In 18 years of living with Harriet, by far the single complaint I've heard most often is this: I don't have time to do my art!
As a writer, I understand this very well. Time is an asset to an artist. How do most artists find time? The same way I did: by being selfish. The art comes first and everything else comes second. This has consequences, sometimes disastrous ones, especially in relationships. But there it is.
Harriet is not selfish. She spreads herself very thin and ends up having too little time for herself, her art. And she bitches, at least privately to me, about it.
Now the gods have given her a great gift and a great opportunity. If she follows the recovery program, she will end up with much more time to do her art. If she follows the program, she can enter the most personal, creative and productive phase of her artistic life.
But I know Harriet. There is no guarantee she will follow the program. It's hard for her to put her own needs first.
I will encourage her to follow the program, to be a little selfish for a change. I hope her friends do as well.
How to tell a story
