Laura's Response to Remen

Kitchen Table Wisdom – Stories That Heal
By Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

The book, Kitchen Table Wisdom was written by Rachel Naomi Remen after she was encouraged to by a friend to send a little story she wrote to his book agent who in turn sold it to a publisher. An editor was assigned to Rachel to make a book. Rachel did not have a proposal, an outline, or a theme for this book. She didn’t even consider herself a writer. The editor just told her to write about what ever mattered to her. So, Rachel began to write about things that she knew. She wrote stories of her memories that she had lived through and the stories that she shared. In the end, she had four hundred pages of little stories. Rachel was worried about this because in her medical world, stories had been frowned upon and rejected as “anecdotal evidence.” Because of this, she taught herself to keep her stories to herself. As the deadline for the book came, Rachel apologized to her editor that she missed the deadline and told her all she had was a book of stories; case histories which she thought together could make a book about healing. To her surprise, the editor was content with what was already written because the stories were authentic and true to Rachel. From that day on, Rachel learned that writing about things that you know is all that anyone has and that it is enough. She learned that each one of us matters and our personal lives are important to write about. She realized that stories can heal and change people. She found that stories can help people find a deeper satisfaction with their lives.

I liked reading this story because I agree with Rachel that each one of us has a special story or stories to share. I think the stories can bring people together as they learn more about one another. To share is to open up and let people in. There is a vulnerability with sharing, but it can also bring someone more relief, understanding, and happiness. I like how Rachel just wrote about what she knew without having any guidelines or outlines to follow. I think it must have been freeing to write that way. Sometimes ideas can come more easily after the writing has already been started. I agree with her that writing about only what you know, keeps it authentic and probably more interesting. I liked how the story ended with how her book ended up helping someone. Writing and reading can be very therapeutic.