land one of the positions in Pittsburgh, but
they were already full. Then they asked if I
could relocate. I mentioned I had family in
Alaska, and was soon packing my bags.”
Lawrence left in June and moved to Wasilla,
Alaska, about an hour north of Anchorage.
Her father lives there with his family and she
stays with them and commutes four days a
week to her job. She teaches 14 classes in
skills that range from phonics to reading
comprehension and writing.
“We have lesson plans provided to us by
the Institute, but it’s still a lot of work,” notes
Lawrence. “Although I was nervous at first,
one of my fourth grade students recently told
me I was the best teacher he’s ever had. It’s
done a lot to boost my confidence.”
Dealing with self-confidence and some of
its manifestations has been an ongoing issue
for her. In recent years, however, she has used
it to fuel her writing.
“During Christmas break of my junior
year, I was home for the holidays,” recalls
Lawrence. “I enjoyed being with my family
and having time away from school, but having
suffered with body image issues in the past
meant always needing to track my weight. By
the time I got back to school, I had gained
11 pounds. I was 100 pounds at the time,
so the 11-pound weight gain was healthy,
but I couldn’t accept it. I slipped back into
old habits to lose the weight, but I’m slowly
learning to accept my body.”
To help do that, she focused her Writing
Capstone project on her insecurities. She
wrote about times she would starve herself,
but also about times she was happy with
her weight. As a result, her chapbook, titled
“Eleven Pounds,” was published by Amazon
through CreateSpace.
“It has been an amazing experience,”
Lawrence says, “because not only has my
poetry helped me deal with a difficult area of
my life, it’s also helped a classmate of mine
who was suffering from the same problem.
She said my poems made her feel less alone.
And another classmate, a father of two young
daughters, bought my book to give to his
daughters when they are older.”
Lawrence’s writing, along with her book of
poetry, is just the beginning of what she hopes
will be a successful writing and publishing
career. While she’s already had a few of her
poems published in journals, she looks
forward to a job in magazine publishing.
“I really love reading and writing,” she
explains. “It’s something I’m passionate about,
and to know something I wrote has touched
someone else in a meaningful way is really
special to me.”
In the meantime, Wasilla, Alaska, is her
home away from home.
“It’s really beautiful,” says Lawrence. “In the
Mat-Su Valley, we are surrounded by gorgeous
mountains and the Big and Little Susitna (Su)
Rivers. My dad and I are going to try to hike
over the top of a mountain to a glacier this
summer to see a bomber that crashed there
many years ago. We tried it last summer but
didn’t quite make it all the way up. We’ve been
doing some training and hope to reach our
goal this time. We’re going to camp overnight,
too, so that should get the job done. I’m pretty
excited about it and happy I’ve found a little
home in the world. I’m pretty sure this is
exactly where I’m supposed to be for now.”
To read an excerpt from Brooke Lawrence’s
book, go to Amazon.com. n
Moon Township | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 11