Jenna Forrest on having a sensitive childhood
A number of people claim to have had an idyllic or happy early life, the sort evoked by this photo: The Walk to Paradise Garden [1946] by W. Eugene Smith [from the page The child self / playing.]
But for many of us who have been highly sensitive all our lives, and had challenging experiences as children, that image does not fit.
Woody Allen, for example, has said that for as long as he can remember, he was a loner, hiding out in his room from the arguments of his parents, and the readiness of his mother in particular to respond to any provocation with a slap.” [From page: Early life 2.]
Author Jenna Forrest writes in a blog post: “At the age of seven, I was dramatically sensitive, ultra-shy, pretty picky and painstakingly conscientious.
“My pastime of choice was studying the mysterious intricacies of the world from the safety of the shrub outside my front door.
“Being most anywhere else put me in a panic. I tried hard to disguise my most blatant shortcoming — eruptive emotion — but failed time and time again.
“My sentiment just didn’t want to be buried. It always would find the fissure in my willful mental dam…”
She adds, “As an adult I came to realize how little is truly known about the day-to-day thoughts and feelings of sensitive kids. So, I began to write Help Is On Its Way from my personal experience.
“As I wrote however, I realized that the story was developing a voice of its own. It reminded me that this wasn’t just about my life. We’re all in this together, connected, living lives full of comedy and tragedy, failure and success, loss and hope.
“If we’re lucky along the way, we might somehow find a way to mold, recast, and refine our unhappy histories for our own sake — to let ourselves see our pasts differently… to start creating a brand new life. The hero, the artist, rises in us victorious.”
[From her post on the Inspired blog: What Writing Taught Me]
Also see her article Every Blessing and Curse is a Choice. Choose the Blessing!
Her book: Help Is On Its Way: A True Story
Dr. Elaine Aron says of the book: “Highly sensitive people will recognize their own childhood in Jenna Forrest’s radiant painting–using every hue in the emotional spectrum–of her years from seven to seventeen… Readers will be charmed by this sensitive woman’s unique creative force, a valuable reminder of their own.”
