Category: Personal Essays
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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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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…
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Daring to Dream Again: Finding Hope After Trauma
For a long time, I didn’t let myself dream. Survival was the only goal. Dreaming still feels dangerous—like setting myself up for disappointment or failure. When you’ve spent years just trying to make it through the day, the idea of planning for a future, of imagining a life beyond the next crisis, feels foreign. Maybe…
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Letting Go of the Fear of Being Seen: A Survivor’s Journey to Visibility
For most of my life, I was conditioned to believe that being seen was dangerous. When you grow up in a household where truth is inconvenient, where survival depends on keeping up appearances, you learn to hide—not just from others, but from yourself. I learned this lesson young. Narcissistic parents have a way of controlling…
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A Journey Not Just of Distance, But of the Heart
Just the other day, as I was finalizing my memoir for publication, I found myself thinking a lot about family—particularly my grandparents. At 40 years old, I feel incredibly fortunate that they are all still alive. It’s a gift I don’t take lightly, especially after recently learning that my unofficial godparents, Alice and Charlie, had…
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Trying to Heal When You Can’t Afford to Break
Healing from trauma is a challenging journey, often hindered by financial, emotional, and environmental barriers. Survivors face high costs for therapy and alternative treatments, lacking adequate support systems. The process can feel disheartening as they navigate exploitation and limited options. Ultimately, healing should be accessible to all, not a privilege.
Jessica Woodville | Memoir & Musings 