Stories from Radiant Rise

Keep Speaking Up - Even When They Don't Listen the First Time
Keep Speaking Up - Even When They Don't Listen the First Time
Living with an invisible illness often means explaining what no one else can see. If you've ever felt dismissed, unheard, or like you had to fight to be taken seriously,... Read more...
Apparently My Brain Didn't Come With an Instruction Manual
Apparently My Brain Didn't Come With an Instruction Manual
Apparently my brain didn't come with an instruction manual - but the more I learn about myself, the more things start making sense. This is a lighter reflection on self-discovery,... Read more...
They Don't Get to Write My Ending
They Don't Get to Write My Ending
Some chapters leave scars, but they don't get to decide the rest of the story. This is a personal reflection on emotional abuse, PTSD, healing, and learning that my past... Read more...
Why "What's Your Pain From 1 - 10?" Can Be So Hard to Answer
Why "What's Your Pain From 1 - 10?" Can Be So Hard to Answer
Chronic pain can affect much more than pain intensity. Energy, movement, concentration, sleep, plans and everyday activities can all change - making one number feel like an incomplete answer. Read more...
September Is Pain Awareness Month - So Let's Talk About What Chronic Pain Really Looks Like
September Is Pain Awareness Month - So Let's Talk About What Chronic Pain Really Looks Like
Pain Awareness Month is an opportunity to talk about more than symptoms. It's a chance to listen to people living with chronic pain, challenge assumptions, and understand the everyday decisions... Read more...
Life After Emotional Abuse: Learning to Feel Safe
Life After Emotional Abuse: Learning to Feel Safe
Surviving emotional abuse was only part of my journey. I'm still learning to navigate PTSD, experience healthy love, trust myself again, and build a life where I feel completely free... Read more...
What Does Chronic Pain Actually Look Like?
What Does Chronic Pain Actually Look Like?
Chronic pain doesn't have one appearance. Someone can work, laugh, make plans, rest, have a good day, or look completely "fine" while living with pain you can't see. Read more...
September 11: Twenty-Five Years Later, We Remember
September 11: Twenty-Five Years Later, We Remember
Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, we pause to remember the lives lost, honor the families and survivors, recognize the courage of first responders and rescue workers, and make sure... Read more...
You Can Look Okay and Still Be Hurting
You Can Look Okay and Still Be Hurting
Chronic pain doesn't always look like pain. For Pain Awareness Month, I'm talking about what can be happening behind the smiles, workdays, plans, and ordinary moments everyone else sees. Read more...
I Thought I’d Be Further Along by Now
I Thought I’d Be Further Along by Now
I keep comparing my actual like to a timeline I created before I knew what life would ask of me. Maybe being somewhere different than I planned doesn't automatically mean... Read more...
Not Everything I Love Needs to Be Useful
Not Everything I Love Needs to Be Useful
When did we start asking every little thing we enjoy to be productive, educational, healthy or profitable? I'm hearing that "because I like it" is a perfectly good reason to... Read more...
“I’m Fine” Has Way Too Many Meanings
“I’m Fine” Has Way Too Many Meanings
"I'm fine" might be one of the most complicated sentences we use. Here's what I'm learning about asking better questions when someone doesn't quite know how to explain what they... Read more...
Apparently I Need a Hobby That Isn't Getting Things Done
Apparently I Need a Hobby That Isn't Getting Things Done
Give me a day off and I'll somehow turn it into laundry, cleaning, business projects and catching up on everything I've avoided all week. This Labor Day, I'm trying something... Read more...
Why Do I Keep Turning My Day Off Into Another Workday?
Why Do I Keep Turning My Day Off Into Another Workday?
Every Saturday night, I create an extremely ambitious plan for Sunday. Then Sunday arrives and I wonder why my "day off" has a full job description. I'm learning that an... Read more...
ADHD Medication Diary: Day 3 - Wait... Is This What a Quieter Brain Feels Like?
ADHD Medication Diary: Day 3 - Wait... Is This What a Quieter Brain Feels Like?
I'm three days into a new ADHD medication, and no, I haven't suddenly become ridiculously productive or organized. But my mind feels a little calmer. And I'm realizing that such... Read more...
I Made the To-Do List. So Why Can’t I Do the Things on It?
I Made the To-Do List. So Why Can’t I Do the Things on It?
I knew exactly what I needed to do. I made the list, organized it, rewrote it - and then did none of it. Here’s what I’m learning about ADHD, task... Read more...
New Month, New Me? No Thanks. I Just Got Used to This One. 😂
New Month, New Me? No Thanks. I Just Got Used to This One. 😂
September is here, which apparently means we’re all supposed to wake up with new routines, new habits and our entire lives figured out. 😂 I’m trying something different this month:... Read more...
August Didn’t Go How I Planned - And Maybe That’s Ok
August Didn’t Go How I Planned - And Maybe That’s Ok
August didn’t go exactly how I imagined it would. Before rushing into September with another list of goals, I’m taking a minute to look at what actually happened - any... Read more...
Welcome to Stories from Radiant Rise: A Place for the Parts of Life We Don’t Always Talk About
Welcome to Stories from Radiant Rise: A Place for the Parts of Life We Don’t Always Talk About
Welcome to Stories from Radiant Rise—a space for honest conversations about healing, chronic illness, mental health, motherhood, personal growth, and the beautifully imperfect process of figuring life out as we... Read more...