“I used to sing that I was a survivor. Then I grew up and realized I really was one.”

“Sometimes we don't go looking for the anthem. The anthem finds us, and reminds us there can be life on the other side of abuse.”

“I listened to ‘Fighter’ until I didn’t have to borrow its strength anymore. I finally found that strength inside myself.”

“Coming forward takes immense courage. But when the system answers your truth with silence, the waiting can become its own kind of trauma.”

"The first step toward healing isn't having all the answers. Sometimes it's simply finding the courage to speak your truth."

"Healing isn't forgetting. It's realizing your past no longer controls your future—and making yourself strong again."

Our scars don't make us unlovable. They remind us that we survived, and that we're still worthy of love.

"Surviving doesn't mean we stop being human. It means we kept going, and gave ourselves permission to heal."

As a child, I dreamed of justice. 'Goodbye Earl' reminded me that abuse wasn't normal and that survivors deserve better.

"The voices I heard as consciousness fled were the ones that carried me back to the light."

A survivor's journey from fear and silence to truth and freedom. The darkness may linger, but it no longer defines me.

​"When the system protects the powerful, survivors are left in the dark. 10 victims, 6 months of police silence, we will not be quiet."

Safety matters. Every Hootie sold helps survivors feel safer, and helps donate alarms to domestic violence shelters.

“The first time I heard ‘Butterfly Fly Away,’ I didn’t just hear a song about growing up. I heard the story of my mother surviving domestic violence and teaching me that even after trauma, we could still dream.”

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.

Trauma responses often show up as anxiety, feelings we don’t always understand until after they’ve already taken over.

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.

A reflection on kindness, humanity, and the painful question: are we still living the values we were taught as children?