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Write a creative nonfiction piece about something you're grateful for.

Posted in Nonfiction on Jul 26, 2024

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✍️ 65 stories

The Fighter

Submitted to Contest #261

CW: Mentions of suicidal ideation, mental health struggles, anorexia nervosa**First of all, I very much know how much it hurts. Quite literally, it does.You sit in your wheelchair as they push you bumpily and help you up the maroon leather-backed banquette at the very front of a coffee chain’s branch in the hospital’s lobby. You’re fully aware that the mobile chair is but standard operating procedure for leaving the medical centre, yet the mere idea of your willpower being excised along with that gangrene bit of your small intestine the surg...

61 likes 83 comments 83
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Thank You, Reedsy

Submitted to Contest #261

Thank You, Reedsy Dear Reedsy,I wish to express my gratitude to all the creators, staff, professional support members and, of course, the talented contributing authors that make up the Reedsy community. As an aspiring author entering the weekly short story contests my linguistic pursuits have been enhanced and inspired by this online family.Before I relate my journey let me thank and congratulate Laura for her tenure as prompt coordinator in Reedsy Prompts for the pass five years, if I understand correctly, and welcome Isabelle to the positi...

41 likes 66 comments 66
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Thanks?

Submitted to Contest #261

Dear Dad,It has been almost forty years since you stepped out of my life in the most cliché-ridden manner possible. Not just a bad heart that attacked you; not just on the day that you were to be released from hospital; not just when all the signs were good for you and your health. It was the day itself that stays with me.Seriously? December 23rd? I guess that you really wanted to avoid the holidays that year, right?Sorry, bad joke. They seem to be the only kinds I have when I think about you. We had even purchased a gift for you (Christmas ...

21 likes 18 comments 18
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The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Writer

Submitted to Contest #261

Watching the 2024 Olympics in Paris and hearing  the profiles of all the athletes who are competing, made me realize how very much alone we, as writers are in own field of dreams. Each athlete interviewed had personal stories to tell about coaches, teammates, family, friends and sometimes entire towns cheering them on. When they had doubts, when they fell, numerous supporters were ready at a moment’s notice to help them back on their feet. And when they were finally in the arena, thousands of spectators watched, cheered and applauded th...

16 likes 6 comments 6
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Gratitude Can be Hard

Submitted to Contest #261

 I find it hard to be grateful. The feeling is somewhat foreign to me, as I am oft mired in self-loathing and sadness. Thus, finding things to be grateful for is difficult.That’s not to say that I am lacking such things, only that I am very bad at seeing them. Thus, in the spirit of this week’s prompt, I have decided to enumerate the many good things in my life, in the form of a handy- and easily digestible -numbered list. 1. My Good Looks.To start off, we have perhaps the least valuable item. I am, by most accounts, at the very least d...

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A twisted backpacking journey

Submitted to Contest #261

I weighed my pack before going and it was 45lbs and my dog's pack was 10lbs. I left the motel after an egg and bacon breakfast sandwich. The drive to the trailhead went through Kootenay National Park and then connected with Banff National Park. It was a gorgeous hike through the woods with several viewpoints along the way to the Ink Pots. Such a beautiful scenic walk through some meadows overlooking the Banff Sawback Mountain Range. There were a few steep portions, but since it was my first day, I had the energy!I arrived at the campsite and...

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Colouring Outside of the Lines

Submitted to Contest #261

School brought the smell of the herd; brown leather straps, regulation pens, black and blue pulled out of a multi-pack, ‘rather see than be ya’, Purple Cow… And Mrs Arnot…Mary Ann Bretton! What on earth do you call this? I don’t know what colour the cattle are where you come from, but I’m fairly certain they’re not purple. Are you really so stupid that you can’t even complete a simple colouring task? Cows are brown, Mary Ann… Brown!Shockwaves of icy blue, stun gun electrocution sparks. The split-second eyes-wide-open upward chin-jolt, and do...

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The Black Dog hates mountains

Submitted to Contest #261

“I never told you this, but I visited a priest three years ago.” Mama admitted, sipping on her Campari Orange. “I brought him a picture of you, told him what you’ve been through all these years and asked if you were cursed.” She then gazed adoringly at the Christmas gift I had just given her - a positive pregnancy test - and her look turned warmer with appreciation. “Multumesc lui Dumnezeu!” Mama had developed a habit out of thanking God for my health, accomplishments and happiness. When I would earn a well-deserved promotion after years of ...

14 likes 13 comments 13
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Bound By Gratitude

Submitted to Contest #261

What is gratitude? According to the dictionary, it is the feeling of being grateful. But what does that truly mean? Gratitude in practice is the mental state and emotional response characterized by feelings of thankfulness and appreciation. What does that feel like as a human? Having gratitude feels warm like a nice spring day right on the cusp of summer. It brings us joy and happiness, the type that makes us grin and our cheeks pink. It also builds relationships when we express gratitude for one another. It fosters a closenes...

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I AM

Submitted to Contest #261

When I was in my late forties, the men I’d known since childhood began dying – one by one I lost all three of my uncles in a year and a half. Then, in one terrible week, a close childhood friend and my dad (my anchor) both succumbed to cancer. Unable to cope with the enormity of these losses, my mind went spiraling out of control. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, I felt caught up in the eye of a tornado. Everything and everyone seemed to be flying away from me, buffeted by the wind until I was left with only my paranoid psychotic delus...

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The Gift of a Quiet Morning

Submitted to Contest #261

In the frenetic pace of daily life, it's easy to overlook the moments of tranquility that offer respite from the chaos. One such moment I have grown to cherish deeply is the quiet morning. I'm grateful for the stillness of early hours, the peaceful interlude between the chaos of yesterday and the demands of today.My appreciation for quiet mornings began during a particularly stressful period of my life. I was juggling a demanding job, personal obligations, and a relentless stream of physical issues that were on the rise. It seemed like there...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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Dad’s Fine With Me

Submitted to Contest #261

What the hell is he doing? Gassing a frog? That's not right. My brain calculated as terrifying and sick things clashed, messing up my stomach and mind. Goosebumps sprouted like braille on paper.Jimmy, my cousin, caused us more trouble every time he visited. I was horrified as I saw Jimmy's eyes dance with excitement at the flaming frog leaping around.What a hack! I turned away, helpless—the young girl in me couldn't save it. Even though I was woozy-legged and my stomach was turning at the horrible sight, it gave me strength.#Jimmy's actions ...

10 likes 4 comments 4
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My What-If

Submitted to Contest #261

You have long been my what-if, and here I sit in tears with a bottle half full and half empty of wine.“I don’t want to give you false hopes,” you said, finally giving me closure. You don’t want to be with me, and if you did, I probably wouldn’t want to be with you.It’s your lack of interest, I bet, that makes me want you. Your lack of interest, I bet, that makes me experience what I’ve labelled love – only, it isn’t love. It’s what I grew up with: it’s a craving for validation. And yet if you were to validate me, I’d probably lose interest.“...

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Travel Through Italy With Me

Submitted to Contest #261

Italy. Birthplace of the Renaissance. Motherland of Da Vinci and Galileo and Julius Caesar. Home to fashion, history, and art. Center of the great Roman Empire. The eternal circulation of culture and food like blood in our arteries. Neptune, Venus, and many more reside here, and we just hope to get a glimpse. We hope to glimpse at the churches that tickle the sky and the cobblestone forever worn by generations of people. We hope to smell garlic floating through the air and cigarettes that stick to your clothing, similar to velcro.  The ...

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Dear patients, here are the things I never said

Submitted to Contest #261

One early summer morning in the quiet hour of dawn, I opened the door to let in some fresh air and was delighted to be greeted by a feathered guest. In the curvature of my hanging wreath, a beautiful round bird nest of twigs and dried moss was tucked away perfectly between two silk flowers. Inside the nest, a mother sparrow sat very still on her eggs. She looked at me curiously and cautiously from the side of her head, tilting slightly without making a sound. For the next couple of weeks, I was in awe watching her sit patiently on top of wha...

9 likes 1 comment 1
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