Shattered Soul

By Jackie Boyd

Shattered Soul shares the unique journey of Stormi Weathers, from childhood to adolescence. This poignant story journeys through the experiences of a young girl whose abrupt entrance into the world set the foundation for her life. From parenting relationships, childhood trauma, and self-assessment, Stormi shares the intimate details of her experiences with hope of inspiring and encouraging other women to share their truths.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie Boyd
• Release date: Aug 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201672928

Book preview

Preface

One of the reasons mental health advocacy is so critical is because many people lack the acknowledgement of those disparities when they witness it. So, people continue to suffer as a result. In African American homes, we recognize these issues way too often. But, because of the stigma our parents and their parents have toward seeking mental health care, things get swept under the rug and never spoken of.

The inspiration behind this book is not simply to advocate for mental health to be prevalent in our homes, schools, churches, or communities. It is also the change agent many need to simply press forward. So many of us have gone through traumatic experiences in our lives and haven’t recognized how deep that trauma has shaped our lives. So, we are left with a continued cycle of failed relationships, failed friendships, and the feeling of being disconnected from family and friends. And while our trauma does often isolate us from the world, it is not our fault.

What’s important to understand is the need to change, and we can only do that by facing what we’ve been through. This book was hard for me to write, but necessary. I had to relive much of my trauma through these pages and truly recognize who I was and how I viewed the world around me. As a grown adult woman, I couldn’t believe some of the things I experienced in my childhood, but this book allowed me to self-reflect, self-accept, and be mindful of how my traumatic past has impacted my life. When I look back, I can see the repeated cycles that have continued because I never truly received the help I needed to cope and eventually let go.

Writing this book was therapy for me. It is what has helped me and impacted the future I intend to have. However, I recognize everyone doesn’t have an outlet or know where to start. What I can say though, is that change first begins with acceptance. You have to accept that it is now time to change. You have to accept that you need more support and be willing to get it. I know, the world makes us feel that mental health care is this plague of a thing, but it is truly a blessing, because once you learn the skills to overcome, you will continue to break barriers for the rest of your life. I’m still breaking barriers.

Much of this book surrounds family relationships. However, the story is about me, Stormi Weathers and my experiences. I share these words through the things I witnessed and how it impacted my life. For a while, I was afraid to recount the evidence of such a troubled past. When I shared, I was writing this book, I was asked not to share everything. I still am, but facing these issues as an adult made me recognize a few things. First, I needed the outlet. I’ve sat on this book far too long and kept telling myself that I’d write it and get it out to the world, but I would always push it behind me. I was afraid of upsetting family if I shared the truth. Looking back, I recognize it was the fear of acceptance and now that I’ve written my words and feelings into this space, I can truly accept my past.

When family members asked me not to disclose details of this story, I grew to understand why many people are fucked up today, including you. It is because of being silenced. The fear that someone will judge you or shun you because of your truth. But, I will tell my story because it is my time to unpack.

I also recognized how not sharing my story or releasing these emotional barriers impacted my current and forthcoming relationships. I lack self-esteem and doubted myself. We deserve happiness at all ends of things. Yes, I am happy, but I’ve always felt that there are things that have kept me from truly feeling and embracing happiness the way I am meant to. Many tears were shed as the story was written, which was cleansing for me, but also taught me the importance of purging myself of everything