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.
Varvàra Fern
Trigger warning: the answer below discusses sexual abuse. Please take care of yourself while reading — skip this section if it may be distressing. The biggest wound of my life is the sexualized abuse I experienced from my father during childhood. I don’t like the word ‘defining’ — I don’t believe wounds should define a person. Read More>>
William Benton
There are two, actually. I have sometimes joked that there was a real shortage of intellectual and creative role models where I grew up. That absence of encouragement coupled with everybody around me treating the creative spirit as something shameful was very difficult for me to navigate as a child and that feeling still rears its ugly head sometimes in a very interesting way. Read More>>
Brandon Pinder
Losing my father was one of the most defining and painful experiences of my life. A wound that shook me to my core and forced me to confront emotions I hadn’t fully understood before. His absence left a void that no one else could fill and for a long time I carried grief, anger, and questions about my life and my purpose. Read More>>
Reana Cunningham
So I had a really tough time in school- it was bullied really badly and it really affected my mental health and my self image. I didn’t want to go to school; I didn’t feel safe at school. I knew I didn’t fit in because I was always my authentic unique self even if that was labeling me as the ‘weird kid’. Read More>>
Celaena László
One of the defining wounds of my life actually comes from my friendship with Emily. I wanted to be her friend really badly and so I did whatever she told me to do. Read More>>
Lineka Michelle
The deepest wounds in my life came from abandonment and betrayal moments that made me question my worth and my calling. But those same experiences became the soil of my healing. I’ve learned to sit with my pain, talk to God through it, and use it to help other women see that they’re not broken they’re becoming. Read More>>
Heidi Horchler
I’m trying to heal every day, and honestly the art is the only thing some days that gets me through. My husband passed away last fall. It’s the most devastating thing that has happened in my life. I haven’t addressed it at all on my public accounts, but it is something that I struggle with every day. Read More>>
