Blog Voices from Our Community

Read stories, updates, and reflections from artists, staff, and survivors. Here, we share the heart of Awakenings — one post at a time.

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Kills 99.9% of Germs

Jorie Rao delves skillfully into the aftermath of an assault. The piece explores the tiny sensory details that form whole memories and how those memories

  • Memoir, Prose
Simple black and white line drawing of a bird perched on a diagonal branch, with its beak open as if singing.

Held

Take a journey through Kimberly Cunningham’s poetic piece as she shares her arc and offers help and healing to others. Cunningham uses rhythm in the

  • All Authors, Prose
Simple black and white line drawing of a bird perched on a diagonal branch, with its beak open as if singing.

This is a Normal Bus Ride

This skillful piece by Allison Linne highlights not only the experience of sexual violence, but also all the complicated emotions that come after. Linne tells

  • Memoir
Simple black and white line drawing of a bird perched on a diagonal branch, with its beak open as if singing.

Vehemently Speaking

How do we participate in society and listen to testimonies when that might bring our own past comes to the surface? Avey guides us through

  • All Authors, Memoir
Simple black and white line drawing of a bird perched on a diagonal branch, with its beak open as if singing.

Out of the Night that Covers Me

Bobbie Groth is a familiar voice to Awakenings. Her funny and touching memoir, Gifts From Her Table, is currently being serialized with Awakened Voices. She

  • All Authors, Essay
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The Word Rape is Made of Tar

In this examination of the the word “rape,” Nilsa Rivera encourages her readers to think deeply about how the intricacies of language can affect us.

  • All Authors, Essay
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If You’ve Got a Bell to Ring…Ring It

Thinking back to Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court, Wendi White examines her own experience as a member of the same generation. With an open,

  • All Authors, Memoir, Prose
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My Black Shoes from Paris

It’s an empowering decision to be open about an experience of sexual violence for the first time. Ann Casapini contributes to the narrative of so

  • All Authors, All Formats, Memoir
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Once Greek, Always Greek

Catharine Jones tells of a homecoming, but it isn’t so straightforward. She discusses the relationship between her identity as a survivor and the other aspects

  • All Authors, Memoir
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Easter Women

There is a consistent narrative throughout history of women not being believed or taken seriously, but the truth has always been that women’s and survivors’

  • All Authors, Essay
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Dad

Sandra Shaw Homer takes us through the complicated years of her childhood with grace and skill. It’s a piece that speaks to the prevalence of

  • Memoir, Prose
Simple black and white line drawing of a bird perched on a diagonal branch, with its beak open as if singing.

a (wo)Man’s world

Sometimes, simply watching a movie can be interrupted by sudden confrontations with a past trauma. Katie takes her readers through one of these tough, quiet

  • All Authors, All Formats, Memoir

Create, connect, & heal

Find your place in our circle of creators, where every artistic choice is valid and every emotion is welcome. Healing isn’t linear, nor a path you have to walk alone.

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