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Caption: My first experience of loss, home, stability, and the emotional presence of both parents.

Impact: Brought forth ideas of neglect and lack of emotional support in childhood.

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Age 10–13: Surviving Physical and Sexual Abuse

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Age 10–13: Surviving Physical and Sexual Abuse

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Caption: A chapter filled with silence, misunderstanding, and fear. I learned to endure in this part of my life, but at the cost of  losing  the innocence of childhood.

Impact: Set the stage for emotional distance, deep-seated trauma, and secret-keeping that reverberated well into teenage years.

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Caption: Anxiety, depression, and emotional numbness became constant companions . I began to question my identity and self-worth.

Impact: I learned the significance of mental health during those years, even before I possessed the correct terminology to identify it.

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Caption: A chapter that was a literal saving grace.

Impact: I learned the necessity of faith and being spiritually connected to something larger than myself.

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Caption: The first genuine act of reclaiming my life was to leave home. It was a necessary act of self-preservation.

Impact: Being apart let me establish a bodily and emotional distance from disorder and hurt.

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Age 24: Transition in Familial Relationships

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Age 24: Transition in Familial Relationships

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Caption: The sentimental ties changed, some connections waned, others intensified. This was a moment of reinvention and reappraisal.

Impact: Started treatment and gradually remodeled my relationships with family.

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Age 28: Parents Diagnosed with Mental Illness

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Age 28: Parents Diagnosed with Mental Illness

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Caption: The diagnosis confirmed so much of my lived experience. There was immense grief, but also clarity.

Impact: Kindled compassion, but also implemented boundaries. I began to understand the influence of trauma across generations.

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Caption: Ongoing detachment from toxic dynamics. This was a shift from merely surviving to living.

Impact: An essential year for breaking patterns,  cultivating emotional safety, and reworking loyalty.

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Present Day: Final Year of Doctoral Program & Dissertation

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Present Day: Final Year of Doctoral Program & Dissertation

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Caption: A purpose chapter. I have taken my hurt and allowed it to serve as fuel for passion. I am now passionately pursuing a line of research about how adverse childhood experiences shape attachment in Black women.

Impact: My story is no longer solely about what I have suffered or endured,  but what  pain and suffering can birth.