What's Eating Away at You?
- Barbara Stark-Nemon
- Oct 16
- 2 min read
I am a writer, so I often think in metaphors. This time, the occasion was the six hours I spent in a dermatologist’s office having successive slices of tissue removed from my leg in order to excise a nasty little cancer. In between rounds of slicing, the tissue goes to a lab to evaluate whether clear cancer-free margins were obtained. If not, another layer of tissue is removed and the process repeats until there’s no more cancer.
I am at the age where cancer scares of all types have become more frequent among people dear to me, often far more serious than my non-life-threatening skin cancer on my leg. The fear and anxiety after a questionable x-ray, a biopsy, a surgical procedure, radiation and chemotherapy all eat away at us along with the cancer itself. Sometimes in nibbles, sometimes in gobbles, our sense of security, of control over our own bodies, even our hold on life itself becomes destabilized.
During the long wait times between procedures to remove that little cancer, I wished I could remove as decisively all the other things trying to eat away at me. Take a scalpel to my fears about our country, about our shared humanity, about our environment; slice away concerns about the future facing my children and grandchildren and finally, restore my confidence that my judgement, intentions and actions can lead me to effective ways to remove the malignancies that threaten to eat away at me and those I love.
I’m in the middle of a book tour, so I’m also thinking a lot about why I bother to promote and speak about my new novel, or any of my books. I have an answer. Telling stories of persistence, of courage and resilience is one way to combat the malignancy of hopelessness. Not just the opportunity for escape, but a roadmap for strength in the face of disillusion and fear, stories have long been a beacon in times of darkness. If I didn’t believe that, if I didn’t find comfort and wisdom in stories, I couldn’t be out there telling my own.
What is eating away at you? What stories feed your courage and your hope?
I loved reading the blog post about what keeps us feeling stuck and unheard it felt deeply honest and reflective. The way it explored hidden anxieties made me think about how helpful it is when online course takers have access to guidance and community. Having someone you can turn to when you’re wrestling with ideas or deadlines truly changes the game and makes the journey a bit less lonely.