How I Overcame Stage Fright
written by: Angela Carlton
My sister went to detox again, the day of my audition. After years of warming up behind mirrors, singing to CDs in traffic and winning karaoke with a bit of cash in my pocket, I’d finally worked up the courage for the annual singing contest. As the poison leaked from my sister’s brain from an overdose of meth, as they strapped her down in restraints, avoiding her screams, inserting her with needles, I sang. I sang from the heavy place, that worn to the last joyless bone, terrified place. I sang as the sweat formed around my temples, sang as the pain of realizing, you’ve lost someone while they’re still alive erupted. On that small dark stage in my hometown, I let go.
And someone listened.
Angela Carlton is a Georgia native. When she was a child, she wrote a book called, 'The Magic Fish' and tucked it away in a box for safekeeping. Her fiction has been published in Every Writer, Everyday Fiction, Pedestal Magazine, Long Story Short, High Noon, 50-WordStories, Six Sentences and Friday Flash Fiction. In addition, she won the reader's choice award with Pedestal Magazine in 2006. In 2018, her story 'The Roommates,' was adapted into a short film. In 2023, her story 'Swallowed,' was nominated for the Pushcart prize.
Latest posts by Angela Carlton (see all)
- How I Overcame Stage Fright - January 24, 2025
- Dear Whoever You Are - October 22, 2024
- The Watered Down Version - October 5, 2024
