📝 AITAH for refusing to let my sister use my childhood journals as "inspiration" for her novel?

By Asukaga • Score: 6 • April 7, 2025 12:48 AM


This is a weird one, and I'm genuinely losing sleep over it. My sister, "Clara" (35F), is a writer. She's been working on a "semi-autobiographical" novel for a couple of years now, and it's been a point of contention between us.

Here's the background: Growing up, I (32F) was a chronic journaler. I wrote everything down – my deepest fears, my angsty teenage crushes, my complicated feelings about our family, everything. These journals are intensely personal, and they represent a vulnerable period in my life.

Clara knows about these journals. She's always been fascinated by them, bordering on obsessive. Recently, she asked if she could borrow them, "just to get a feel for the era" and "maybe for some inspiration." I immediately said no.

My reasoning is simple: these are my private thoughts. They're not a resource for her creative project. I'm not comfortable with her mining my teenage angst for plot points or character development.

Clara is freaking pissed. She claims I'm being selfish and hindering her artistic process. She argues that all writers draw from real life, and that my experiences are part of our shared history. She even said, "It's not like I'm going to publish your diary entries verbatim. I'm a writer, I'll transform them." But here's the thing: I WANT trust her to "transform" them. I know she's talented, but I also know she has a tendency to embellish and dramatize. I'm afraid she'll take my vulnerable moments and twist them into something unrecognizable, something that will embarrass me and damage my relationships.

She's now brought our entire family into this, painting me as the villain who's stifling her creativity. My parents are split – my mom thinks I'm being unreasonable, and my dad is awkwardly trying to stay neutral. She has also brought up that she had let me use some of her old art work for a school project, and that I was being hypocritical.

I've offered to answer any specific questions she has about that time in our lives, but I'm not willing to hand over my journals. She says that's not enough, that she needs to "immerse herself" in my perspective.

AITAH for refusing to let my sister use my journals, even if it means potentially hurting her career and causing a family rift?

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