As a child, I was abandoned by my mother. This left an indelible mark on my worthiness: if my own mother didn’t want me, what could I be worth? I lived with this subconscious belief clouding my life’s experiences for decades.

Not that you would have known any of this if you’d met me back then. I hustled, doing great work behind the scenes, and made my bosses and colleagues look wonderful—as long as they didn’t notice me, I was happy. Or at least happy enough.

It was in this energy and with these beliefs that I attracted a husband who abused me. One day, I found myself behind three locked doors and on the telephone with 911 as my then-husband crashed around downstairs, tossing furniture and throwing crockery. How had I gotten to this point? I didn’t know, but I vowed at that moment to escape—and finally dug into the trauma that had brought me to that low point.

As I wrote and spoke about my trauma, something incredible happened: extreme healing. Leaning into the worst moments of my life allowed me to release the shame and recognize how resilient and courageous I had been.

I claimed my voice and knew that my mission was to help other women find their voices. I began teaching others to write about their worst moments, heal through the process, and claim their brilliance.

That’s also why I started Highlander Press, a publishing house dedicated to elevating women authors.

Time and again, I witnessed women healing by telling their stories—and this transformed their lives. By sharing stories on this podcast, together we’ll inspire other women to see how incredible and brave they are—and how we can light the way for other women to see the same.

I am your host, Deborah Kevin, and this is the STORYTELLHER podcast.