Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we carry—and the ways we learn to move through it—can define who we become. We asked community members from a broad array of industries to reflect on their defining wounds and have shared the responses below.
Amy Newman Brown
The defining wounds of my life have come from loss. In the span of just two years, I lost both my sister and my father—two of my greatest sources of inspiration and grounding. My sister was the epitome of grit and reinvention. She pursued multiple careers throughout her life and, in her 40s, boldly went back to medical school. Read More>>
Petra Mason
Struggles/defining wounds: Having to fend for myself at age 18. Mother moved to Tuscany, Italy and Father retired from his position as Professor of Archaeology very early and took off to cycle around America leaving me (the youngest) to fend for myself. How healed: Not sure one entirely heals or has to. Acting as an adult very young is a blessing and a curse. Read More>>
Barbara Rachko
The deepest wound was losing Bryan on 9/11. I resolved not to become another victim of that tragedy and chose to continue living and making art. Because I depend on reference photographs for my work, my first hurdle was learning to use Bryan’s 4×5 view camera. He had always taken the photos for me. Read More>>
Alexis Interiano
Loss. Death. Grief. I haven’t exactly figured out how to heal those wounds, but I have taken the impact they made on me and applied it to my life in productive ways. Read More>>
Laurie Miller
Being in Show business for most of my life created a lot of sacrifices with my relationships. I’ve had many wonderful very deep meaningful relationships and I’ve actually been engaged many times. What happens in my experiences is that people think they can change you. Read More>>
Kirsty Akaal
The defining wounds of my life have been the secrets and shame I carried, those parts of myself I felt I couldn’t show, the stories I thought would make me unworthy or unlovable. For years, they felt heavy, isolating, and impossible to face. Read More>>
Michael Toombs
As a Black artist, wounds are an expectation prior to and continuing through the Civil Rights Act and beyond. The struggle to be seen, heard and appreciated was life long until my last 15 years. Overcoming the struggle has many components. Read More>>
Pia Stern
The jury may be currently out on the question of the most defining wounds in my life. Surely some of the most impactful wounds have been ones which I have experienced only just recently; the loss of 5 beautiful, treasured members of my family in just 6 years, including my two younger brothers. Read More>>
Paolo Mazzucato
I’m not sure if wounds ever heal…really. As a writer, the moments that affect you deeply often open the window to an idea or theme that allows you to reflect…or deflect (kind of like what I’m doing now with this question). But seriously, I do not feel ‘defined’ by any wounds. Read More>>
lé dieguê
When I left my country at the age of 18 years old when I came to the US for the first time in a migration setting. I never wanted to leave, but the socio-political situation of my country forced me not to come back. Ever since then, I have always longed to go back. Read More>>
Brooke Robertson
I was sexually abused at 10 years old. I kept it to myself for 15 years until God opened the doors to music. I would’ve never shared my story much less even thought I needed to forgive until music. I didn’t realize until then that I had unhealed wounds. Read More>>
Lina Rugova
The defining wounds of my life have all come from moments of deep change and uncertainty, immigrating to this country, adjusting to a new culture, building and raising a family far from where I started, moving across the country, navigating the pandemic, and starting businesses that didn’t work out. Each one left its own mark. Read More>>
Jordan Johnson
Losing my father in 2022 due to a drunk driver created one of deepest wounds. I can’t say I’ve healed completely, because grief a tricky thing. What I can say is I’m dreaming bigger these days. I always downplayed my ideas and abilities, fearful they couldn’t be obtained. My dad on the other hand thought I could do literally anything. Read More>>
ANA KARINA DA SILVA
The wound of success and the emptiness that comes after achieving a big goal is real. That feeling comes from not really evaluating what fills you up, and trying to fill that space with something else. I was very excited to achieve dreams like winning a Cannes. I loved it. It felt so amazing that I wrote a children’s book about it. Read More>>
Joy Hankins
I don’t often share this, but as a young child I carried a dark secret and the wounds that developed over time nearly destroyed me. I grew up attending church with my family and when a new Pastor was appointed to our congregation everyone adored him. Read More>>
Valeria Prieto
The defining wounds of my life have come from solitude and detachment, there were times when I felt deeply disconnected from others and even from myself. But those quiet, lonely spaces also became sacred ground for transformation. Art saved me and keeps saving me. Creating gave me a voice when I had no words, and a way to process pain without having to explain it. Read More>>
Yu Zhang
In love, I saw the truth unfold— of human hearts, both divine and cold. I asked, I searched, I came to see: the world holds light and dark equally. Yet even so, I would be born anew. Read More>>
