The Write to Heal: Let our Angels Sing (Episode 6)

Interview with the podcast co-producers June Guralnick and Tamara Kissane

Please stay to the end because we have a provocative writing prompt we're inviting you, our listener, to sink your teeth into.

June, almost exactly five months ago, I received an email from you about the work that you've been doing and about connecting for a series of podcast episodes, and in the email you wrote:”The work has been life-changing for me and I believe has had a significant impact on the people I've been blessed to work with.” Can you talk about five months ago, what inspired you to reach out, you know, through this process of working with veterans, active duty and family?

I wanted to have a conversation with at least a smattering of the people that I've worked with, because I feel like there's so much that we all can learn from this. People know this is an extraordinary moment in time when everything seems to be shifting. And in this moment we have the opportunity to look at what I think are positive roads forward.

And to me, the connection between art and healing is, most definitely, a way forward for a lot of people, and so that's why I reached out to you.

Most of the stuff you heard and saw onTV, it really didn't give you the full picture of what was happening for people. Now we hear a lot more about PTSD and all of that, but way back when people were not talking about this stuff. I was so moved and gripped in my heart by the people I had the opportunity to talk with. It stayed with me. Even after the play was done, it stayed with me and it haunted me. And then interestingly, right before Covid struck, somebody sent me a posting from The Joel Fund - an ad to teach creative writing to veterans, you know, and then Covid struck. And so I didn't think I would be doing it. And then I received the call -hey, you know, thinking about using Zoom. So that's how it started.

You cannot tell your story unless you're connecting. Or it becomes a very isolating experience. And that was not what I wanted to have happen. I didn't want it to be an isolating experience, I wanted it to be an uplifting experience, where people would share and tell things that maybe they hadn't been able to tell before.

And you can only do that if you have the support around you and we feel like people are going to listen and hear you.

I really, really, really tried to listen to what people were saying. I have a lesson plan. It's very structured, but I also know if something else is happening in that virtual room, I'll let go of it because I'm listening and something else seems to be needed. So it's a flexibility built into the structure.

So it's about setting up the ritual, let's use that word again. The ritual, the daily practice of writing without that horrible expectation that scares everybody off. Well, hell, I don't have an hour. I got to get my kids’ lunches made and I've got to look at the homework and well, heck, I've got some work of my own I have to do.

I mean, who the hell thinks they have an hour just lying spare around? Nobody, you know? Right? Not going to happen for most people. But you have two minutes. If you think about swimming and how many levels of the ocean there are - you know, you can just tread water for a minute. So that's what we do. We kind of tread water with a two minute prompt and then, oh geez, you know, that's interesting what you wrote there. Hey, how about we just swim under water for a few minutes? And then the final prompts I do in the course of a lesson are what I call the deep dives. Let's go down. Let's see how far down we're going to go here. So I integrate that approach in my writing prompts.

So making that a possibility for people, just expanding the definition of what it means to be a writer. There isn't a time limit. It doesn't look a certain way. It's variable. There's a spectrum and it all counts and it's all useful depending on what you need. I think that's wonderfully liberating.

And that's what I've been trying to do with every lesson plan and each lesson plan is different and builds on the last. And I've been doing this for three years, and I have three years of weekly lesson plans that are never repeats because they are markers in a journey, and as you move on the journey, the markers hopefully keep deepening and deepening and deepening.

Tamara Kissane: Can you talk a little bit about that?

June Guralnick: I think it's the most important thing of all right. We are not alone. The more specific your story is, the more it gets into the nitty gritty of your own life, and then you share that story and people say, wow, I know, I've been there. I understand. I had that experience. Maybe it wasn't exactly the same, but I understand I had something similar happen. I am not alone in this experience. Isn't that why we create art? I mean, I'm sorry, but isn't that it? And that's what I've seen happen.

You write a short story, very short, and then you throw stuff in it. You throw photographs in it. You can throw sound in it. Music, you can sing to it, right? You throw memorabilia into it. It's been a really powerful tool for veterans to share a story that's both narrative and visual at the same time - in a way that you can share it through media.

So in a sense, teaching in this way, working with people in this way made me stop and say, wait a minute, wait a minute. Maybe there's a different way to create, not just for them, but for me. So, I'm now seeking what that might mean for myself. So to me, this is part of my journey now to learn how to incorporate a mindful approach.

Again, nice buzzword. Let's see what that really means, you know, for me personally - and how to approach a different way to create art in a way that feels holistic and non-destructive. So, I don't have answers to your question other than I feel like I'm searching to experiment with different ways to work for myself and then hopefully, you know, the skill sets that I've been trying to really learn over the last three or so years - how to work with others using that.

Drowning in this tsunami of darkness, I tried to write - mostly in nightmarish fits - and then just stopped. I could no longer find my words or hear my voice. So I would like to offer gratitude, and yes, heartfelt apology, long overdue, addressed to the soldiers, veterans and family members I've been honored to work with these past few years.

Tamara Kissane:Is there anything directly you'd like to say to all the veterans that you worked with?

June Guralnick: My dear friends. Brave, bold, honest, funny, heart-wrenching are just a few of the words that describe your incredible writings spilling out from your oceans of courage.

I hope you can forgive me for not always being honest about my own doubts. Your no holds barred, from the gut writings gave me hope that a path to my own healing could be found. One of my favorite playwrights, August Wilson. said: “Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.”

My friends, if you can wrestle with your demons and set them so powerfully free on paper, then at the very least I can muster a smidgen of courage to begin to find truthful words reflecting the person and writer I am becoming. I am so grateful to you all for embracing our journey together of healing words and for opening the gates so we can hear our angels sing.

That was the second digital story that I ever wrote. What I'd like to link to this program is the second one I did called What I Didn't See, which is a kind of meditation on the people most important in my life. It was an emotional journey and I realized I had to go on that journey and embrace it no matter how painful to tell those stories. It's good I went through that. How can I even ask people to make that journey if I don't know what the heck they're going through?

I guess overall, I'm trying to take an approach of gentleness to my writing, to both of my children, to myself, because I think that is what is most helpful, really, is that sense of gentleness and kindness and forgiveness. And that even came up in our conversations during the series, this idea of writing to forgive, and I think that's important.

I understand the irony of it, and yet I've also come to understand that writing is a physical act as well. Now it's a different type of physical act. I see them more now as part of a greater whole. And then when my accident happened and I couldn't walk for quite some time, I just started getting out in nature. And that has become this place where I can be silent and feel absolutely present and feel like I'm surrounded with something that's lifting me up. And so now I do both. Now that I'm able to at least walk some, I walk a lot in nature.

Sometimes, at least for me, when I get frazzled, overwhelmed, I feel myself flying away and I need to be tethered, not in a way that feels constrictive, but in a way that feels grounded. Nature is an absolutely wonderful place for me to find it as well. June, what advice would you give to folks who want to start writing?

And then usually they'll shut up. And you know all it takes is two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, and just see what happens. That's my advice and thank you and Artist Soapbox.

You heard our reflections. What are yours? What did you take away from this conversation that's still turning in your mind? And in the spirit of this series, The Write to Heal, we invite you to respond to this prompt: How has writing helped you on your journey to healing?

Take a moment to jot down whatever comes to mind. No need to edit yourself. Just let it flow, and if you're willing, we'd love to hear your thoughts and writings. You can share them by sending to artistsoapbox@gmail.com with the subject heading The Write to Heal. As always, check out our show notes and artistsoapbox.org for information about our guests, production, and artistic teams.

We are so grateful for their generous participation in this series, and thank you for listening.

The Write to Heal: Soldiers Deep Dive into Storytelling is a production of Artist Soapbox in partnership with June Guralnick. This series is dedicated in memory of David Brave Heart, who's inspiring music graces our introduction and closing sections, with additional music by Louis Wilkinson. The intro montage is sound engineered by Royce Froehlich with post-production by Jasmine Hunjan and Tamara Kissane.

For more information, including the list of writers who contributed to our opening montage, please see the show notes. Catch us on social media, or visit our websites: artistsoapbox.org and juneguralnick.com.