healing gracie

I'm usually a quiet person. I'm not one to voice my opinion, my thoughts or feelings. I'm not the kind of person who is loud or likes to call attention to herself. In fact, I usually try to stay out of the spotlight and hidden away...

But not today. Today I'm doing something different. It will be scary...it will be risky...and it will definitely be outside my comfort zone. But it will be worth it...at least, that is what I hope.

I'm going to take this step...this huge leap of faith and open up...open up and share my experiences as a survivor of child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. I want to share what the healing process has been like for me...my tears and my joy...my successes and my failures...the ups and downs. I know it will be very uncomfortable for me at times, and it may be for my readers (if I get any), too.

There are several reasons why I wanted to start this blog...most are kind of selfish, really. I want to be able to put what I've been through out there. I want to share my story and not keep it locked up and hidden away. That doesn't do anything for me or for anyone else. I also want to write down what this healing journey has been like for me, so I can process it and see the progress I've made...and also the changes I need to make in my life.

I want it to be real. I want to be real on this blog. I'm not going to "sugar-coat" anything. I'm not just going to write about the good, but also the bad and the ugly. I'm literally going to be exposing myself...sharing my hopes and dreams, along with my weaknesses and insecurities.

I also hope that what I write in this blog will give a glimpse of what it is like for survivors...that maybe it will help family and friends to see what it is like being a survivor going through the healing process.

I want to share my experiences with other survivors, and I hope that it will help them in some way. I want to help others realize that they are not alone in what they are going through and feeling. Yes, my experience is unique...everyone's experience will be different. But survivors all have something in common: we survived! We survived the abuse, and we can survive healing.

Who knows where this blog will go. It may go far, reaching people I have never met before. Or it may just stay among the few people I will share this blog with. It doesn't matter really where it goes, what matters is that I'm doing it. I am trying it...and I'm not going to let fear stop me.

So, here it goes...