You Are The Gatekeeper

Hi y’all,

Welcome to the Brave The Page book club. I am excited to read to you from the last chapter of the first section of the book, “You Are The Gatekeeper.” As it sounds, gatekeeping implies controlling access, be it to a place, a person, or a story. When we think about the process of healing and writing our stories, we must be willing to look at who have been our gatekeepers in the past and perhaps even in the present.

In this chapter, I discuss the feelings that often arise when writing our stories, of feeling like “too much” and/or “not enough.” I’ve seen this happen again and again with writers who stop in their tracks because they feel like what they’re sharing is “too much” for others to hear, and others who say “it’s not enough,” thinking that their storytelling is insignificant. Often, this language stems from places where gatekeepers have stood in our lives, telling us how to be, speak, or behave. What feeling resonates more for you, the feeling of not enough or the feeling of too much? What stories are attached to those? Who helped reinforce those messages from a young age?

"If you picture the moments in your life that have shaped how you view yourself as “too much” or “not enough,” who is at the front of those stories? Perhaps it’s a teacher who said you were underperforming, a jealous friend who said you were just trying to get attention, a family member who said you were too sensitive, or a religious leader who said you should be submissive toward authority. There are so many more we can name, but each of these is a shining example of a story gatekeeper. To begin healing this language of “not enough / too much,” we must begin to heal the wounds caused by the gatekeepers of our past. This is challenging because many of us have become so accustomed to letting someone else have the keys to our stories, but if we are going to take charge of our narratives, we need to take those keys back from those who stole them from us in the first place.”


Here is a prompt to consider:

+ When you think back on the moments in your life when you felt like you were either too much or not enough, what stories come to mind?

Create two lists, one for “too much” and the other for “not enough.” Take some time to write down whatever moments, big or small, that come to mind. Include who the gatekeepers were that rooted this belief in you. After you finish these two lists, imagine yourself standing at the gate of your stories, strong and confident, offering a new validation to yourself: “I am not too much. I am more than enough.”

Please let me know what awakens for you, which quotes stand out, and anything else you’d like to share. I look forward to hearing from you.

Love, Megan

If you haven’t yet, you can order your copy (print/ ebook/ or audiobook) from wherever you buy books.

Sending love and chat soon,
Megan

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