Meet the author: Nicole Bachoke
Thank you for sharing this powerful story with us. Could you tell us about what inspired you to write it?
My story is a true story and not from the imagination. I have written this story about the death of my father, and how my family went from a bad life to a good life. You must understand how life can change and you must work hard in life because life is like a circle. I get through life by trusting in God and I tried to capture this in my story.
What messages do you hope your readers will take away from your story?
I hope my readers will benefit from this story and the message that is here in this story. I hope my readers will be inspired by this story because my story shows how life changes. You can be rich today, but tomorrow you may become poor.
What is the point of storytelling to you? Why do we tell stories, what do they do for us, and what purpose do they serve?
We tell stories in order to motivate, counsel and inspire people, to help them pick lessons from us via stories, information, experiences.
Did your story change over the course of your participation in the storytelling workshops? How?
Yes. My story changed in many ways. I worked on showing the reader how my story unfolded rather than just telling the events. I also changed the title to make it more attractive.
How does your story offer an alternative path, point of view, or way forward? How does it speak to the possibility of an otherwise?
My story shows an alternative path because although there are a lot of sad scenes and it is a sorrowful story, it shows that we can have hope. I believe that reading my story can help someone to learn a positive lesson.
My name is Nicole Bachoke Joshwa. I am sixteen years old. I live in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Before coming here, I was living in Democratic Republic of Congo. In my free time I like to write and revise my stories. I think a lot about how I am going to become a storyteller in the world because I like writing stories.
Read Nicole's story 'Two sides of tears' in the Junctions issue.
This interview was conducted by Otherwise creative non-fiction and memoir editor Laura Moran
