Write the Stories, Just to Have Them

You could write a book about it! How often do we hear that phrase in response to the adventures that life tosses us? The difference is that some actually do write the book!

I had the opportunity recently to sit with IWAP member Helen Notzl over a deep cup of coffee, and to ask her about her book, launched in Prague in April 2019. Long Journey Home: A Prague Love Story is a fascinating memoir of her life, lived back and forth between the two worlds of Prague and Toronto.

Each of us has stories to tell – of places we have lived, personal discoveries we have made, childhood experiences we have grown through, young loves explored, dramas and tragedies survived, amazing people encountered, mysteries solved, troubles escaped, obstacles overturned, lessons learned, wisdoms shared. Some of these stories become family legends, others are simply lost in time and space.

So what was the process that led Helen to pull her stories together, and to painstakingly write, rewrite, edit and complete the work?

Helen’s life weaves many interesting stories that very easily lend themselves to a long tale of discovery. You will have to read her book to find out. She has always been a journaler, and her years as a therapist and life coach gave encouragement for her to pay attention to not only what has been going on around her but also to what has been going on within.

Her book seems to have had a life of its own. It began with a powerful need to understand and come to terms with the culture her family could never fully leave behind when they fled communist Czechoslovakia in the late 1940s, and continued through the decades. At each point, she had little stories to tell, and she began to write them down, just to have them. When she told these stories to others, they were intrigued.

She began to compile her little life stories, to draw out the connecting threads, to reflect clearly and openly, and to find her voice. Short courses in writing, encouraging friends, and helpful input from a supportive mentor and editor helped Helen to take it from one step to the next. It was a ten year process of discipline, details and dedication.

So Helen wrote her book! It is published and launched! And now, after that, perhaps a movie?

The IWAP Book Club will be reading and discussing this book in November.