When the Urge to Write Is a Life Sentence

Thank you this beautiful, moving piece about two incredibly courageous individuals. I spent a lot of time in Turkey throughout the 1990s and first decade of the 2000s, and will never forget Altan's incredible "Atakurt" piece that got him fired from Milliyet. He was at the forefront of some of Turkey's most independent journalism. Your spirit in the face of tremendous challenges is humbling and inspiring.

Writing is a means to express the life of the mind, and that life extends beyond the physical body. One's thoughts and ideas don't die when they are shared with others. Blessings to you both.

I don't want to demean the existential salience of both of your predicaments, but we are all serving life sentences and are terminally ill. The difference is that some of us, like you, have been made painfully aware of it, while the rest of us live on in a fog of delusional immortality. Which is better is not entirely clear.

What a powerful analogy. This piece is clean, clear, crisp - presenting a delicate subject in a most gentle way that the mind can grasp without revulsion or fear. These lines particularly struck me: “Fear itself is always more dangerous than the thing you fear. The fear of death is worse than dying. Fear takes you hostage and kills your resistance. “Will life imprisonment ultimately have been worth it, since it enabled you to create this book?” His reply was refreshingly frank: “Here is my honest answer: Yes, it is worth it. I need to tell you two things about myself: First, when I don’t write, I’m nothing, I’m very ordinary; there’s no difference between my presence and absence. I’m a restless person. Writing protects me from my nothingness and restlessness. I need to write in order to protect myself from myself.” These words are inspiring in their courage to 'keep on keeping on' in the face of adversity to make sense of what's happening with a tool (writing) that helps the mind process what is occurring without knowing what the outcome will be. I work with people to help them manage anxiety and panic. I am sharing this piece with them today. A fine piece of writing. Thank you. Best wishes to you both.