Clouds

The Healing Power of Writing

We here at Attention Land are big fans of writing. We’ve talked about how writing can help you tell a story, earn money and perform under pressure.

Writing can do all that and more. Much more, including heal.

Laura Sobiech experienced something no mother should have to endure. Her son Zach was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an awful form of childhood cancer, at the age of just 14 years old.

At the suggestion of a friend, Laura started a CaringBridge Site. What began as a way to keep family and friends informed of Zach’s progress quickly became something more.

“Writing updates on CaringBridge became a time for me to steady myself, to sit quietly in the eye of the storm and sort through it all–the whats and whys and the why nots.” said Laura. “Writing became a way of reining in the wildness of the landscape of the cancer life, where monsters lurked around corners waiting to throw our lives into another tailspin, and somehow tame it and make it a little less scary. Writing became a way to pause in the midst of the battle and find shelter in the order of words.”

For some reason we can not understand, the horrible “landscape of cancer life” eventually took the life of Zach at 18 years old. Before he passed away, Zach recorded an awesome song, Clouds, that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, and became a hit also in UK, Canada and France.

Zach became an inspiration to millions of young people with cancer. His family established The Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund and has raised thousands of dollars for osteosarcoma research.

Laura kept writing throughout the entire process. Here you can read more about how writing helped her heal.

Her words not only helped her make sense of an extremely difficult time but they have also led to an amazing book. In May, Laura published Fly A Little Higher, which she calls “the story of a mother’s love, a son’s battle with cancer, and the hit song that touched the lives of millions.”

Read more about the book, Laura and Zach’s story on her website Fly a Little Higher.

 

Photo credit: Wikipedia