As survivors, our stories are immeasurably powerful. They can cause us pain and keep us mired in the past. They have the ability to influence the people we bring into our lives, and the control we give them over us. Our stories can prevent us from being all that we are capable of being in this world.

The thing is, our stories only have that power if we decide to give it to them.  They only wield that power if we keep them hidden inside, if we decide that our truths are so awful that they must be kept in the dark.  If we attach shame to them.  If we decide that they are UNSPEAKABLE.

Here’s the good news- and there is good news.  Shame cannot survive having a light shined on it.  Shame cannot survive being spoken aloud.  Shame requires a host, and it can’t survive if you don’t feed it.

Say it, Survivor was born when two cousins, abused in childhood by the same predator, decided to plant their feet firmly inside their stories and say them out loud. They wrote them down. They sent them out into the world.

Then the most miraculous thing happened.  People read them and shared them.  People said, “ME TOO.”  Women and men who’d carried around their dark and heavy stories, some for decades, decided to lay them down. Hundreds of thousands of people read our stories, shared them, and stepped out of the shadows. They decided to be brave, and speak their own truths.  And they were met with compassion and encouragement, which led to more people telling their stories, which led to more love and support.

The perpetuating cycles of truth telling and healing are as powerful as the cycle of abuse.  More so, even.

The late Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.”  We think that’s true.

Sadly, there is nothing extraordinary about our story- it’s all too common a tale.  The only difference is, we are willing to tell it. Shamelessly.

We want that for you, too.

You don’t need to tell your story publicly.  You don’t need to write a blog, or a book, or an article- you just need to get it out.  You need to write it down.

We are committed to using our experience as survivors and writers to facilitate people telling their stories as a way to empower and heal themselves.

It’s time to turn your faces to the sun, friends.  It’s time to tell your stories.