Your Story Your Strength Series
Join Award Winning Author Lila Holley as she interviews the Co-Authors go the new book ‘Behind the Rank’. Here is a snippet from the Your Story Your Strength Series.
“With each Camouflaged Sisters book project we’ve experienced the healing power of putting pen to paper and better understand the incredible power our words have. In this series, we interview coauthors from the next Camouflaged Sisters book, Behind the Rank and learn how they’ve been able to regain personal strength by sharing their individual stories.” ~Lila Holley~
Lila – . . . especially when we –- when we share
our traumatic experiences. And the VA is doing a lot of research on how this can help — this type of therapy can help service members with PTSD. And so I always ask my guest and my coauthors, especially when they come on the show, to talk about the emotions that you experience as you were writing your chapter. Because in your chapter you do –- you, you talk a lot about emotions. You, you go into the emotions of your reactions of this and that, the different stages throughout the storyline as you’re telling this story. You’re telling us how this story unfolded. And you talk a lot about the emotions and, and where you was at the time.
And like, like — So I know for you as you were writing that you must have in your mind relived it, like you were back in that place reliving that all over again. So I know the emotions came up. I know the emotions were raw. So talk a little about –- a little bit about some of the emotions that you went through in, in writing your chapter.
Tamara Purnell – One emotion I went through, I was angry, very, very angry.
Lila – Yeah.
Tamara Purnell – I think one of the benefits that I’ve always had was a, a very strong family connection. And so even as I was going through it in real time, I have a very special aunt. And everybody has one where you just talk to them about everything. And so even in real time, except for when I was on the boat and I received my news, I always had an ear to, you know, discuss the raw feelings. But even in writing it 32 years later, I was still angry.
Lila – Um-huh.
Tamara Purnell – So anger came up, disappointment –-
Lila – Um-huh.
Tamara Purnell – — the feeling of being betrayed. And it, it was very –- To sum it all up, it, it just made me feel sad. And the reason why it makes me feel sad at this stage of the game or at this stake in my life and my daughter’s life is because I realize all the wonderful things that have occurred that the other party missed.
Lila – Um-huh.
Tamara Purnell – And to, to have to really tell yourself that they missed so much, but they only missed it because they did not want to participate.
Lila – Um-huh.
Tamara Purnell – And maybe it’s just, as being a woman, I can’t –- It just behooves me how, you know, you can know that there’s a little person here that you are responsible for being, and yet you can just ignore it or turn your back on that experience.
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