I never thought I would tell my story.

I grew up in a world where truth was a liability. Where keeping the peace meant keeping quiet. I was the good girl who smiled, complied, and swallowed the weight of everything she wasn’t allowed to say. I was so good at it, I didn’t realize I was disappearing.

I survived a fake-it-till-you-make-it faith. I survived cancer. My doctor calls me a walking miracle, and I’m learning to believe him. I have known destructive relationships that dismantled my sense of self so slowly, so methodically, that I mistook a threadbare version of my life as my destiny.

My willpower didn’t save me. The hundreds of books I read to deconstruct and understand my experiences didn’t save me. Therapy alone did not save me. But God, in his mercy, did. He came into every secret place where I feared facing truth. He continues to meet me in every painful wound, bringing healing and peace.

My decision to stop surviving and start living came with the knowledge that a meaningful life isn’t lived in a ball gown. It comes with rain, too. And God has taught me to find joy in both.

Today I am a speaker, a writer, and a guide for people who are done with a life of performing. I have shared some of my story on national platforms like Catholic Answers and The Journey Home.

I lead talks and retreats for high school students, college women, and adult women who are looking for secure, honest spaces to rebuild on something solid. A true and unshifting faith in the God who loves us.

I am a recovering perfectionist. A Cancer thriver. A pilgrim. A wolverine.