Prologue: What and Why

I thought I knew what this book was about going into it. My original intro talking about today’s political climate and my frustration at the lack of ability to form a bridge with my parents.

But this book is really about trauma. It’s about my own journey struggling with religious indoctrination, sexual abuse, a lack of a voice, numbness, chronic illness, and ultimately suicidal depression. It’s about the journey and the steps I took to heal and ultimately wake up from a life that felt more like a living nightmare than the life I wanted for myself.

When I look around, I see so many of us who are hurting. Many of us don’t have resources or even the words to express the pain they feel. This book is free because I believe if I could help just one person feel seen, maybe feel hope, and take steps towards healing. To begin to dream of possibilities, a new story of a brighter future, maybe we’d wake up and start living today feeling more connected to one another. To help even one person, hurting and struggling like me, the decision to make this book free was easy.

It’s natural to feel disheartened.

Hearing “we’ve changed”

Only to see the same patterns persist.

But remember—

there are still many people out there—

people like you—

who are working tirelessly for change,

who stand up

For humanity,

For equality,

For truth.

This book is not a roadmap—it’s a remembering.

A rhythm.

A sacred thread in the dark.