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Survivor Writing
“I can shake off everything as I write: My sorrows disappear, courage is reborn.”
The healing power of writing
By helping people manage and learn from negative experiences, writing strengthens their immune systems as well as their minds. Comment: Writing is no stranger to therapy. For years, practitioners have used logs, questionnaires, journals and other writing forms to help people heal from stresses and traumas.
Sharing our writing is a powerful way to connect with other survivors and at Courageous Survivors we invite you to share your writing (such as poems, letters, essays).
To view the writing, click on any of the thumbnails to view in full screen and then you can use the arrows on either side of the page to move between them.
If you would like to submit your own writing to our gallery, you can do so here.
It’s an oft-repeated truism that writing,
or any form of art or creativity, is therapeutic.
But sometimes clichés become clichés because they’re true.
ABOUT TRIGGERS
Sharing our experiences, our strength and our hope is
a valuable tool on our path to happiness.
Reading about others' experiences is a way of connecting
and learning that we are not alone with our pain.
Triggers are something that all survivors must
remain careful to manage appropriately. Sights, sounds and words
are common triggers that can bring back strong memories and
can even cause someone to feel they are living their own trauma again.
Some of the writings below do include descriptions - sometimes quite graphic -
of real events experienced by a survivor.
We urge all readers to be aware of their own reaction to these writings and to
exercise caution.
Any of the writings below could potentially trigger a reader's trauma but the ones that
contain graphic descriptions of sexual abuse or assault contain an additional
warning - look for the words 'TRIGGER WARNING' underneath the title of the writing.
If you are triggered by anything that you read here, please know that there are
resources that you can turn to for help
(such as this from Saprea). You can also find links to other resources on our Links
page
(click here).
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Telling my story is one of the hardest things I have ever done but it is also rewarding and necessary for my mental health.
Featured
This month my husband and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary
TRIGGER WARNING SEXUAL ABUSE I was raped at 15.
We have made it to the “ber” months.
I am in the midst of people who care,
August begins a new school year
This 4th of July I claim as my Independence Day.
For me Father's Day is a mixed bag.
Survivors of sexual trauma get asked all the time, “why didn’t you tell sooner”.
Good morning dear Survivors and Happy Mother's Day!
Our bodies carry scars you cannot see,
TRIGGER WARNING
SUICIDAL THOUGHTSI take one step at a time
April happens to be my birth month. I was born on Easter morning in 1958.
For the little girl inside me
I just heard a song that made my heart ache more than it has in a very long time.
May the tide that is entering even now
Happy New Year brave and courageous survivors!
Let me be one of the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
TRIGGER WARNING
DESCRIBES SEXUAL ABUSE
MENTIONS SELF-HARM
Diana’s Healing Message For November
Featured
As I began to love myself…
Hello Courageous Survivors and welcome to September!
Happy August Courageous Survivors!
TRIGGER WARNING
REFERENCES RAPE
STRONG LANGUAGE Dear Abuser, I honestly don’t know where to start.
TRIGGER WARNING
REFERENCES RAPE
STRONG LANGUAGEDear Rapist….
TRIGGER WARNING
GRAPHIC LANGUAGEShedding the guilt and shame of loving my abuser
I was born in a beautiful little town in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
TRIGGER WARNING
REFERENCES INCESTJune is the month we celebrate Father's Day…
Fear creeps in like a thief in the night
Broken, shattered, left in pieces,
May is upon us and so is Mother’s Day which is next Sunday.
Courage is not the absence of fear,
April is a very special month for me for it’s my birthday month!
What I feel now for myself is immense pride that I was finally able to face that pain.
Next month is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Whatever the nature and scope of your trauma, this is a good time to remind yourself that you are not alone.
When I think of March I think of spring and spring means rebirth.
TRIGGER WARNING SEXUAL ABUSEI want you to know about all the things that I needed from you and all the things I didn’t get.
Welcome to the second month of the year, the month most people call the Love month.
I will never understand how an adult can sexually abuse a child.
I am hoping you found a way to enjoy all that Christmas means to you and are ready to tackle 2023.
TRIGGER WARNINGIt has taken almost 40 years but I realize it was never my fault or something I asked for.
Good morning Courageous Survivors and almost Merry Christmas!
Dear 12-year-old Me, I re-read what I wrote to you a few months ago…
In my life, I have experienced a lot of death in my close family, extended family, and chosen family.
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The inability to receive support from others is a trauma response.
Telling my story was the most difficult thing I have ever done.
TRIGGER WARNINGI had no idea that a person could be raped inside their own marriage!
As I have been honored to read the stories and writing that such brave survivors have submitted for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, I have been reflecting on my own healing journey.
My beautiful protective brain
Thank you, for shifting and taking me away
“Once I finally had the courage to speak, I was surprised by the compassionate reactions and the support and love I got.”
Sexual abuse and assault leave lasting scars. Recovery may take longer than you expect. It has for me.
TRIGGER WARNINGAs my husband says, I am a survivor. My counselor always said my dad loved me too much and my mom didn’t love me at all.
My dad wasn’t born a child molester. Once upon a time, my dad was an innocent child
It was in 1972 and I was 11 years old when I first told my mother
For the little girl inside me,
TRIGGER WARNINGThis is my story. I will come back and add chapters
Before I could reparent my inner child after incest abuse, I first had to understand exactly what the inner child was.
Like a lot of us, the past couple years have been rough while navigating through a pandemic.
To be honest, most days can be challenging and stressful for survivors.
This is such an empowering concept in my trauma recovery. My trauma responses can happen in an instant
This is a poem I wrote several years back. The words woke me at 1:00 in the morning begging to be written.
Dear Janet, When you were a very young child, your mother told you that as long as you believe in God, he will protect you.
Telling my story is one of the hardest things I have ever done but it is also rewarding and necessary for my mental health.
I have been trying to run from the little girl