Thursday, March 12, 2015

The kind of naked I do not like to be so could you please help?

I have the honor of being part of the 2015 This Is My Brave cast.

What does this mean?

It means that a group of us will each be sharing a 5-minute story of our own experiences with mental illness. It means standing up on stage in front of an audience of strangers and speaking from our hearts and lives on a topic that is still highly stigmatized. It means talking to break the stigma.

I'm proud of my audition piece. Crafting it was extremely difficult, and I learned a tremendous amount about myself in doing so. It was surprisingly healing.

And now, now I need a 2-4 sentence bio.

I'm comfortable telling stories about what's in my heart. I'm very not comfortable defining who I am. I mean, who am I? In 2-4 sentences?

Honestly, getting physically naked makes me more comfortable than getting this kind of naked in public.

But I can't just submit a naked picture of myself. I mean, one, that would be weird. Particularly in the boot. Two, I'm certain it would get me kicked off the cast. So I need a brief bio.

I asked for help on Facebook, and a number of friends very kindly did so. I took their suggestions, removed the extremely complimentary adjectives (oh, thank you, friends!) and the references to merkins, penii, my House of Cards extra-ness and the like (thank you again, friends!), and crafted this:

Lisa Jordan is a writer, wife, daughter, and mother to two young kids. Lisa documents her life journey on her blog, Lemon Gloria, sharing her stories of marriage, depression, suicide, motherhood, and life’s stranger moments and everyday pleasures with equal gravity and humor. She is working on a book about growing up with suicide.

What do you think?

I need to know by tomorrow. But preferably right now, like, this minute.

Thank you.

10 comments:

  1. I think it's perfect. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. You're charming, witty, beautiful and a wonderful writer and friend and human being. You're the center of your family, a very loving family.

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    1. Heather, you are so endlessly lovely. Thank you so very much for your kind words and your constant support. Thank you.

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  2. Best wishes for you at the event, you'll do great. Looking forward to hearing how it goes if you want to share. Keeping you in my thoughts.

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    1. And! I will most certainly keep you all updated! Are you kidding me?!? :)

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  3. I think the bio is perfect!

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  4. Perfect. Just... Perfect. Xoxo

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  5. Great stuff...I hate writing short bios too. And then you need different ones for different audiences and it all gets too tough and you just want to throw your hands in the air and drink wine.... I have even blogged about it to help others! http://blackcoffeecommunications.com.au/writing-a-short-bio-that-doesnt-suck/ signed. Not Big D (really need to change that)

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    1. Nicole, every time I see Big D it throws me and then I remember it is you. Thank you for the terrific article. I'll go back to it again when I have to write another of these, particularly for work.

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