Full time storyteller.
Professional space holder.
Emotional cheerleader.
“Magic to me is the belief that, even when it feels like our world is burning down, wonderful unexplained things can and do exist for us all. I believe in the value of stories and their power to change hearts, minds, and transform communities. I believe that when we give ourselves permission to bring our precious and complicated identities into the room, we are able to fully recognize each other’s humanity. I want to create a supportive community through the use of storytelling that examines how we “adult” through the lens of childhood trauma.”
How can you be so happy?
“How can you be so happy?” During my 20+ years of motivational speaking and 10 years of college instructing, I have had people of all ages ask me this question after hearing about what I have overcome in life. I have never forgotten one bewildered twelve-year-old girl who blurted out the question, “Why… how are you so happy?”, after I delivered a keynote address about the obstacles I’ve encountered in my life.
Yes, I am an optimistic person despite all of the things that I’ve experienced. I typically fly my purple freak flag high (everything in my life is purple), unless I have not eaten, then it’s time to hide the children, and someone should bring me keto-approved meat or play Beyoncé.
But it’s complicated. In my day-to-day life, as a wife and mother of two, I manage over 10 health conditions; fibromyalgia, vestibular migraines, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), pseudotumor cerebri, and borderline diabetes, just to name a few (sarcasm intended here). I also struggle with a debilitating case of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from growing up with unrelenting childhood trauma.
Complex PTSD is unique.
Complex PTSD is unique. It often progresses over the course of repeated trauma; in situations like prolonged childhood abuse, natural disasters, war, and sex trafficking. Complex PTSD stemming from childhood trauma can be a debilitating disorder. I, like many of us, have had to navigate my understanding of the world and connection to others through the distorted lens of trauma and abuse.
I likely developed complex PTSD early in life. My sister and I were born into a home complicated by our birth mother’s severe epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, poverty, and her struggle with domestic violence. We were removed from our home before I was a year old, sent to an isolated, overcrowded and all-white, small town Iowa foster home only to later be adopted by a relative into an alcoholic, physically and emotionally abusive home. At 15 years old, I became a teen mother and returned to the custody of the state as a homeless runaway. Are you starting to wonder how I can be so optimistic about life?
I know through my years of speaking, teaching and advising that you are out there, with a similar story.
Well, I want to know, too. I believe that while my story has some unique elements, my experiences are more common than society is comfortable with acknowledging. I know through my years of speaking, teaching and advising that you are out there, with a similar story. This blog is dedicated to the personal exploration of both what keeps us going and what allows us to reach new heights. How do we adult through the lens of childhood trauma? I want to explore the restorative value of struggle. I want to piece together all the things that not only preserve our faith in humanity, and belief in magic, but also give us a reason to rise each day.
Are you in? Rise with me each week!
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