Tag: Pain

Grief, Stories, Writing

Grief and Loss Changes Us, How Could it Not?

Mark Wayne

The following is taken from the draft introduction to my upcoming memoir ‘Cowboys Are Not Supposed To Cry’ to be published in Spring of 2021.

Reconciling the Past

Embracing the Present

 Redeeming the Future

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

~Matthew 5:4

“When we suffer loss, when it finds us in one form or another we must first reconcile our past. Second, we must embrace the present, our circumstances and play the cards life has dealt us. Thirdly, we must redeem our future, a vision with new dreams for a new life where there is no finish line. Forever changed we must move forward, a different person with a different trajectory we carry the past with us every step of the way.” ©Mark W. Schutter

Grief and loss changes us, how could it not?

Grief and loss changes us, how could it not? #Memoir #UpcomingBook #TrueStory

What are your thoughts? How do you move forward following loss and what helps you?

Leave me a comment below and have a great day. Remember, you are the hero of your story, who else could be?

#LiveYourDreams

Grief, Life, Stories, Writing

Memoir Update – Signed Publishing Agreement!

Mark Wayne

It’s official!

*Note: Working title and not actual cover.

Exciting news!!! I have signed a publishing and distribution agreement with Christian Faith Publishing for my memoir. I submitted my manuscript to their review board, they accepted the draft and want to publish my book. Woo-hoo! 😁

Signing the agreement with my daughter!
  • It has been a long journey for sure to get to this point, never stop chasing your dreams!
  • Expected publication date is still to be determined, sometime in early 2021.
  • Lots to be done before then – editing, proofing, typesetting, cover design etc.

I have been busy drafting my author bio and the book blurb. That is harder than writing the actual book. Who knew? 😳

Book teaser >

When did we come to believe the best thing you can do with death is ride off from it? In Cowboys Are Not Supposed To Cry, Mark Wayne tells his story of living a life with grief beginning in his mid-twenties. #Memoir #AmWriting #UpcomingBook #WritersLife

I hope to post some excerpts from the forthcoming book as I go through the editing process as well as other updates here on the blog. So be sure to hit the follow button and sign up for email notifications to get the latest.

*Note: Working title and not actual cover.

I would love to hear your initial impressions or thoughts. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help guide efforts as I move forward in publishing and marketing.

#LiveYourDreams

Poetry

Crimson Pools

Mark Wayne
crimson-pools

We all bleed the same color

We all bleed from hidden wounds

We all will bleed in the end

This is a tumultuous time in our nation and only time will tell how it will be viewed by history. We have so much and it can easily be ruined by only a few. We must –

  • Stand up
  • Stand strong
  • Stand together

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ~Edmund Burke

Life, Stories, Writing

“She died. She is dead.” Thoughts and coming to terms with the words.

Mark Wayne

Widowed and/or bereaved? And does it even really matter when the words don’t change the outcome?

Widowed – verb: past participle: widowed

  1. become a widow or widower; lose one’s spouse through death.
    • Widow – noun: widow; plural noun: widows
      a woman who has lost her spouse by death and has not remarried.
    1. Widower – noun: widower; plural noun: widowers
      a man who has lost his spouse by death and has not remarried.

Bereaved – verb: past participle: bereaved

  1. be deprived of a loved one through a profound absence, especially due to the loved one’s death.

“She died. She is dead. Is the word so difficult to learn?” ~C.S. Lewis {A Grief Observed}

We use the terms ‘lost’, ‘deprived’ and ‘absence’ when the truth is they died. Their physical mortal body ceased to work and they died. You are widowed until you remarry, then no longer a widow or widower? And are you still bereaved every single moment, day, month, and year after losing a loved one?

The pain and the grief, never goes away even when you commit actions that take you in another direction, such as remarrying. Grief is not something you get over, it is something you carry with you for the rest of your life. It irrevocably changes you, how could it not?

Does the soul live on after death? I believe it does and that’s a topic for another blog post.

“Well, we have nothing if not belief.” ~Reepicheep {The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis}

Life, Poetry

Pain – It is Not a Competition!

Mark Wayne

It is not

a competition,

there is enough

pain to go

around

#JustBelieve #HopeLives #LoveChangesPeople

Everyone’s pain, sorrow and hurt is unique; not quite the same. We all must walk through our own valley of the shadow and all we can do is walk with someone, supporting and encouraging along the way. Why is it then that we compare and compete with each other about whose pain is greatest?

Is there some special prize that I am not aware of? Is it our human nature to be on top, to feel superior to others whether in reality or just to have bragging rights? Who’s to say, other than we all carry pain and sorrow in this life and no one is left wanting in this.

#BeKind #RestInLove

Poetry, Stories

Promises to Keep – A Memoir

Mark Wayne

My 25 word memoir of grief.

As I work on my full length memoir I have read several books, both how-to and memoir’s as research. In the book “Braving the Fire” by Jessica Handler, she mentions the shortest story of grief attributed to Ernest Hemingway, who is said to have written the following six word memoir

“For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.”

Six words, that’s t leaves the reader wondering with unanswered questions.  I haven’t gotten mine down to six words yet, but I will keep working on it. 

In the meantime I continue working on the ‘shitty‘ first draft of my full-length memoir. I will be posting excerpts here on the blog soon, watch for more information to come and be sure to subscribe via your email to make sure you don’t miss any updates.

And remember grief is a shared human experience that we all must face. Grief is a natural extension of love and the lie is that we are either destined to live in utter despair forever or we somehow are completely healed. This is nonsense for grief irrevocably changes you, how could it not? You carry the experience with you for the rest of our life. 

#JustBelieve #HopeLives #LoveChangesPeople