Why This Space Exists

My Story: Trauma-Informed Writing
& Education

For over a decade, I’ve worked as a Behaviorist. In recent years, my work has centered almost entirely on trauma-informed care. I’ve trained teams, coached staff, and walked alongside individuals with complex needs.

One truth has remained consistent: most people don’t realize they’ve experienced trauma, they just think they’re broken.

I know this because I lived it.

A Life Shaped by Childhood Trauma

My own ACES score is a 7. My childhood was layered with chaos: parents battling addiction, neglect, sexual and emotional abuse, living in an abandoned building, then being placed in foster care. I became the caretaker far too young, raising myself and my brother while watching my world fall apart.

In foster care, I learned how to shrink myself. I excelled in school, believing that if I just did well the rest would disappear. It didn’t. The emotional pain eventually erupted. I spiraled into suicidal thoughts and destructive behaviors. I thought I was just too much or not enough.

But the truth was simpler.
And more freeing:
I wasn’t broken.
I was reacting to trauma.
But no one told me that.

A Turning Point in Trauma Healing

Losing my mother, a woman I had a complicated, painful relationship with, became the breaking point that also became a breakthrough. Her passing unearthed a tidal wave of emotion I hadn’t made space for. It sent me into one of the darkest spirals I’d ever experienced. But this time, something was different.

I heard a quiet truth rise up within me: You already know what not to do.

That moment marked the beginning of true healing. I took different steps than I ever had before. I leaned into my faith. I reconnected with my body. I applied what I had spent years teaching others.

Slowly, the girl who believed she was too broken to be whole
became a woman who understood that healing isn’t a straight line,
it’s a spiral.

Why I Write About Trauma

I write because people deserve to understand why they are the way they are. I write because we often mistake trauma responses for personality traits. I write because healing requires both honesty and knowledge. And I write because you’re not alone, even if you’ve felt that way most of your life.

What “Resilient Light” Means

Resilient light is not the absence of trauma.

It is the intelligence of survival.

It is the ways our bodies, minds, and spirits learned to adapt when the world was not safe.

The staying quiet.
The caretaking.
The people-pleasing.
The withdrawal.
The vigilance.

These were not failures. They were how the light stayed on.

This space exists to help you recognize those adaptations with compassion,
not shame, so healing can begin without erasing the story of how you survived.

Here’s the professional side of my work:

• Certified Trauma & Resilience Specialist
• Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis with a focus in Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
• 10+ years of experience as a Behaviorist, with a focus on trauma-informed care
• Facilitator of trauma training’s and workshops for residential and day program staff
  
  But my greatest qualification is this: I’ve been through it.
  I don’t just teach trauma. I’ve survived it.
  And I don’t just survive , I heal.

A Note From My Heart

Healing isn’t a destination, it’s a return. A return to yourself. A return to truth.

My prayer is that this space helps you name what hurt you, understand how it shaped you, and take gentle but courageous steps toward healing, not just for you, but for every generation that follows.

There is light in you.

And it’s resilient.
Welcome home.

If this resonates with you…

You’re not alone.

You don’t have to figure it out all at once.
You can start wherever you are.

Start here (your guided entry point)
Explore the trauma series (deeper understanding)
Reach out (deeper understanding)