Last week, my friend and fellow blogger Kate debuted her 25 Faces Campaign, in celebration of her 25th birthday in April. For 25 days, she will feature one post per day about a woman that she feels has inspired her in some way. I thought it was a neat idea when she pitched it to me, and I helped her by editing some of the posts for the project. I had expected to get a sneak peak of some really interesting and amazing women, and I wasn’t disappointed in that regard. What I didn’t expect was for her to ask me to be a part of the campaign and share the story of my abusive marriage and ultimate divorce, but when she did I agreed without giving it a second thought.
It’s been nearly ten years since I filed for divorce, and a lot of people that I know (even some of my own family) didn’t know the story. Kate published her interview with me last week (you can read the full post here), and I admit, I was very nervous to have such personal information published for any and all to read. Some of the things that I shared in that interview were things that I had kept to myself for nearly a decade, and I did feel vulnerable about the level of detail I went into at times. Let’s face it, abuse is a gritty topic, and some of the things I talked about are cringe-worthy even to me.  I worried that maybe I had divulged too much, but the reactions by those who read the post were overwhelmingly positive and supportive. I got tons of comments and personal messages cheering me on for sharing my story and commending me for who I have become today in light of my past.
I am very proud to be a part of 25 Faces. Each and every woman that is featured in the campaign is beautiful inside and out, and has a truly inspirational story to share. I’m sure that some felt like I did, that they were revealing a very private part of themselves in hopes of inspiring others around them. Others have achieved what may have felt like impossible dreams, and their stories encourage me to reach for my own goals. I even suggested to Kate that she should throw a gathering for her interviewees, so that we could all get together and meet one another (not all of us live in Washington state though, so it’d be difficult to pull this off). I encourage everyone to check out Kate’s blog and read each 25 Faces post!