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AmeriCorps: My Life Changing Experience

Mar 15, 2021

Lorna Rose talks about her life changing experience with AmeriCorps. An amazing experience that includes going from LA party girl to Alaska trail worker. Furthermore, Lorna shares how this experience helped her battle past demons, such as suicide ideation and abuse from a parent. 

Lorna writes narrative nonfiction and poetry. And she writes to claim her feelings and to sit with herself in ways she couldn't otherwise. Also, she writes to inspire others. Lorna’s work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in About Place Journal, 34th Parallel Magazine, Jellyfish Review, Little Old Lady Comedy, and elsewhere. Furthermore, her writing has been recognized by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and the Oregon Poetry Association.

Episode Highlights:

  • First, Lorna explains how she became a writer.
  • Then, Emily asks Lorna if it took courage to submit her writing to magazines.
  • Lorna's very first piece of writing was accepted by a magazine.
  • She also received lots of rejections.
  • And, Lorna says, the rejections can teach you something.
  • Writing takes practice and persistence.
  • Her first book length project is a memoir.
  • Lorna grew up with a father who was verbally and emotionally abusive.
  • By the time she wrote her memoir, she had done the work on herself so she could write about it without falling to pieces.
  • Next Emily and Lorna talk about verbal abuse and how people tend too think it doesn't happen in affluent homes.
  • Then, Lorna talks about her relationship with her father.
  • When she was 16, Lorna found out her father had another family.
  • Her family culture is to not rock the boat and she felt alone.
  • Lorna talks about a time in her life when she partied and used drugs an alcohol.
  • This was probably a way to get her father's attention.
  • After that, Emily shares what she want through after her children's father passed away.
  • Then, Lorna and Emily talk about how the abuse they experienced impacts them still.
  • In her late 20's Lorna listened to her intuition, left LA and went to Alaska to work on a road crew with AmeriCorps.
  • Emily asks how Lorna knew she had to go to Alaska and what it took for her to leave her comfort zone.
  • Lorna talks about what she learned about herself when she went to Alaska.
  • After Alaska, Lorna returned to California and found a therapist.
  • It's hard work to take a look at your patterns and lifestyle choices.
  • Lorna and Emily talk about the extensiveness of inner work and the importance of working with a therapist or coach.
  • Next, Lorna talks about how she balances writing and being a mother.
  • After that, Emily asks Lorna to talk about her writing process.
  • Finally, Lorna talks about who she is and that knowing she needed to heal was important for her.
  • Also, she had to learn how to trust and to be loved before she met her husband.

Resources Mentioned: