Composing A Life

Okay, so I've been asked to submit a piece for an upcoming anthology. While I have lots to tell about my life, I'm wondering how much is too much to share. I'm writing a tribute to my mother, and I want to tell all the great things she taught me about life; how she pampered me with facials before they were popular; how she gave me permission as a little girl to be exactly who the hell I wanted to be; and share why my mother continues to be my shero. But, in order to do this, I feel as if I need to share details of the s*i# she endured. If I do this, a lot of people will be pissed. While I don't care about people being pissed, I do care about my mother and her feelings. For years there have been so many family secrets and keeping them has been a bi#ch. Now, I've reached a juncture in life where keeping secrets is for someone else. My position is: If you don't want the sh*& told, don't tell me. I don't want to be a co-conspirator in Other People's craziness. I want to write a tell all piece. I want to talk about how my relatives (aunts from both sides) chose not to participate in my life; I want to tell how they didn't support my mother; therefore, leaving her out there all on her own; I want to tell how they considered her an outsider because she didn't finish college and marry the right man, one that my grandmother wanted to choose; I want to talk about all the abuse churches heap on women; I want to talk about all the gatekeepers who think they are the only ones and tell them, get a life. I want my submission to be a manifesto of sorts. I want to let them all have it.

So as I compose my life, in writing, what is alright to tell. I want to do a Maya as in "The Caged Bird." I want to sing; I want to be the canary.