Thoughts on the great memoir, Lit, by Mary Karr

I found the pages of Mary Karr's memoir wildly funny, some passages causing me to laugh out loud. But her truths are at the same time uncomfortably sad and somehow familiar. Will I ever be able to tell my own truths in such metaphoric accuracy?

Karr's memory of her father is bittersweet, even to me and I didn't even know him. Her descriptions of his strange sayings recall my own mother's voice repeating the same phrases over and over again: You look like a refugee. I'm just telling it like it is. She don't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of. I guess if she said stick your head in the oven you'd do that too.

Each person has his or her own story. All the joys and heartaches - but most of the time we only want to world to know the joys, like a Christmas letter telling about junior's athletic prowess and sister's love of baton twirling and so on. But what are the real truths beneath what we shout to the world? Are we giving our truths to the world? And what are they?

Our Golden Shadow is composed of our good things that we deny or hide from the world. We are usually quick to admit our shortcomings, but slow to accept praise. We need to listen when someone tells us we have done something well. Enhance your own truths and talents. Develop your natural gifts, and find your joy. What is your passion? What do you love to do when the time seems to zip by, and 2, 4, or 6 hours later you look up and say to yourself where did the time go?

Mary Kitt re-discovered her golden shadow, and has presented it to the world. She is fearless.