Category: Personal Essays
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Too Sick to Be Ignored, Too Complicated to Be Helped
After years of mysterious symptoms, trauma-informed insight, and medical dismissal — including at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country — I’m left wondering if there’s a place for people like me in modern medicine. This is what it’s like to be chronically ill, gaslit, and out of strength.
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The Things I Carry, Still
There are things I carry that no one can see. Not in the lines on my face or the curve of my spine—though they’ve left their marks there, too. Not in a diagnosis code or a medical chart, though my body has often tried to speak the truth before I had the language for it.…
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Three Last Names, One Me: Finding My Identity After Divorce(s) and Trauma
“I’m a free spirit who never had the balls to be free.”― Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Names. They shape us, define us, and sometimes, they break us. I’ve carried three last names over the course of my life, each one representing a different chapter of who I was—or perhaps…
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The Storm They Don’t See: Parenting with Invisible Illness
This morning my kids were arguing, my heart was racing, and my body was glitching like a laptop running too many tabs. I’ve been fighting this flare up for three days now… Welcome to what I call a dysautonomic storm—when your nervous system forgets how to human. You can’t see it from the outside. There’s…
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The Price of Persistence: How I Spent My Savings Searching for Answers
After my separation, I had a modest savings account—something I hoped would give me a sense of security as I rebuilt my life. Instead, it became my lifeline…in a way. I spent nearly $20,000 trying to figure out why my health kept failing. Twenty. Thousand. Dollars. Every penny of it was spent chasing the hope…
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30 Seconds of Courage
Jessica Woodville’s memoir, “Smoking in Garages: A Survivor’s Story of Trauma and Resilience,” explores the power of sharing one’s truth to combat trauma. She emphasizes how small acts of courage can lead to healing and urges others to confront their pain, highlighting the need for systemic change to support childhood trauma survivors.
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I’m Done People-Pleasing: How Trauma Trained Me to Be Everything for Everyone But Myself
For as long as I can remember, I’ve tried to be what everyone else needed me to be. The easygoing friend, the accommodating daughter, the quiet, non-confrontational one who never asked for too much. It wasn’t conscious at first—it was survival. When your nervous system is hardwired by trauma, your body learns to scan for…
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Beyond Sensationalism: Why My Story Is Bigger Than the Troubled Teen Industry
I recently had an article published about my memoir, Smoking in Garages: A Survivor’s Story of Trauma and Resilience. The writer was kind, genuinely enthusiastic about my book, and I’m deeply grateful for the attention it’s receiving. But as I read through the article, I found myself pausing—because somewhere along the way, my story seemed…
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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.…
Jessica Woodville | Memoir & Musings 