I Have a Voice: The Healing Power of Words

In the recent Oscar winning movie "The King’s Speech," King George VI, who suffers from stuttering, shyness and insecurities struggles to find his voice as he leads the nation through World War II.  In a powerful scene his speech coach Lionel Logue, goads him and asks,” Why should I listen to you?” To which the kings yells without stammering, “Because I have a voice.” His coach smiles wryly and replies, “Yes you do.”

 This beautiful movie was written by a 74 year old man, David Seidler, himself a stutterer and now a throat cancer survivor who once lived on Long Island. When he won the Oscar he jokingly referred to himself as a “late bloomer.”

All too often society has a way of discounting the words of our seniors in the community. When people become older they tend to become invisible and are often ignored. Depression sets in among seniors for many reasons, loss of a job, loss of a spouse, loss of a family as kids grow older and move away or the simple reason that no one will take the time to listen to them. Massapequa is home to many seniors who have lived here since the 50’s and are now facing their golden years alone. They have rich stories to tell and need to be heard.

The has sponsored a writing group since 1991 and twice a year has a literary tea. The group is run by Mary Haughey a spirited 79year old widow.  For two hours every Thursday, she leads this group of scribes ranging in age from 45 to 90, but during that time something magical happens. I have watched over the past two years as this special group of seniors weave a rich fabric of stories which have brought us to tears and to laughter.

We listened as a man from Hungary, who escaped the Russian invasion, read his story of coming to America for the first time and tried to figure out how to eat a banana, a fruit he had never seen in his life. He learned that it tastes better when you peel it. We cried with the veterans who shared their stories of lost comrades in battle. We heard tales of first loves and watched as love bloomed between a widower and a widow in this group that resulted in a marriage. We heard stories of immigrant’s first impression of America and their experiences of landing in a foreign country. We watched our writers struggle through their own illness cancer, strokes, and MS and encouraged them on their journey toward health with healing words of compassion and positive thoughts.

 Last week, I attended the literary tea where books of their stories are presented in a bound copy with wonderful artwork and photos put together each year by the reference librarian Lee Gundel. I was struck as one of the writers; Rita Drucker came to the podium, held her head high and proudly articulated the words of her story. Two years ago she suffered a stroke and could barely talk. She spoke with clarity and conviction as the group cheered her on.

Another woman, Joan Hershkowitz, was beaming with pride as she read her poem that had been published for the first time in the local newspaper. “I was just the shyest person around and this group has been wonderful for me," she said.  "I can’t believe the transformation. Having my story published is a wonderful journey and I hope it’s the beginning of great things to come.”

The writers all agreed that, "Mary is remarkable in her ability to listen," according to one group member, Florence Warren. "She concentrates on everyone and gives her all to the class." 

John Theofanis has been with the group for three years and feels that the writing group is “inspiring and helpful.  "Even though I have been published only once in the local paper, it’s a wonderful experience," he said. " I am sharing these experiences with my grandchildren who want to know these things. I think Mary is wonderful. She doesn’t critique or criticize but she does something far more important, she is inspiring us to write and not to be afraid of rejection.”

 At the end of the program visitors came up to the podium and expressed how impressed they were with the stories they heard. One young mother, Elizabeth Cooper wheeled her infant to the front and said the  readings exceeded her expectation.

"When my husband heard I was going to the literary tea he told me not to expect much, They will have some food but it will be boring," she said. " This was anything but boring. These stories were amazing. Some of them brought me to tears, some of them made me smile. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster sitting here and listening.”

 Haughey was also moved by the emotions the writers touched.  “Good writing whether it's prose or poetry touches an inner core, a responsive place inside of you," she said.

"We are looking for something inside of us that we can share with another person. There is very little sharing in this world. When you come to a group like this there is a tremendous amount of trust, confidence, and hope and that’s what makes it work.”

 Through this writing group 30 seniors have come together from all different countries and all walks of life to tell their stories. They have found their voice.