By Sara Fowler 
 
Words are powerful. U.S. Air Force veteran Debbie Cutler writes from the heart and was honored to be chosen as one of the gold medal winning creative writers for this year’s National Veterans Creative Arts Festival in Columbia, S.C. 

“That was incredible for me,” she said when she found out she had been chosen. “I could have danced around the room.”

Cutler previously was a journalist, magazine editor, and now that she’s retired, writes for herself.

“I had PTSD, went through a lot of trauma with the military and beyond, and [writing] really helped,” Cutler said. “I had nightmares that would wake me up — just horrible, horrible nightmares from my past. I had them recurring almost every night. Through the VA, I almost completely eliminated them — down to one or two here or there — using writing as therapy.”

Cutler is looking forward to this week of the Festival.  

“I want to see the performances, I want to see the exhibits, I want to see everyone doing their art form in a way that personifies them as an artist,” she said. 

Veterans are getting the chance to experience a variety of workshops at this year’s National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, whether related to their creative therapy category or not, giving veterans the chance to experience art outside of their usual medium.

“The writing workshop was fantastic,” Cutler said. “He was an excellent coach for helping us discuss our writing, and he asked the question to each of us: Why do you write? The answers were very similar — some wrote poetry, some wrote fiction, some wrote nonfiction, free verse, some wrote sci-fi — different reasons for writing, explore self, emotions, learning.” 

Since 2000, the Auxiliary has co-presented the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, alongside the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. See more stories and videos from the Festival throughout the week on American Legion Auxiliary National Headquarters' Facebook page.