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Nov 29, 2023·edited Nov 29, 2023Author

Thanks again to Tom for curating STSC and for inviting me to submit. I'm experimenting with something new here: a bit of reflective autofiction based on a critical juncture that I've written about previously in my memoir material, e.g. https://bowendwelle.substack.com/p/09-i-let-confusion-in

I can't wait to see how this one lands!

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Nice closing line! I'm still trying to understand what autofiction is, so I'll file this away in my archive.

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Thanks Josh, I appreciate your eyes here. As for autofiction, I have no idea really myself, but I guess this assignment sort of took me there. I produced a first draft that was just too traumatic by itself though, and so I had to give it an introspective layer as well.

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Hi Bowen,

I liked this a lot. It reminds me of a book by Kate Atkinson called Life After Life that posits different lives for the same person.

Best,

David

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Thanks for reading David, glad you enjoyed the piece! It was sort of hell for me for a few days, glad it turned into something I could share!

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"As much as I know that wanting something else is probably the oldest recipe for suffering,..." Thank you 🙏

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Glad you enjoyed this, Julie, thanks for reading.

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This line: “It only took about ten or twelve seconds from the first tremor to the final shimmy, like a big dog just out of a lake.”

Having sat through the ‘94 Northridge Earthquake in a restaurant in Hermosa Beach I remember the feeling well. Perfect description.

Powerful piece my friend. I’m sorry it took you to a dark place. You are well acquainted with your own darkness and that makes the light even more spectacular. 🙏

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