Curated Collection
Chosen Stories from Collection of Lawson Wallace on Medium
Let’s Make Invisible Stories Visible Series #10
Dear Writers and Readers,
This is episode #10 of our “Let’s Make Invisible Stories Visible” Series, initiated by Dr Mehmet Yildiz in 2022 to increase the visibility of quality stories on Medium.
This post introduces Lawson Wallace, an accomplished writer and senior editor of Illumination Integrated Publications on Medium. His journey through life, filled with unique challenges and triumphs, inspires us all.
In 2019, Lawson began his writing adventure here on Medium. It was a dream he had cherished for years, but it wasn’t as straightforward as it might seem. He faced two formidable obstacles: learning disabilities and severely low self-esteem.
Dyslexia, a condition that affects reading and writing, was diagnosed while he was in Alaska. Against all odds, he graduated from high school and, remarkably, in Japan at Yokota Air Force Base.
Growing up, his father served in the Air Force, so Air Force Bases became his familiar surroundings. At one such base in Alaska, the doctors discovered his Dyslexia.
His adult life, however, was marked by setbacks and disappointments. He struggled to hold a job for years, but eventually, he found employment as a security guard in Florida.
Life had its ups and downs, and unfortunately, it led to a period of homelessness in Minneapolis, lasting for three challenging years.
Lawson’s writing delves into these complex experiences, shedding light on the realities of homelessness and overcoming learning disabilities. He also shares insights into his married life, revealing that he met his wife on Facebook.
Lawson doesn’t claim to be a writing expert or offer advice on how to thrive on Medium. Instead, he writes from the heart about the lessons he’s learned from his rich and varied life experiences.
His primary goal is to enrich his readers’ lives, make them think, and inspire them to see the world from different perspectives.
While earnings matter to many Medium writers, Lawson focuses on producing meaningful work. He knows that success, including financial success, will come in time. For now, he concentrates on creating content that leaves a lasting impact.
We hope you enjoy Lawson’s stories, which provide a glimpse into the resilience of the human spirit and the power of storytelling to connect with others. Below, you’ll find links to twenty of his best tales, each offering a unique life perspective.
One of his earliest stories for Illumination served as a catharsis, allowing him to release emotions that had built up over the years. It was a deeply personal story, and its creation marked an essential moment in his writing journey.
When he was a security guard, he worked at different sites. It has been over twenty years since he worked at this place. The bad dreams lasted for years. He still mines the experience for stories.
Lawson writes a lot about his marriage. People find the stories interesting, but sometimes the stories strike a nerve. All he can do is share his truth and experience. People can like it, or not.
He always hated being Dyslexic, he has had a hard time in life because of his Learning Disabilities. He read an article online that made him look at Dyslexia in a different way. He wrote about it here.
A story that proves that a writer can’t pick and choose what story will do well. Homelessness has been a rich source of story ideas. Lawson remembered this incident and wrote about it. The anger he received surprised him. Readers projected thoughts that he wasn’t thinking when he wrote the story. He quit reading the comments but enjoyed the money the anger caused.
This story combines his experiences as a security guard and his time working as a security guard at a bus terminal in Florida. It’s the first story he wrote that was distributed to topics.
The first story that he wrote for the Memoirist. It was the late ’70s. Lawson was still in high school, but he still thinks about her. He still kicks himself for blowing an opportunity to make high school fun.
This story is getting read and clapped for three years after he wrote it. He wrote about his rebellion against going to church his use of marijuana, and how he changed his behavior. The story struck a chord and he received a lot of nice comments.
He met the woman he would marry on Facebook. They have been together for six years. In this story, He gives advice on how to meet someone on Facebook. The trick is, not to be looking for love. They had no idea chatting on Facebook would lead to marriage, but it did.
He wants to start off by saying that they were not outside when this happened. They heard the shots; later, they found out that one of the rounds hit a pipe causing a leak that got the carpet wet in their bedroom. They didn’t see it happen.
People enjoy reading about his relationship with his wife and how they met. This is the story of how they met in person after talking for two years online and by phone.
Lawson wrote a story for Illumination Book Chapters. It’s about his relationship with Olivia and his time homeless. This is the first chapter of that story.
The only person to blame for Lawson being homeless is Lawson. He writes about it a lot. It’s a way to exorcise the demons and ease the pain. It all worked out for the best, but it sure hurt.
Lawson and his wife get stared at a lot, not as much as they did in Minneapolis, and it’s not white people doing most of the staring. they had a funny experience at Walmart.
He was unprepared to be homeless in Minneapolis in the wintertime. He got through it with some Divine Intervention. He believed the threadbare blue coat was a gift from God, and he knew the gloves were as well.
When Lawson was homeless, the church across the street gave away clothes. He needed a winter coat or he was going to die. He went across the street and found an old coat close to his size. He wrote a short story about that coat.
Lawson’s family had a Doberman named Barney, this story is about his last days. Lawson received some of the kindest comments for this story.
Lawson and his wife are Dyslexic, and this leads to some funny and not-so-funny moments. Going to Walmart is an adventure.
The only thing that kept Lawson alive when he was homeless was the concern of a woman in South Carolina, a woman he hadn’t met in person. He has written about that a lot.
Another story from Barney’s point of view. Lawson often wondered what the dog thought as the family dealt with our mom’s illness. The events happened pretty close to the way Barney saw them happen. Lawson doesn’t know if we will see our dogs again, but he hopes we do.
Thank you for reading these beautiful, engaging, and insightful stories. Please connect with Lawson Wallace and leave feedback on stories you enjoyed.
You may contact Lawson on Illumination’s Slack workspace, where he collaborates with our writers and responds to editorial inquiries.
If you are a new writer, please check our new newsletter, which might guide you with recent updates.
Nominate your stories for this unique initiative.
We started this series recently as initiated by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, chief editor of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications on Medium.
His goal is to increase the views and reading times of stories submitted to our publications. If you are a contributor and want your stories nominated for this curation process, you may contact Dr. Yildiz on Illumination’s Slack workspace.
If you don’t have access to Slack, please send a request via this link.
Previously Published Stories in This Series
Chosen Stories from Collection of Jamal Springer Omni Essence
Chosen Stories from Collection of Brooklyn Muse Brooklyn Muse (editor)
Chosen Stories from Collection of ELIN MELAAS on Medium Elin Melaas
Chosen Stories from Joe Luca’s Collection on Medium Joe Luca
Chosen Stories from Melinda Blau’s Unique Collection Melinda Blau
Chosen Stories from Sufyan Maan’s Collection o — Sufyan Maan, M.Eng
More coming soon …
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Dr Mehmet Yildiz also interviewed top writers like Melissa Kalt, MD, Yogesh Haribhau Kulkarni (PhD), Dr. ADAM TABRIZ, Mark Sanford, Ph.D., Keri Mangis, Ayodeji Awosika, Raymond M.E. Aguirre, and Hakima T A N T R I K A. Here are the links to check out their backgrounds and explore their stories.
You may find more interviews at this link.
Recent Updates from Editors
As you may know, Medium made important changes in August 2023. Our editors Mike Broadly - Healthier Lifestyle and Aiden (Illumination Gaming) documented their initial findings in personal stories that might give you some valuable perspectives.
Writer and Editor Profiles
You may enjoy the bios of writers written with their pens. We encourage all writers to post a bio introducing themselves to our readers.
Sample Curated Collections for New Readers
After reviewing and publishing stories submitted to our publications, our volunteer editorial and curation team members also create visibility for them in multiple ways. They do these tasks as a giveback activity. They are not paid for their duties.
Here are the recent collections from ILLUMINATION-Curator.
ILLUMINATION Reading Club, Curated Book Chapters of Illumination #01, Outstanding Stories — Volume 86, Outstanding Stories — Volume 87, Outstanding Stories — Volume 88, Outstanding Stories — Volume 89, Outstanding Stories — Volume 90, Outstanding Stories — Volume 91.
By the ILLUMINATION Amplifier.
Hand-Picked Articles #180, Hand-Picked Articles #181, Hand-Picked Articles #182, Hand-Picked Articles #183, Hand-Picked Articles #184, Hand-Picked Articles #185, Hand-Picked Articles #186, Hand-Picked Articles #187, Hand-Picked Articles #188, Hand-Picked Articles #189,
Here are the recent curated collections from ILLUMINATION main.
Curated Collection #132, Curated Collection #131, Curated Collection #130, Curated Collection #129, Curated Collection #128, Curated Collection #133, Curated Collection #134.
Thank you for reading our collections.
Essential Documents for Our Writers
Every writer of our publications needs to review these guiding policies before submitting their stories. We are tolerant, but these are non-negotiable rules.
Improving the Quality of Writing Using an Editorial Checklist
Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
Invitation to New Writers
ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications are inclusive and diverse, supporting 22,000+ contributors. Different levels of writers, from absolute beginners to the most accomplished ones, delight our readers with their educative and engaging content.
To join our vibrant publications, please send a request via this link. We will help you gain visibility and succeed as a writer on Medium. Please mention the publication name with your Medium account ID in the request.
ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications include:
ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Technology Hits SYNERGY Readers Hope Illumination on YouTube Illumination Gaming Lampshade of Illumination ILLUMINATION’s Blog EUPHORIA by Dr Mehmet Yildiz
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