If life has taken a turn you never saw coming, and you're struggling to make sense of where it's left you, I want you to know that you're not alone. Maybe the future you'd imagined suddenly feels out of reach, or perhaps you're having a hard time recognizing the person you've become to survive your new reality. Whatever you're going through, I know how lonely it can feel when it seems like you’re struggling so hard while everyone else is out living their best lives.
Ten years ago, I nearly died in a building fire in Paris. I was 19 years old, with so many plans for my future, and suddenly I was facing third-degree burns and a permanently altered life. I came back to France to face my fears and pursue my dreams anyway, and have spent much of the last decade of my twenties trying to understand what it really means to live again, not just to survive.
I’m writing my first book about surving the fire, and mostly learnign to un-survive it, so I could live again. I've found myself returning to questions that I think many of us wrestle with. Who are we when everything we've built our identity around falls apart? How do we recognize our worth when life seems to be one hardship after another? And how do we learn to embrace a life that looks nothing like the one we imagined?
I hope that by reading my story, you'll find some encouragement and perhaps a new way of looking at your own.
To anyone surviving the unexpected,
Who I write for
If you’ve struggled at all in your life with unexpected difficulties that challenged the way you see yourself, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy my content. When I almost died in a fire, everyone kept telling me how lucky I was, or worse, how brave. But the truth is, I never really had a choice. I did what I had to do to survive, and most of it was instinct. When everyone else thought it was over and it was time to move on, I was pretty much on my own to figure out how to piece my identity back together.
What surprised me most during that season was how isolating suffering can feel. My legs felt like they would be on fire forever, and even now, nearly ten years later, I still can't stand for very long. Nobody really got it. It's easy to feel singled out by what you're going through, especially when everyone around you seems to be getting on with their lives. After all, who else do you know who's had to…? Well, I'll let you fill in your own blank. I never knew anyone else who’d been burned in a fire and fet stuck carrying around the question “Why me?” for years.
Looking back, I wish I'd known someone who understood what it felt like to have life take such an unexpected turn. I also really needed guidance because I couldn’t see any path forward, let alone know who I was anymore.
So if you're going through a difficult season and feel alone in it, I want you to know I'm rooting for you, and I get it. I've learned a few things on my own journey that I'd love to share with you in my free “survivor video series” below. I hope it will give you hope and strength to continue becoming the person you always wanted to become, and truly thrive again.
See you inside!
What’s keeping you stuck?
We all respond differently when life takes an unexpected turn. Some of us throw ourselves into keeping busy, others try desperately to get things back to the way they were, and some of us aren't quite sure where to begin.
I've certainly been there, and one thing I've learned is that understanding how we respond to difficult circumstances can help us make a little more sense of what we're going through.
That's why I've put together a short, free quiz to help you reflect on where you are right now, what might be holding you back, and what you may need as you find your footing again.