My Inner Child and Me Celebrating Healing Together (AI generated photo) A Reflection on Turning 45, Healing Trauma, and Finding My Way Home In July, I turn 45. As this birthday approaches, I've found myself reflecting on the little girl I once was. The five-year-old who had no idea what was coming. The little girl who still believed adults would protect her. The little girl who trusted easily, loved deeply, and viewed the world through innocent eyes. If I could sit

There is a moment that often comes before healing. Not the breakthrough. Not the release. Not the peace. The moment before. The moment when someone stands at the edge of their pain and realizes they can no longer continue living the way they have been, but they're terrified of what healing might ask of them. For many trauma survivors, beginning the healing journey isn't difficult because they don't want to heal. It's difficult because trauma taught them that safety

There are moments in life that divide time into "before" and "after." For me, one of those moments happened in a hospital room on January 8, 2026. My mother had been declining rapidly over the course of a week. The medical team had been closely monitoring her lungs, and she had just returned from yet another CT scan. The scan was intended to assess how much her condition had worsened, but by then, I think both of us already sensed what was happening. She had even