Today I would like to introduce you to a real-life superhero. You may not be aware, but they really do exist—and I happen to be married to one of them. You see, my wife Gina is a superhero, and storytelling is her superpower. She has the ability to assemble words in a way that conveys truth and elicits emotion, tying concepts and thoughts together as if by magic.
I have watched and read enough superhero movies and comic books to know that all superheroes have an origin story. They usually get their powers from overcoming some sort of adverse experience, like exposure to toxicity—radiation, for example. Gina wasn’t exposed to radiation, but she did develop her superpower at an early age in response to life events that made her feel like she had no voice of her own.
Lately, Gina has been documenting her origin story and publishing it in her “Once a Time a Time” newsletter/blog. She is currently on Part 3, but that post contains links to the earlier parts of the series so you can catch up.
By recounting her origin story, she is highlighting the life experiences that contributed most to the creation of her superpower. To truly tell the story, though, she will need to dig deep, revisit her earlier writings, and confront the darkest days of her life in order to shed light on them—and to bring them out into the world, where she can use them to hopefully help others, and also herself.
Hence her latest offering: a trip through journal entries she wrote during her years of living in an abusive marriage. To survive those days, she decided she needed to document the events occurring in her life and home, and the domestic violence situation in which she was living.
“When I could re-read my accounts written in my own words, out of the heat of the moment, I realized the frequency of the events and I came to comprehend with greater and greater awareness that, yes, this really was happening and, yes, it was really bad.”
Gina and I have been together for over 30 years now, and we have talked in great depth about those days, but it crushes me to read these journal entries. I abhor her ex and the things he did to harm her. If these journals were difficult for me to read, I can’t fathom how hard it must have been for Gina.
But that is what makes her a superhero, and the storytelling she is doing right now a real superpower. She has told many stories in her past writings, but this is her story, and it’s critical that it be told—and she is the one who needs to tell it. Not only for herself, as she continues her journey to reclaim her voice, but to bring light into the world so that it might brighten someone else’s escape from such a situation. She really is using her superpower for good.
I have been in awe of Gina as long as I have known her. She is my best friend, and I think each day that it isn’t possible for me to love her more than I do—but then tomorrow comes, and of course I do. She is a brave warrior who has inspired me and helped me face my past as a child sexual abuse survivor. She has cared for me during my health challenges, physical and mental—including 17 months of cancer treatments and the ongoing issues that has brought us. She continues to challenge and push herself to be a better person, to become her true self, and I am grateful each and every day that I get to witness this and, hopefully, help her as she has helped me.
You, Gina, are indeed a superhero, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.
Your thoughts?