A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in Sammi’s comment section.
I love this challenge! Today I learned a new word. Thank you, Sammi!
I dedicate this bit of story to my insightful therapist Wayne Witcher who did more for me than I can say. He came to one of my book signings a couple of years ago and two months later he died. As I always told him I’m…
HIS SUCCESS STORY
Wayne peered over his clipboard “What do you hope to accomplish by starving yourself to death, Rochelle?”
“They’ll be better off without me.”
Had it really been twenty years? She wished he were still alive to share this liminal time in her life.
She picked up an imaginary phone. “Wayne, someone important says she loves my manuscript!”
ORIGINAL ARTWORK Rochelle Wisoff-Fields….an illustration from A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Wayne sounds like a very special person for you Rochelle. I give thanks for people like him in our lives.
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Dear Francine,
Wayne was very special. He never belittled or doubted my flashbacks. He had a kind manner and a gentle sense of humor. When, after 3 years, we agreed I was well enough to not be in therapy, he told me talked out his own grief issues at losing me with a colleague. We kept in touch for years afterward. He became more than a therapist. He was a good friend. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Thank God for Wayne. And in lieu of speaking to him face to face, you can do as you’ve done here…soul to soul.
Shalom and lotsa love and gratitude that you’re still here,
Dale
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Dear Dale,
I can’t say enough good things about the man. I cherish the fact that he made it to that book signing when it was apparent his health was failing. Soul to soul indeed. Thank you.
Shalom and lotsa love and gratitude to have friends like you,
Rochelle
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At least he did manage to get to one…
Friends make all the difference.
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Wayne was a special person in our lives. I believe he is a primary reason we are still here and still together after this very dark period. Well done M’luv.
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You might be right, Jan. Thank you, m’luv.
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Oh, Rochelle. Your story gave me goosebumps. Affirmation is a wonderful thing, and I love your tribute to your therapist.
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Thank you so much, Jo.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I loved this – thank you – and thank you for the new word!
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You’re welcome and thank you, Jennifer. Although Sammi’s the one who finds the words to challenge us. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yay to people like Wayne, who are quiet and often unsung heroes. I’m so pleased he was there for you, and that you are telling of him here and that he’d been what you needed when you needed it, and and and … Here’s to meeting good souls in the tough places of our lives, and having them offer us a hand and a heart. It matters more than words can say.
Na’ama
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Na’ama Y’karah
All I can reply to that is “Amen.” Thank you so much.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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XOXO
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I do miss him. He became more than a therapist. He was my friend.
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I think I understand. I worked with someone briefly a long long while back, and we’d become friends later on. We had some shared professional interests and it became its own kind of friendship, boundaried by the realities of how we’d met, but we both knew that we’d have been friends no matter how we would have met. And as the years passed, it became a very special kind of friendship. We didn’t speak often, and we saw each other even more rarely, but our connection was built on no masks and deep empathy. I still believe we had been friends in some other life. When she first became ill, she knew I understood some of the hardship she was going through because of my own history. There were things she didn’t need to explain, and I think that helped, too. We’d have “Whine, hold the cheese” chats where we could laugh and grouch in equal measure. She passed away some years back, from a terminal recurrence of her illness. I miss her still and I am grateful for knowing her. It was a gift of friendship I am still thankful for. XO Na’ama
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I was so touched when the time came for me to quit therapy, Wayne told me he had to talk to a colleague re his grief issues at losing me. Not in a romantic way of course. But in three years we’d developed a relationship.
I love “whine hold the cheese.”
I am forever grateful he came to my book signing. When I hugged him and said, “You came!” He hugged me back and said, “How could I not?”
Lovely human being.
Hugs,
Rochelle
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Sounds like a VERY lovely human being! I’m so glad you had him in your life, and I am glad for him that he had you. Because sometimes our clients/patients can change us and become part of our lives in ways that are cherished and meaningful. I can only imagine how much you meant to him. Hugs!
Na’ama
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Gone but never to be forgotten, ever.
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Very true, Keith. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow a beautiful piece, Wayne sounds like an inspiration.
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He was, Shrawley. He most definitely was. Thank you. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I marvel at your writing abilities! My compu
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Dear Nan,
Thank you for such a lovely comment. From your mouth to a new publisher’s ears. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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