We recently connected with Jennifer Crystal and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jennifer, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I’m asked this question a lot, because resilience is a key theme in my memoir, ONE TICK STOPPED THE CLOCK. The answer is somewhat ironic: the place I got sick is the same place that gave me the resilience to survive my medical journey. I was lucky enough to spend 10 summers at a camp in Maine where I learned to waterski, canoe, and swim, but moreover, learned to work through challenges, to work for certain honors sometimes over several summers (try, try again!), and to work with other people. Camp taught me resilience, independence, and perserverance. It also happens to be where I got the tick bite that changed my life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a writer, educator, and patient experience representative who is passionate about the transformative power of personal narrative. I created and teach the application-based Writing to Heal Immersive Program at Grub Street Creative Writing Center; I am a weekly columnist for the Global Lyme Alliance; and I am a Senior Writer and Patient Experience Representative for Harvard Health Publishing. I am also the author of ONE TICK STOPPED THE CLOCK. In all of my roles, I strive to elevate the patient voice and to help others take agency over their own stories. You can learn more about me and my work at www.jennifercrystal.com.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The first quality is perserverance. I have always been a go-getter. I learned early, if at first you don’t suceed, try, try again. Perserverance helped me to get into the college of my dreams, to get published, and to survive tick-borne illness and thrive in the context of it. My advice is to find what it is that you really want and do everything in your power to fight for it. Don’t expect anything to come easily, and don’t take anything for granted.
The second quality is empathy. As a teacher of personal narrative, it’s important that I create a space for my students where they feel safe writing and sharing their stories. I need to have compassion for their experiences and to hold them gently. I learned empathy from fictional role models like Atticus Finch; from real-life writers and heroes like Maya Angelou and Gerda Weissmann Klein; and from family members and friends. My advice is to remember that everyone has a story. What you see on the outside is probably just the very outer layer of a multi-faceted person. Before judging, try to determine the “why” of someone’s behavior. Take the time and make the effort to walk in their shoes.
The third area of knowledge is writing craft, which is of course still developing. Everyone has a story and deserves to share it. To do so well, in a way that creates art and meaning from experience and resonates with readers, requires fine-tuned writing skills. I’ve been studying and practicing writing since elementary school. In college, I was an English major with a creative writing focus, and I have an M.F.A. in creative writing. I geek out on syntax, structure, and diction. Single sentences keep me up at night. I am continually refining my own craft, learning with and from my students. My advice is to remember that no matter how good you are at something, there is always more to learn. Find ways to practice what you love and to learn from others in the field.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Gerda Weissmann Klein’s ALL BUT MY LIFE has played an important role in my life and in my career. I first read this Holocaust survivor’s memoir in ninth grade. Gerda came to speak in my town that year. I saw myself in her story, not just because I was her age when she was taken by the Nazis and what happened to her could have happened to me. Not just because our birthdays were only two days apart. Not just because we both love chocolate. I saw in her–both in her written words and in her presence–a zest for life, a fierce determination, a resolve to remain humble and grateful no matter the circumstances. I wrote a letter to Gerda after she spoke. She wrote me back, encouraging me to follow my writing dreams. I still have that letter. In my darkest days of illness, I thought of Gerda’s story. In ONE TICK STOPPED THE CLOCK, I describe how certain scenes and quotes from ALL BUT MY LIFE helped me to hang on when I otherwise thought I couldn’t. Now on the other side of illness, helping others to write their stories, I use excerpts from ALL BUT MY LIFE in my classes, and show students Gerda’s letter. I am forever indebted to her inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jennifercrystal.com
Image Credits
Jessica Vultaggio
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