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.
Dina Saalisi
I experienced sexual trauma at an early age. Many years ago when I was in the throes of suffering, I wanted to discard this marred part of my being. Through my life-long efforts to heal, I discovered the power in claiming this wounding as part of who I am, and not trying to exclude it from my story. Read more>>
Kendra Motley
Oddly enough, this interview came at a pretty interesting time in my career. I mentioned earlier the owner of our agency not paying us. That has been a really big deal. I had just been named a leader of a rather large Facebook community group on the agency, that generated dozens of leads for me each week. Read more>>
Braydon Unsicker
My youngest brother battled cancer for ten years and passed away when he was twenty. I don’t talk about it often because it feels sacred to me, but it’s such a defining part of my life that I believe what I learned from it can inspire others, as it did me. Those ten years were long and grueling, especially the last few. Read more>>
Christopher Najarro
The defining wounds in my life came from seasons where I had to step up before I felt ready becoming a father, losing family and friends, rebuilding after relationships ended, bouncing back from career setbacks, and carrying responsibilities that demanded I get back up and grow fast. Those moments exposed the gap between who I was and who I needed to become. Read more>>
Jennifer Whang
Some of my defining wounds of my life have been my divorce which overall was the best decision I’ve made but the wounds that created and needed healing took time and therapy. I healed those wounds with professional help along with self-reflection and vulnerability within myself and my pattern of relationships and why I choose who I choose. Read more>>
Marlon Ellis
My defining wound has been the struggle to accept who I am and what makes me different. For years, I tried to fit in, constantly asking God why I felt so set apart from everyone else. Healing came through acceptance. I learned that being a loner or what I call a ‘popular loner’ wasn’t something to fix. Read more>>
Lisa Carrington Firmin
I have had several defining wounds in my life; first up would be my father’s stroke, then a sexual assault that occurred in initial military training, serving in combat and dealing with adversity, death and destruction as a leader, and finally going through a divorce after a lengthy marriage. Read more>>
Claudia Chappel
I have had a complicated life. I have had to make lemonade out of the lemons I was dealt for much of it. The absolute worst was when my son died. After 19 years I still can’t say that out loud. It was a shock. It was an accident. I don’t think a mother ever heals from a loss like that. Read more>>
Josh Grimm
I’ve always been a bit of a lone wolf. I’m not sure if it’s by choice or by nature, but solitude has been both my challenge and my teacher. When your purpose is to give and to guide others, hold space, and help them grow, it’s easy to forget to refill your own cup. Read more>>
