Lessons from Pam Grier’s Memoir for Survivors
updated from December 2024
I love it when women tell our own stories in our own words!
When Pam Grier's memoir came out...I had to read it!
When I was a little girl I was not allowed to watch Pam Gri [...]

8 Lessons for Survivors from the Film Mi Familia
I first saw this film back when walking down the aisles of Blockbuster on Friday nights was hot.
I picked up the case, saw a lot of my favorite actors, and rented it for the weekend. I never forgot this story. Amazing. Â
Some [...]
Survivor Affirmations Inspired by The Joy Luck Club (with audio book)
There’s something sacred about The Joy Luck Club.Not just the story—but the witnessing. The layering. The quiet truths that refuse to stay buried.
Let’s honor that energy with affirmations that carry the same depth, dignity, an [...]

Lessons from The Wedding: The Kind of Love That Looks Good—and Still Costs You
Another televised Oprah production. She doesn't appear in this film, but if you are a fan of the wonderful series Greenleaf, you will definitely note her "presence."
This story, based on the work of author Dorothy West, isn’t j [...]
Hajia Gambo Sawaba: She Did Not Wait to Be Allowed
(You should see how elated I am! This series is going to give me those laugh lines we are supposed to hate.)
There are women who were toldto stay small, stay quiet, stay inside the lines drawn for them.
And then there are wome [...]
Congolese Women, Sacred Knowledge, and Spiritual Leadership: A Gentle Introduction
There is a quiet truth that has always existed, even when it wasn’t written down.
Across the lands now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, women have long held roles of spiritual insight, healing, and guidance. Not [...]
Sheila Johnson: When the Path Changes, I Do Not Shrink—I Reimagine
I am not limited by what did not work.I am expanded by what I now know.I dream again—and this time, I dream with power.
There are women who succeed.
And then there are women who change the structure of success itself—so other [...]
Võ Thị Sáu: 🌿She Was Young. And Still… She Stood.
“I was never too young to see clearly—and I honor the strength that rose in me anyway.”
Võ Thị Sáu was a girl.
Not grown.Not protected.Not given time to slowly become.
A girl.
And still…
She stood.
She lived in [...]

Denise Ho: 🌿Once You See It, You Can’t Go Back
“The greatest gift in this life is always more of me—and I am not going back to less.”
Denise Ho was a singer.
A successful one.
She had:
access
visibility
opportunity
a path that was already wor [...]

Selena Quintanilla: 🌿 She Brought Joy to the World. And We Will Not Ignore What Took Her.
Selena Quintanilla carried something extremely rare.
Joy that felt real.Warmth that reached people across language, culture, and place.A presence that made people feel seen.
She was building something beautiful.
Not just a ca [...]
🌺 Frida Kahlo: She Lived in a Body That Hurt—and Still Created Beauty
 For a long time I celebrated Frida's art and had no idea she lived in pain. I was truly spellbound by the art. As a young person, I thought the art was representing a different type of pain.....
Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico. [...]

🌿Josephine Baker: She Refused the Limits Placed on Her Body
Joséphine Baker was born in the United States.She knew segregation.She knew what it meant to be looked at and not seen.
So she left.
And in Paris… she found something different.
Not perfect.But different enough to breathe.
[...]

🌿 Josephine Baker: She Found a Place Where She Could Breathe
Joséphine Baker did not just “move to France.”
She left a place that constrained her…and stepped into a place that, for a time, allowed her to expand.
That distinction matters.
In the United States, she faced what so ma [...]
🌺 Marielle Franco: She Spoke. Even When It Was Dangerous to Speak.
Marielle Franco was a Black woman from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
She knew violence.Not from headlines.From proximity.
From lived experience.
From watching what happens when communities are over-policed, under-protected, [...]
🌿 Halimah Yacob: She Was Not Handed Ease. She Built Something Anyway.
Halimah Yacob did not begin life surrounded by comfort.
She lost her father young.Her family struggled.There were real limitations. Not imagined ones.
And still… she kept going.
Not loudly.Not for applause.But steadily.
That [...]
12 Reasons Lauryn Hill Deserves More Respect for Her Impact on Music (w/affirmations)
The only reason that men question Lauryn Hill's
accomplishments
is because they can't find a way
to take credit for them.
Lauryn Hill was never just an artist.
She was a creative center of gravity.
She wrote.
She produ [...]

Affirming Television Moments: When the Women Tore Down the Wall
First, giving gratitude to Oprah because this type of programming was very uncommon back in 1989. When you wanted to see television films like this, you waited for Oprah to make them.Â
It was sad, but she kept us fed.Â
There a [...]

Living in Truth in a Loud World: The Courage to Stand Tall
There was a time when a singer could stand on a stage, look out at the world, and sing a line that would echo for generations:
“I did it my way.”
The song My Way, made famous by Frank Sinatra, has become a cultural symbol of l [...]

Inspired by Survivor Viola Davis: You Don’t Need Perfect Weather to Bloom
Some flowers wait for sunshine.Others learn how to grow toward the light
even while clouds remain overhead.
Gratitude to a shining star....Viola Davis
A woman who never waited for perfect weather to bloom.
You grew thro [...]

She Quit Dancing for Britney Spears and Janet Jackson to Design Luxury Shoes Janet Wears
This entrepreneur quit dancing for Britney Spears and Janet Jackson to follow her passion for designing luxury shoes - Face2Face Africa
Giving yourself a chance is the first act of believing in the life you are [...]
AFFIRMATIONS AND SELF LOVE
HEALING JOURNEY
How to Embrace Your Imperfections and Still Believe in Your Worth
🌿 A healing reminder for Survivors learning that they don’t have to be perfect to be powerful.
If you’re a Survivor, chances are you were taught—dire [...]
I’m Allowed to Move On Without Making It Make Sense to Anyone Else
SurvivorAffirmations.com | Inspired by WeSurviveAbuse.com
Some people won’t understand why you left.Why you stopped calling.Why you unfollowed.Why [...]
Reclaiming the Fire: Brown Fat, Survival Mode & the Body That Still Loves You
You’ve been surviving.
You’ve been carrying the weight of silence, systems, sorrow, and staying ready for the next hit—emotional or otherwise.
So if [...]
Prayer Is Still Power: A Survivor’s Sanctuary
Prayer has held us when nothing else could.When the world closed its ears.When justice was denied.When even our own voices trembled in silence—praye [...]
Oh, We Been the Fire
Look at us.
Not surviving — shining.
That kind of laughter that breaks every chain still trying to hold on.
That joy they said was too loud f [...]
CONFIDENCE/POWER/RESILIENCE
When They Twist the Truth, Stay Rooted: Survivor Affirmations for Discernment and Power
These days, some of us feel dizzy from all the ways people try to twist the truth.
They sell us distortion as progress.They call confusion “compassio [...]

🌸 Groovy Affirmations: My Hair, My Glory, My Groove
My curls, coils, kinks, and waves are a love letter from God.
The texture of my hair tells stories my ancestors whispered into my roots.
[...]
✊🏾 10 Survivor Affirmations to Heal from Bullying
For the ones who were targeted, silenced, or shamed......
I was never too quiet, too loud, too smart, too sensitive—I was simply too po [...]
HEALTHING JOURNEY
Cultural Mirrors: Reflecting Self-Worth Through the Practice of Honoring Traditions
Â
The teachers are surprised to learn the kids are unaware of a vital piece of cultural history.
Cultural traditions matter
Among the [...]
8 Lessons for Survivors from the Film Mi Familia
I first saw this film back when walking down the aisles of Blockbuster on Friday nights was hot.
I picked up the case, saw a lot of my favorite acto [...]
“They keep calling me names… does that make it true?” (No, and here’s why it doesn’t.)
Let them talk.
Let them build stories out of shadows.
Let them sculpt their own fears into your silhouette
and call it truth.
You don’t have t [...]
I Choose Me Over Their Opinions. Every Time.
SurvivorAffirmations.com | Inspired by WeSurviveAbuse.com
They have opinions about your story.Your tone.Your timing.Your truth.
But they didn’ [...]
Survivor Affirmation: I Have a Disability and I Reclaim My Voice
elink.io | See Original
[...]
She Is AMAZING
Hajia Gambo Sawaba: She Did Not Wait to Be Allowed
(You should see how elated I am! This series is going to give me those laugh lines we are supposed to hate.)
There are women who were toldto stay sma [...]
Artist Jossie Harris Thacker: Building On Where You Come From — Without Going To War With It
Some of us were taught that “healing” means disowning everything that shaped us.
The accent.The neighborhood.The elders.The songs.The faith.The grit. [...]
Untold Inventions Of Black Women Inventors That Schools Don’t Teach in Black History
Surviving isn’t luck—it’s innovation and strategy. “I create what has never been seen, because innovation runs in my bloodline.” [...]
They Tried to Erase Her: The Black Woman Behind the Internet
Just because some people don’t clap for you doesn’t mean your victories aren’t worth celebrating. “Innovation is my birthright—I claim it boldly.” [...]
The Forgotten Scientist Who Cured Leprosy – The Story of Alice Ball (w/affirmations)
The Forgotten Scientist Who Cured Leprosy – The Story of Alice Ball: A pioneering woman's life cut short before she reached her full potential and los [...]
ART HEALS
Survivor Must-Read Reading List: Black Widow by Leslie Gray Streeter
I've been familiar with the power of Leslie's pen for years. But when a storm of loss and change came around just when her beautiful memoir was [...]
A Journey to Finding Our Voices Through Personal Stories (podcast/audio)
Your Survivor story has the power to heal. On this episode of We Survive Abuse, Tonya GJ Prince reveals how sharing our trut [...]
The Bold Choice to Live AND Thrive
Tyka said I could, so I did. -Prince (Tyka Nelson was Prince's sister who recently passed away)
Notice how people speak about sacrifices made for art [...]
🎵 Tennessee: A Prayer for the Weary Soul
“Lord, I’ve really been real stressed, down and out, losin’ ground…”
Those first words from Arrested Development’s “Tennessee” still feel like pr [...]
















