July 9, 2015
Zoe Hisey
Facing Fear, Personal Growth, Recovery, Trauma
Action, depression, facing fear, finding freedom, Forgiving My Mother, healing, Letting Go, motherhood, Struggle to Forgive
It’s been a roller coaster ride the last 6 months during my blogging sabbatical. Continued growth, awareness, & forgiveness; betrayal; and a surprise!
My decision to back away from blogging and other optional activities was born of necessity. Some important relationships were requiring intensive attention, and I needed to focus on figuring out what my role was in each relationship. It’s never pretty looking in the mirror, but always worth it in the end.
It’s easy to think relationships are strong when times are good.
But when things go awry, you find out what the relationship is really made of.
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August 7, 2014
Zoe Hisey
Facing Fear, Personal Growth, Recovery, Trauma
abuse survivor, childhood trauma, emotional strength, Facing Adversity, facing fear, finding freedom, Forgiveness, getting help, gratitude, healing, Letting Go, personal growth, PTSD, recovery, Spiritual Journey, Struggle to Forgive, Suicidal, Transformation, trauma, truth, wearing masks
Feeling better seems to be a universal goal of humankind.
When we’re experiencing physical, emotional, or spiritual pain, the instinct to feel better can take on a life of its own. Most of us don’t even realize our subconscious is in overdrive doing whatever it takes to avoid bad feelings.
The problem is this: what makes us feel better usually isn’t what makes us get better.
Feeling Better More
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May 29, 2013
Zoe Hisey
Alcoholic Parents, Facing Fear, My Journey with God, Personal Growth, Recovery, Trauma
abuse survivor, alcoholic parents, childhood trauma, Facing Adversity, facing fear, Family, finding freedom, Forgiveness, forgiving dad, gratitude, healing, parenting, personal growth, Spiritual Journey, Struggle to Forgive, Transformation
…and How Forgiving Brings Freedom…
The decision to forgive my dad was borne of a long labor.
Although I’d always felt and said I wanted to forgive him, I couldn’t seem to actually do it. Maybe my mind hadn’t transferred the abuse from something to survive into something to forgive yet.
spirituallythinking.blogspot.com
I’d hidden the abuse for so long, it became acceptable in its own sick way. I compartmentalized the abuse and split my dad into two people. There was the dad who abused me; but then there was the dad who played cards with me, taught me to fly his plane, and took me fishing. As children, we are dependent and vulnerable; we have no choice but to find a way to accept the abuse in order to survive.
All I ever wanted was to have a happy, loving dad/daughter relationship. It took me years before I admitted to myself just how wrong and destructive his abuse was. I wanted to forgive him, but for a long time I thought I could only forgive if I had his apology first.
Through a long, difficult journey of self-discovery and spiritual maturing, I began to realize forgiving him didn’t even involve him. More
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April 14, 2013
Zoe Hisey
Facing Fear, Personal Growth, Recovery
emotional strength, Facing Adversity, facing fear, Family, finding freedom, Forgiveness, Forgiving My Mother, gratitude, healing, motherhood, NaNoWriMo, parenting, personal growth, Struggle to Forgive, truth
It’s been a few months since I shared the last excerpt of my NaNoWriMo novel “Letters of a Lifetime.” I recently reengaged in the editing process and am excited to continue working on my novel. Click here to read Part 1, and here to read Part 2.
We pick up where Anne just finished reading a shocking letter indicating her recently deceased mother was an unwed mother in the 1940’s.
Anne shook her head in disbelief. Who was Jack, and what became of his parents? Did they know about the baby? Did Ruth give the baby up for adoption, or did she keep it? Anne’s hunger for answers and truth intensified as she reread the letter.
She sank a little further into the couch, letting her mind wander a bit before diving into the next letter.
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February 16, 2013
Zoe Hisey
Facing Fear, Personal Growth, Recovery
abuse survivor, childhood trauma, emotional strength, Facing Adversity, Family, finding freedom, Forgiveness, gratitude, healing, personal growth, recovery, Struggle to Forgive, Transformation, truth
Over the last few days I’ve realized – nearly simultaneously – I threw the baby out with the bath water and there was probably no other way I could have healed this fully.
I had dinner a couple of weeks ago with someone I haven’t seen for several years. The estrangement from my family has affected this relationship, too. I’d missed SB very much, but it was far too complicated to continue our relationship while I was recovering from my childhood abuse. She reached out to me recently after hearing of my reconciliation with my mom. I am so grateful for her compassion and grace. More
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January 28, 2013
Zoe Hisey
Facing Fear, Personal Growth, Recovery
abuse survivor, emotional strength, Facing Adversity, facing fear, finding freedom, Forgiveness, getting help, gratitude, healing, Letting Go, parenting, personal growth, recovery, Spiritual Journey, Struggle to Forgive, Transformation, trauma, truth
Today I’m very pleased to introduce you to someone I admire very much.
Linda and I have known each other for several years, and I’ve always respected her strength, character, and perseverence. She took personal growth and recovery to the ultimate level and went on to become a licensed therapist and life coach.
Please give Linda a warm welcome as you enjoy some ‘nuggets’ of wisdom she has to share.
Linda J. Reed
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January 9, 2013
Zoe Hisey
Personal Growth, Recovery
dogs, emotional strength, Facing Adversity, facing fear, finding freedom, Forgiveness, Forgiving My Mother, getting help, gratitude, healing, Letting Go, motherhood, NaNoWriMo, parenting, personal growth, recovery, Spiritual Journey, Struggle to Forgive, Transformation, truth
Anne has been a bit nervous to share what’s happening next in her journey through our NaNoWriMo novel draft “Letters of a Lifetime”. She’s felt very vulnerable and has resisted me posting it. However, after careful consideration, she’s decided to be brave and take the plunge. We hope you enjoy it.
If you’d like to know what happened with Anne in Excerpt #1, please click here.
The three-hour drive home from Ruth’s house in Lexington was uneventful, so Anne’s mind had time to drift. She absent-mindedly admired the heavily blossomed apple and cherry trees, and they reminded her of the cycle of life. It was odd knowing someone somewhere was rejoicing at new life with the birth of a baby, while she was grieving loss at the death of her mother.
Her weary mind eventually wandered to the peculiar phone conversation she’d had with Ruth’s favorite hospice nurse earlier. June had called and said “I have something for you. It’s a note; something your mom asked me to write down for you. She wanted you to read it yourself, and I promised her I wouldn’t just tell you.” June had taken down Anne’s address and promised to drop it in the mail promptly.
shutterstock.com
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January 1, 2013
Zoe Hisey
My Journey with God, Personal Growth, Recovery
abuse survivor, emotional strength, Facing Adversity, facing fear, finding freedom, Forgiveness, forgiving dad, Forgiving My Father, Forgiving My Mother, gratitude, healing, Letting Go, motherhood, NaNoWriMo, personal growth, recovery, Speak Your Mind, Spiritual Journey, Struggle to Forgive, Transformation, truth
Happy New Year, Everyone!!!
Happy New Year!
The New Year is here, fireworks have faded, and partygoers have headed home. The next common tradition is to write out those resolutions intended to improve our lives in the coming year.
Well, New Year’s Resolutions always left me feeling like a failure; the emotion amplified as year-end approached and my resolutions remained just words on a paper. The flab stayed (or grew), the exercise routine never started, the clothes in my closet didn’t get replaced…you get the idea. So, I stopped making resolutions years ago without any regrets!
Instead, I developed a list in my head of Things To Do in my lifetime. It wasn’t until I watched “The Bucket List”,
Bucket List -The Movie
I realized that was exactly what I had. A Bucket List! I just never had a fancy name for my ‘wish list’. In lieu of a New Year’s resolution blog, I thought I’d share my evolving Bucket List with you in the hopes you’ll share yours, too.
A few things I’ve already crossed off my list: More
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December 19, 2012
Zoe Hisey
Facing Fear, My Journey with God, Personal Growth, Recovery, Trauma
emotional strength, facing fear, finding freedom, getting help, healing, motherhood, personal growth, Spiritual Journey, Struggle to Forgive, trauma
The last few days have left me grappling with how to return to the ordinariness of life while others still suffer so greatly from their losses. The thought of it made me feel selfish, indifferent, and uncaring. But I knew I had to move on, we all must move on. Then, it occurred to me; maybe the best way to honor those who died is to continue living. More
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December 5, 2012
Zoe Hisey
Facing Fear, Personal Growth, Recovery
emotional strength, facing fear, finding freedom, Forgiveness, forgiving dad, Forgiving My Mother, gratitude, healing, motherhood, NaNoWriMo, parenting, personal growth, Struggle to Forgive, Transformation, truth
Those of you who have been supporting and encouraging me know that I’ve been on a NaNoWriMo detour the last several weeks. I crossed the finish line with an official word count of 50,049 words, and it’s taken me this long to come up for air! Thanks to everyone who supported me through emails, blog comments, etc.! You are all wonderful! I even had two people tell about their own “letter stories” in their comments.
Several people have mentioned wanting to read about Anne’s adventures from this year’s novel, so I am sharing an excerpt below. It is longer than my typical posts; I hope you don’t mind. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated!
One last thing…I was advised to mention a reminder this text is subject to my copyright (see notice on home page.) Thank you!
“Letters of a Lifetime”-A Raw & Rough Excerpt
Anne sighed deeply after the last person left the house. Friends, family, and neighbors had gone out of their way to stop by after the funeral. It had been an amazing show of love for her mom, and she appreciated it. Still, it was mentally draining to cope with everyone’s sorrow and awkward comments while deep in grief herself. More
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