As you can see, I have named the photo-documentary project. I wrote the intro with my part of Samantha's story already, but need to edit it. It took me a long time to write what I already have, because even after years of going through all of this with Sissy, I sat and cried the whole time I was writing. Re-living a story like hers is just as traumatic the one hundred and first time as it was the very first time. With that being said, I thought I would post the first paragraph for you. Let me know what you think.

en·dure (verb)

1.       bear hardship – to experience exertion, pain, or hardship without giving up

2.       tolerate disagreeable things – tolerate or accept something that is extremely disagreeable

3.       survive – to last or survive over a period of time, especially when faced with difficulties

 

        I titled this book “Enduring the Burn” for several reasons.  The survivor has to endure not only the physical pain, but also the mental pain that goes with living through a burn injury.  The scars run deep, again, both mentally and physically.  You have to have endurance to be a survivor.  But the survivor isn’t the only one who suffers. The family members also share the survivor’s pain.  While they don’t feel the physical pain that comes with dressing changes or therapy, they do feel the emotional pain of watching someone they love suffer through such an experience. In both cases, enduring seemed to be the best word choice I could come up with.