This year for BlissDom Canada, the conference is breaking out into a series of microsessions for the Saturday morning portion.
There are a number ofmicrosession topics that I had my eye on, but one stood out as being very beneficial for my blog right now: Blogging the Super Personal.
Many of you know what I have recently begun talking about my personal story of childhood abuse and sexual assault. This form of intimate blogging can be very terrifying, but also rewarding.
This specific microsession topic covers the idea of personal blogging; How much do you share? Is there a line? Is it cheaper than therapy? 
I had messaged the Microsession Leader, Julie Cole, to ask if she thought the session was a good fit given what I blog about. The description sounded a little more along the lines of loss, grief, disease, etc. So I wanted to be sure.
Julie and I have followed each other for some time and I have always enjoyed her posts. She has made a name for herself, not only as the co-founder of Mable’s Labels, but also as a blogger and well known Canadian mom. She shares openly her family stories, opinions and advice for fellow parents. Julie is also a strong advocate for her child with autism.
Through the back and forth of our conversation, Julie extended the invitation for me to attend all three time slots for the session and co-present with her. Being newer to the very-personal blogging (I have only recently begun opening up and sharing my past) I can present a bit of a transitional look at starting out the journey & making that leap.
I am very excited, though a tad nervous. Julie has assured me the session will be very relaxed and casual, but this will really be my first speaking/presenting engagement as a blogger.
Ideally speaking, it won’t be my last
Hi … I didn’t get a chance to get to your microsession. It was on my list. I have wanted to talk about child sexual abuse, but from a different angle — from the mother’s point of view as I am a mother of a child that was sexually abused by a spouse of mine. My daughters and I lived through it together. There is a taboo about talking about and no real help for the mother either.
It is difficult to know how much to talk about.
Hi Darleen. Thank you for sharing that. I think it would be a very valuable story to share with others. I often think about the emotional aspects my mom faced at the time and has faced more so since I have started to open up about the truth. It could be a very healing process for both you and your daughters. You are absolutely right that there isn’t really many resources for the family of sexually abused victims. I don’t think many people think about the effect that the abuse has on them. I have watched my mother, father and brothers all shed tears over what has happened to me and I see the heartbreak they have felt for me.
You only have to share how much to feel comfortable sharing, but my one major piece of advice would be to make sure your daughter is fully aware of your plans. Maybe even invite her to share in the process.
If you ever want to talk about this further, please let me know. I am more than happy to help or even just listen.