Show Notes:03. Michelle DeRusha—Writing Your Own Story: Using Writing As A Tool To Find God
Michelle Derusha joins me to talk about memoir and the challenge of telling your own story. We discuss how an author decides what to include and what gets cut, we talk about writing as a form of prayer, and we discuss the challenges of focusing your attention on the discipline of writing. You’ll appreciate Michelle’s honesty and vulnerability—hallmarks of a good memoir.
“Falsehood is so easy, truth so difficult.” —George Eliot
“If we’re honest with ourselves, I suspect a lot of us are looking for the big, flashy miracle— the billboard moment when everything is crystal clear and all doubts are washed away for good, the media-worthy miracle that makes the evening news. I know that’s what I want. I find myself thinking, If only God could give me one clear sign, if only he would come down and do a miracle, then I would believe 100 percent for sure. If I got a clear sign, I wouldn’t have any more doubts. But I’m not so sure that’s the only way God operates. I’m beginning to think he gives us these ordinary miracles, these small blessings, these “Why not?” moments in the midst of the everyday instead, so we will learn to open our eyes and see him not just in the wild, over-the-top, media-worthy miracles, but in the hundreds of everyday miracles as well.”
DeRusha, Michelle. Spiritual Misfit: A Memoir of Uneasy Faith
