Author: jessicawoodville
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Showing Up, Even When It’s Hard
I had no idea what I was walking into today. The negative self-talk started early, reminding me that I wasn’t really part of this friend group anymore. Another side of me pushed back, remembering that some of these people had been my closest friends since eighth grade. We’ve all come such a long way, especially…
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Taking the Leap: Self-Publishing Regrets and What Comes Next
Self-publishing a memoir is a leap of faith. You write your story, put it into the world, and hope it finds the people who need to hear it most. When I published Smoking in Garages: A Survivor’s Story of Trauma and Resilience, I knew I couldn’t wait for permission. I had to take the leap.…
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Healing or Snake Oil? A Survivor’s Take on the Trauma Recovery Industry
I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted by the way trauma recovery is being packaged, marketed, and sold like the latest wellness trend. Healing isn’t a product. It’s not a five-step program or a color-coordinated workbook. And yet, every time I scroll through social media, I see another ad promising to “fix” trauma—just $99.99…
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PTSD and the Echoes of the Past: A Survivor’s Reflection
TW: This post discusses sexual assault, PTSD, and trauma anniversaries. If these topics are triggering for you, please take care while reading or consider skipping this post. You are not alone—if you need support, please reach out to someone you trust or check the resources at the end of this post. It has been almost…
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When The Silence Is Deafening
I’ve been writing on the internet since the Yahoo Geocities days—back when personal blogs were clunky, glittery, and filled with badly formatted text. I’ve poured my heart onto metaphorical paper for as long as I can remember, leaving pieces of myself in the digital ether, hoping my words might land somewhere, with someone. And yet,…
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The Three Stages of Trauma Recovery—And What They Look Like in Real Life
(Because Healing Isn’t Linear, No Matter What the Self-Help Books Say) When I first heard about the three stages of trauma recovery, I thought it was bullshit. Not because the concept didn’t make sense—it did—but because I was convinced I’d never make it past stage one. For those who aren’t familiar, trauma experts like Dr.…
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The Book Report That Saved Me: How Drew Barrymore’s Little Girl Lost Helped Me Survive the Troubled Teen Industry
When I was trapped inside the walls of Cross Creek Manor, a so-called “therapeutic” program for “troubled teens,” my world had shrunk to a series of rigid rules, forced confessions, and a constant battle to prove I was worthy of basic human dignity. There was no escape—not physically, and certainly not mentally. Every day felt…
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Healing Out Loud: Why Telling Our Stories Matters
“Healing out loud because I almost died in silence.” Breaking the Silence: The Power of Sharing Our Stories For years, I believed my story was something to be hidden—too heavy, too messy, too much for the world to handle. I convinced myself that silence was safer. That if I didn’t speak about my experiences, they…
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Post-Incarceration Syndrome and the Forgotten Survivors of the Troubled Teen Industry
The troubled teen industry (TTI) is a billion-dollar network of behavior modification programs, including wilderness therapy camps, therapeutic boarding schools, boot camps, and residential treatment centers. Marketed to desperate parents as a last resort for their struggling children, these programs promise transformation and healing. But as a survivor of the TTI myself, I can tell…
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Cinema, Sentiment, and Storytelling: The Films That Speak to My Soul
The Struggle of Choosing Just One Favorite Movie Whenever someone asks me, “What’s your favorite movie?” I freeze. Not because I don’t have one, but because I have too many. How do you choose between the movies that shaped you, the ones that comfort you, and the ones that completely wreck you in the best…
Jessica Woodville | Memoir & Musings 