The Stories We Tell

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure tells the story of Dorothy Allison as she comes to terms with her past and strives to move beyond it, to be empowered and embodied by it. In this short memoir, Allison explores the relationship she has with her mother and how that relationship has influenced her individuality and character, whose complacency has restricted Allison. Allison breaks away from the stories she has been told to tell a new story of abuse and disembodiment in which she finds love, and in turn, embodiment; the unification of her body and spirit. Story-telling and writing is a form of self-love, and self-love leads to embodiment. In my research, I explored three novels and the women’s lives the stories tell. I looked at Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison, Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. With Allison’s novel as a backdrop, I discovered that these three novels tell the stories of women who must break away from their seemingly complacent mothers and their lifestyle to find unity within their self and body