I do self identify as a survivor. This experience was not easy to survive, and I gained a lot of strength from it. So I take pride in being a survivor of it, for sure. There's no shame in survival.

So much of my life, you know, I was really numb to my experience. Grief for me, in that way, has been a teacher.

One of the profound realizations that I had was accepting the fact that I'm not broken. There's nothing to heal. There's nothing wrong with me. There never was.

I saved my life.

I speak as someone who is speaking from a place of wholeness.