#IWD2018
Today, in honor of International Women’s Day #IWD2018, I wanted to share with you a series of small posts of some truly remarkable and incredible women who have touched my life in a very direct and profound way.
Though, I daresay, none of them have ever heard of me, they have nonetheless shaped and moulded some of the experiences and hardships in my forty-five years on this big, beautiful rock we all call home.
First, and it may seem a bit predictable as an aspiring writer myself, is J. K. Rowling (@jk_rowling). I became a fan of her books from my very first reading of the Sorceror’s Stone (as it is known here in the U.S. – never fully understood why they changed it from ‘Philosopher’s). But it was much, much more than that.
Listening to the commencement speech she gave at Harvard struck a deep, emotional chord with me. Because I too have experienced a marriage implode, been a lone parent, and was at a time almost as poor as it is possible to be without being homeless… and I certainly felt I was the biggest failure I knew, and struggled for years overcoming past abuse that somehow I just knew had to be caused by some fault in myself.
But hearing the words that “rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life” and more so, “I stopped pretending I was anything other than what I was“… well, for a woman who has seen more adversity than I ever cared to, those words, and learning more about her story and struggles did something that had become uncommon for me — it gave me a sense of hope.
So, for my own little celebration of International Women’s Day #IWD2018, a heartfelt thank you to J. K. Rowling for helping me let go of all the “shoulds” and “why don’t you’s” and start living my own truth. <3
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkCCLgnp0I4″]