Tammy Letherer 
In last week’s newsletter, I asked readers to take a peek at my first article as guest author on DivorcedMoms.com. I was at 1,300 views and hoping to earn a bronze star on that site.
Fast forward (and I mean fast)… that blog was picked up and featured on the Huffington Post’s Divorce page, then picked up by HP Germany and today appeared in Australia’s IVillage.
The DM editor told me I’d gone viral.
No wonder I’m feeling a little dizzy and having trouble catching my breath. Of course I’m thrilled at the response, but under that is a twinge of unease, because I have to confess:
I don’t want to write about divorce.
I don’t enjoy reliving that story, and I don’t want to add another “he done me wrong” tale to the world. My book’s “hook” gets attention for being a shocking scene, but can’t convey my journey or its outcome. That’s the danger in posting an excerpt from a book.
What I wish could be embedded between the lines of every scene are the questions I’m most interested in posing:
What’s YOUR story? What do you want it to be? Does it bring you joy? How can you rewrite it?
So I’m grateful that these few pages got to take a spin around the world, as long as they bring readers back home to the real message of our souls: that whatever challenges we face, we are never
powerless to deal with them.
My article had nearly 600 comments, many along the lines of how clueless I was, and how stupid it was of me to initially want to save my marriage. Insults, yes. That’s OK.
Because power comes from first sharing what is true for each of us, and then being willing to re-examine, or rewrite, the meaning we give our experiences.
Most meaningful to me is the knowledge that we live our stories in order to learn that we can rise above them.
I am so glad for you that your blog has gone viral.
One thing I have been afraid of his criticism and negative comments. I have recently learned and I have heard this before that any press is good press even bad Press. So I understand why you don’t mind the negative comments about your article. The whole idea is to get people talking. And that can be accomplished whether they agree or disagree and with the point of view.
Congratulations!