Call For Submissions — Shame

Image by Gage Walker

What a loaded word. Reading the word shame triggers so many emotions for me personally. If you’ve read my pieces, you know I speak about the shame I felt as a teenage parent not being able to provide for my daughter the way I can now. And even though things are different, part of me can’t let that shame go.

My shame was wrapped up in my false understanding of what it meant to be a father. I thought it was all about the money, and while being able to provide financially is certainly vital, it’s not the only measure of a good parent. It took me years to recognize that.

Shame is like that, though. It can be brought on by your personal perception of yourself or by what some expectation that others place on you. For this week’s writing prompt, tell us about how shame has presented itself in your life.

Are you still dealing with it or have you overcome? Was it your own internal insecurities that caused this shame or was it a cultural expectation you failed to live up to?

Same rules as always:

• You can submit to this or ANY of our past writing prompts. Just scroll through our previous newsletters. They’ll be marked “Call for Submissions.”
• If you’re already a writer for CRY, go ahead and submit.
• Be as creative as you want in your submissions. As long as you stick to the topic, we’ll consider it.
• Just because you submit doesn’t mean we’ll post. If you haven’t heard back from us in three days, consider that a pass.