Writing to Survive and Heal
It isn’t a stretch to say that writing saved my life.
From the young age when I realized that a real live person had written the books I loved, to writing stories for my stuffed animals, to writing the plays I strong-armed my siblings and cousins into performing — writing became a way for me to maintain my autonomy. I could create worlds. I could create characters. I could decide what choices those characters made.
While growing up in a chaotic and confusing home, it isn’t an exaggeration to say that writing helped me survive.
It’s also one reason I never fully disconnected from my intuition — something many abuse survivors have to do in order to endure. Through writing, I was able to maintain a grip on my autonomy and my dreams, even in seasons of anxiety and depression, even in a world where I often felt stifled and trapped.
I’m delighted to share more about the role writing played — not only in my healing journey, but in helping me stay connected to my voice and my autonomy while I was in dark, confining cages — at the Writing to Heal Symposium on March 21.
This is a virtual event featuring myself and two other authors, facilitated by my colleague and the leader of the nonprofit Living Cult Free. I would love for you to join me. It’s going to be a phenomenal event.
Register here for the symposium
Explore some of the books that came out of my lifelong, sometimes frenzied writing journey: