words and honored to be published in oldster
Brilliant and terrifying. Thank you for giving g us a glimpse into your life. Rest and be well.
I too am in awe of your narrative writing and command of language. Your style is fluid, with a strong voice holding wit, edge and open-heart-surgical-precision word choice and metaphor. Life has sent you a truck to excavate your brain and despite the odds you’ve refilled it. You are a remarkable woman.
Completely agree! This was such a great piece.
Dear Tony,
I love your comment. Thank you so much.
All my best,
J
This is one of the most beautiful things I've read in a long time
Thank you. I am honored to be published in Oldster. You may also like my stack,which is called dispatch from bewilderness.
https://judithhannahweiss.substack.com
Thank you. I am honored by your words.
<3
Thank you for sharing my work.
“Imagine what it would be like to lose your best self”—so thought-provoking. You certainly did a hell of a job with this essay—perhaps now you are just a *different* version of your best self…
Thank you. I am honored by your words.
Please don’t stop writing. I can only hope it is as helpful to you as it is necessary for all of us to read/hear.
Jane, your words are just right to express my feelings too. Judith, your words have helped me so much this morning! Thank you both.🇨🇦
Thank you for your words. I deeply appreciate them.
Powerful, impactful and enlightening for those of us with limited knowledge of traumatic brain issues. Thank you and please continue to write….
Thank you for your comment. Deep bow.
I love this so much. Moving, powerful, funny and what a voice!
So to any agents lurking around, I would happily buy and read anything this wonderful writer writes.
I am so grateful for your comment. Thank you.
>Imagine what it would be like to lose your best friend. Then try to imagine what it would be like to lose your best self.
My God, that made my heart crawl up into my throat. Know this: Your writing skill sure as heck came roaring back. Wishing you many more good years of wordsmithing.
Thank you. Deep bow.
Thank you. I am honored by your words.
You may also like my stack, "Dispatch from Bewilderness." Each piece in the "stack" takes two minutes or less to read and can be read in any order. Subscriptions are free. Thank you again.
https://judithhannahweiss.substack.com
Beyond words!!! But I'll try ... Your words are poetry beyond thought, thought within emotion, emotion beyond and within loss, loss being found ... U R an inspiration! Thank you for who, totally, you have become, and the who you will continue to become even more!!
Thank you. I am honored by your words.
As a recovering alcoholic, decades since my last drink, I grieve the damage done to you and countless others by people like me and countless others. I never caused such harm as was inflicted on you. Ironically, though, while I was in recovery, my six year old daughter was killed and her ten year old brother was badly injured in a car crash involving an impaired driver. The evidence of her impairment was ruled inadmissible in court so, in my estimation, she got away with murder. My son is thirty now and is still a very different person as the one who entered a vehicle that day. But he is who he is, and that is the person I know and love. I still go to meetings, in part, to atone for those affected by my alcoholism, and to testify as to what, as you say, “a drunk with a truck” can do. I would never have heard of you were it not for what you have endured and now so eloquently recounted. Your piece is a blessing to me. My Substack is “A Life Worth Waiting For!” Peace Whenever Possible, Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter
Thank you for your words. Deep bow.
Thank you for your words. The Bell.
💔
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen.
I have been reading Judith Weiss's posts for some time and they are extraordinary.. I look forward to them every day. Join!
Thank you for your readership and for your words.
Thank you for your words, always!
Dear Judith, my 1980s girl and fellow Madonna fan. Your title alone drew me in. Does no one else find it hilarious? Like a version. Come on people. And you did the artwork too!
And then your story, which I’ve read three or maybe four times to try to totally grasp it. It’s stunning. It’s a roller coaster ride. My oldest brother died last summer from dementia, and I felt like it was a visit inside his mind in words that he could never express.
But what you’ve written is not just prose — it’s poetry. I’m overwhelmed by it. It’s just the most beautiful thing.
Thank you for writing and sharing.
Gratefully,
Mary
Deeply moved by your words. Much gratitude.
The gratitude is all mine. ❤️
No, I indeed do not find this post hilarious.
Dwight Lee Wolter, I don’t think Mary, the commenter, meant that the piece is hilarious. She’s referring to the title, Like A Version, which is a play on Madonna’s hit song Like A Virgin. Check to see if I’m right! (I’m in year two of concussion recovery myself so I certainly am not always right).
The good news, if I can dare put it that way, is that you have retained/retrained your writing skills. This is an incredibly moving piece but also incredibly witty, which must be incredibly hard given what you have gone through. Thank you for sharing, everyone - and I hear you re: "no one was seeking old/un-brand-name writers." And if it is fact that "as one agent said, no one was seeking “brain-damaged” books," then, without trivializing anything, I suspect it is the agent who needed to check their head. A memoir with consistent quality of writing like this has the potential to be an absolute best-seller. Thank you.
alarming. I'm heartbroken. And I'm old, fearful of the dark facing me, but alarmingly do not have the words to talk about the darkness. Perhaps I can borrow some from you.