BCW Feature

The Power of Sharing Your Story

by Beverly Vote

“As you begin to pay attention to your own stories and what they say about you, you will enter into the exciting process of becoming, as you should be, the author of your own life, the creator of your own possibilities.”— Mandy Aftel, Author of The Story of Your Life: Becoming the Author of Your Experience

It was 9:00 on Friday night, and I was too tired to talk to anyone else on the phone. The phone had been ringing off the hook ever since I had been diagnosed with breast cancer earlier that week. Every person calling was assuring me they were praying for me and wishing the best for me. I was still overwhelmed from the diagnosis and hadn’t had time to really sort out my feelings or my fears, nor had I taken an intimate and honest look at the demons in my head that were trying to control my mind and my thoughts, and my life.

When the phone rang, I sighed because I just didn’t want to talk to any one else that day. My husband of twenty years quickly responded and went into his office to answer the phone. I took that time alone and reached for my yellow pad. I took that time that David was out of the living room and reached for my yellow pad. In reflection, the yellow pad has long been my alliance, anytime I want to sort anything out in my life, whether it is business or personal, I reach for my yellow pad. That night was no different. As worried as I was about my own mortality, I was more worried about what this experience was doing to my family.

While David remained on the phone, I was preparing in my mind how to plan my funeral, and thinking what else I could do to help my family in whatever way I could to shield them from any pain. It had been only a few days since my diagnosis and I hadn’t had the private time I needed to get everything in my life in an order that I could manage. I had my game face on, letting every one know that I was going to be just fine, trying to assure my husband and children, and still trying to take care of my professional life; I was self-employed and my agency didn’t run itself.

After a long period, David stepped out of his office and said to me, “honey, I really think you need to take this call.” It was the tone in his voice that persuaded me to put down my yellow pad and to go speak with the person on the phone on that late Friday night.

The woman on the line was a perfect stranger to me. (Don’t you think that “perfect stranger” is an odd term, yet Mary Johnson was just the perfect messenger that I needed at the time.)

Over the course of less than thirty minutes, Mary shared her story with me and how she had healed long beyond what her medical experts thought she would ever do. It had been over two decades that Mary had been diagnosed with breast cancer and hearing from someone who had outlived what the medical experts had decreed was the most inspirational and uplifting message of my life. ...more

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