"A profile: Theresa

Theresa was only able to say that she had been abused. She couldn't or wouldn't say any more. After hearing the other women tell parts of their stories and talking about the issue of abuse from a non-personal perspective, however, she was able to tell me her story for the very first time.

Theresa said that she didn't know where to start so I suggested that she treat this as a writing assignment. We followed the steps that we use in the classroom for anything that needs to be written. The only difference was that she spoke and I scribed for her. Two days later, when it was completed, she held the finished piece in her hand. She told me that she had never been able to think about it before without the feelings overwhelming her. She had never really admitted the abuse to anyone because she couldn't put it into words. She was able to write about her feelings, talk about what had happened and ask questions.

While Theresa was able to tell her story for the first time, she also learned much about writing and the process of writing...The writing that she did in her class assignments improved as a result of this in-depth story that meant so much to her.

Diane Eastman, "Gender, culture, and personal experiences that get in the way of learning"