Gentle Inner Voices

Do you identify as a recovering people pleaser, co-dependent, or scapegoat? Are you known as the family truth-teller or upstander? Are your boundaries getting stronger? If so, I hope this blog will be helpful to you!

I'm Christine. I'm in the second half of my life. I'm recently divorced, a mom to two incredible young women, and a dog mom to a senior golden retriever. You can learn more about my background here.

Like many of you, I lived the first half of my life entrenched in abuse cycles with people who were emotionally and psychologically unhealthy. That's over now. Those three words are small, yet they encapsulate a seismic shift for me. 

I no longer keep dark secrets or carry emotional burdens for people who use or abuse me. 

I no longer make excuses for people who lie, manipulate, and bully others.

I no longer live my life the way other people want me to. 

I no longer enable other people's addictions.

I no longer walk on eggshells or keep my body clenched and braced for the unknown. 

I trust myself now. I see my value and worth, and my inner critic is now a gentle guide.

I am on a journey to end the generational trauma in my family for me and my daughters. Along the way, I am enjoying rediscovering myself and learning how to live fully and authentically in the present moment.

My goal for the second half of my life is to learn to navigate those forces that pull at each of us. You know, the ones that try to suck you back into the unhealthy dynamics of a family or a friendship or a workplace? You can almost set your clock by it—as soon as you feel like your head is above water and you're getting good at enforcing your boundaries—boom!—one of the broken people or their enablers is pulling at you, trying to convince you to jump back into your old role.

I'm here to share my journey, hoping that my hard-learned lessons and daily mistakes will help kindred spirits on a similar journey. If you've been on a similar path, you know how hard it is to emerge on the other side, only to feel like you are walking alone into the abyss. It's peaceful and calm, but connecting with others who've walked the same path is challenging.

Ultimately, I hope to build a community of women (and, maybe eventually men, too) who have managed to put a safe distance between themselves and the broken people in their lives, have learned to love and trust themselves, and are now looking for connections with other women who are determined to be the last ones in their family tree to face what they've survived.

If that sounds like a journey you'd like to join, welcome along!