About My Mother Rusted Early

I recently had a story published titled My Mother Rusted Early. It was published at Sufferer’s Digest, a place for writing that explores human suffering.

I originally wrote this story with Rougarou in mind. Rougarou is a literary journal that one of my professors, Joe Baumann, was previously an editor for. The theme for their issue was “rust.”

Instead of going for fiction or poetry, nonfiction just seemed right to me. I have written a lot about my mother’s illness and it just seemed to come together. I imagined rust as physical death, or more accurately, physical deterioration. It happens to us all, but for most, it doesn’t really affect us until we’re older. But my mom never had that luxury.

I was a bit nervous to share the story with my mom. I had written it and had sent it out without talking to her about it. When I knew it had been accepted, I told her and she had seemed interested, but I undersold how personal it was. When it was finally published, I shared it with her. She told me she loved it and it was a great early Mother’s Day gift.

I have so much love and appreciation for my mother and I hope that it comes across in my writing. That short story was the first thing I ever had accepted for publishing, and I can’t help but be extraordinarily grateful for that. Mom, I’ll continue doing my best to make you proud.

Thanks👍🏾