This piece allowed me to work through another author’s process. I was able to see how different elements of CNF writing can be strategically and artistically applied to make a piece stand out. It also showed me how writing can be transformative for the writer and the audience. As someone with experience with addiction, I could relate on a personal level. But I also saw how if someone with no experience with addiction were to read this piece, they may gain some valuable insight into the opioid crisis we’ve all heard about in the news. This piece reinforced my interest in CNF as I saw it as a tool for personal catharsis but also social education, connection, and impact. Some may not understand the idea of harm reduction. But they may empathize with a grieving mother. CNF offers a personal route to the public interest. It encourages people to walk this route with the author in a way that is less daunting than diving into social and political issues that we often have biases and triggers around. And yet, this way of writing creates ample space for biases and triggers in a potentially more approachable manner. 

 

For most of us, we can clearly remember a piece of writing or creative work that left a lasting impression on us. The gift of Creative Nonfiction (CNF) is that these works are firmly rooted in real experiences. They are not a made-up story about how someone succumbed or overcame. It’s not an imaginary tale about how our social or political realities fail us or encourage us. It’s real stuff, told by real people. And that is powerful, not just for the writer and the reader who resonates. But for us as communities and organizations that are interested in making an impact or mobilizing change. 

 

In the other Artifacts, I have talked about frustration and ambiguity. This course and Artifact gave me the tools to move through frustration and ambiguity in an expressive and transformative way. It allowed me to talk about grief, hard work, losing friendships when our social or political perspectives did not align, participating in advocacy and activism, burning out from advocacy and activism and the myriad of other academic and personal experiences I have had in the last half-decade in a colourful, engaging manner. I’ve seen how writing using the tenets highlighted in my presentation above has helped me connect with others online and bring others together to talk about important issues through video projects and social media campaigns. And give a real, riveting voice to the things so many of us experience but don’t always know how to translate.