Personal stories

A heartfelt Mother’s Day letter honoring a mother who survived domestic violence, rebuilt her life, and taught her daughter strength, resilience, and unconditional love.

I didn’t always have the words for what I was feeling, only a body that stayed on high alert. Mental health, for me, began as survival.

As a child, I dreamed of escape through TV. As an adult, I see the truth: abuse can exist anywhere, even behind the spotlight.

I was only 5… and I learned what silence felt like before I ever learned how to speak.

Many survivors stay silent for years. Learn why fear, shame, and manipulation keep victims quiet—and why being believed matters.

When I watched Bastard Out of Carolina, I saw a life that looked painfully familiar. Bone’s story reflected the abuse I was living through.

Children at Dilley Detention Center are suffering. As a survivor, I can’t stay silent. If we won’t protect them, who will?

Telling my mom about the abuse I endured was the hardest conversation of my life, but breaking the silence was part of healing.

For years I couldn't say it. Today I can: I was groomed. Naming the truth is how silence breaks and awareness begins.

Water slowed my racing heart long before I knew I was having panic attacks. My body knew how to survive before I had words.

Trauma may live in the past, but the body remembers. Survivors deserve belief, not “just get over it.”

The good news: negative thoughts are not facts. They’re thoughts. And you can learn how to challenge negative thoughts in a way that’s groun

Memories can feel isolating. They live in a space where your mind questions itself. You wonder if you’re overreacting. You minimize it.

Reconnecting with "Breanna" from the books.

I am the Mother of Pugs