If you&rsquo;ve never experienced a stroke, heart attack, survived one or more forms of cancer, gone through a major breakdown, or lost somebody to any of these illnesses you might be wondering if you have a health related story inside you that you&rsquo;ve been wanting to share with somebody. Unfortunately, you&rsquo;ve given it a thought or more and then let the moment pass or just dropped it out of frustration. Thinking your own stories, however, life-changing, are not much different or as interesting as those folks whose lives were turned completely upside down, I have one thing to say: You couldn&rsquo;t be wronger.And if you had a stroke over a Christmas weekend as I did last year, and still suffer from a case of over-shyness when it comes to writing from the first person perspective -- you really couldn&rsquo;t be wronger! <div>&nbsp; &nbsp;I was wrong. Wrong to drop the "I word" and sticking within the rules of writing. Gotta look professional, and right on top of my game, right? Not necessarily. After all, when you're hit with a major illness, a stroke, painful injury or know of somebody who has, do you honestly think that person is or should be so tied up in knots about how he or she will come across? Nope, not especially when you have the gift of your honest look-back at how your arrived in your present situation and want to share the positives -- and yes -- even the negatives as a gift of insight so that others will learn from your experience and take whatever they can in order to pursue their dreams of getting their lives back. &nbsp; &nbsp;Don't hold back on using the "I word." Sure, it's awkward and most people who grew up in the "Baby Boom" era. We were forever, it seemed, facing stern looks from our teachers in parochial, private and public schools, but how on earth were we able to express what was literally eating us from within our cancer ridden bodies and minds. And how could others learn as well that they're not travelling alone. Go ahead and share what you've been through, are presently dealing with and expect to deal with soon. Always nice to know our problems aren't ours alone to shoulder.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>

Steven Barrett

Update: At home with the I-Word, It's your story to share! – by Steven Barrett