2025 was the worst year of my life.

My dad died, totaled the car, tree gifted us a new roof, our dog had cancer, I lost my job, and all of that wasn’t enough. I got thrown into the deep end of 30 years of unprocessed trauma by someone I trusted. I’ve been working on a number of different creative projects, and I’m using this space to share those projects with the world. They come from a deeply personal and painful place. This is more than just a hobby. It’s my art, my life.

Part of my path to healing is claiming my voice. I’ve kept so much pain inside, kept quiet to protect everyone around me. Those swallowed feelings turned into a permanent fixture in my stomach. Silence only made everything so much worse. Talking about it is helping me, reading about other people like me and knowing I’m not alone. I think it might help someone else.  

I found pieces of my story, but never all of them in one. There was one piece always missing, the one that would make everything sure. I was never touched. Every story I read crossed the line. That doubt, the uncertainty kept me quiet. It’s the uncertainty that needs to be pulled into the light.

How close is too close? How do we protect the perfect victim? How do you save yourself from you?

My silence almost swallowed me. It kept me afraid to speak my truth because what if… What if what if what if.

There are a million What Ifs, but this is my What Is.

Don’t let the silence swallow you.