Introduction : Letters of Healing

These are the things I said in the dark of the night
whispered into the silence of my own heart
because I was too afraid to say them out loud.

Afraid of being mocked.
Afraid of being belittled.
Afraid that if I spoke the truth, I would only be told I was wrong to feel it.

So I stayed silent.
I buried my grief, my rage, my hopes, my memories under a thousand careful smiles.
I carried silence like a second skin.
I carried love like a shield.

There were things I should have been able to say years ago.
Things I swallowed because it wasn’t “the right time,”
or because I didn’t think anyone would listen.

But not anymore.

These letters are the ones I wrote when no one was watching.
These words are the ones I carried when no one was listening.

This book is not about blame.
It is not about guilt.
It is about healing; mine, whether anyone else is ready or not.

These letters are not demands.
They are not apologies.
They are simply truths.

Maybe one day, my daughters will read them.
Maybe they won’t.
Maybe the world will understand.
Maybe it won’t.

Either way:
I am still here.
I am still loving.
And I am finally ready to speak.

I am tired of being small to make others comfortable.
I am tired of pretending that survival is the same as healing.

I have survived.
Now I will heal; one letter at a time.

Disclaimer:

This is not Chicken Soup for the Soul.
There are no neatly folded life lessons here.
No shiny endings.
No promises that love will heal everything.

This is a collection of survival stories.
Some are raw.
Some are angry.
Some are still bleeding.

But they are all real.

If you are looking for a fairytale, you will not find it here.
If you are looking for truth, even when it’s painful