The Stories We Tell Ourselves Become the Life We Live
Every single one of us is living a story, or series of stories.
Some of those stories were lovingly handed to us.
Others were shaped by chaos, fear, neglect, or control.
Many were never consciously chosen at all.
And some of them were formed by the stories we read on repeat as kids.
The Giving Tree was always a book that made me cry. And up until I left my abusive marriage, I thought I was crying because it was so beautiful. But what I realized was that I was crying because that had become my life. I'd embodied that book to my soul, and I had been cut down to a stump, with old man ass on me. And it felt hopeless.
This was a powerful moment for me. I threw that book out and was determined to write new stories... for myself and for my kids.
Whether we realize it or not, the stories we tell ourselves shape our beliefs, our behaviors, our relationships, and ultimately the life we build.
For children especially, stories are not “just stories.”
They are neurological blueprints.
Stories Shape the Brain... Literally
A child’s brain is still wiring itself.
Every experience, every message, every repeated narrative strengthens certain neural pathways.
When a child repeatedly hears:
- “You’re too much.”
- “You’re difficult.”
- “Your feelings don’t matter.”
- “Love is conditional.”
- “Peace comes from staying quiet.”
Those ideas don’t just hurt emotionally.
They become beliefs, and beliefs become patterns.
Over time, the brain adapts to survive those environments. It learns to people-please, to dissociate, to self-abandon, to normalize emotional pain. This is how long-term emotional abuse reshapes neurology.
But here’s the part most people don’t talk about:
The brain is also incredibly responsive to new, corrective stories.
Empowering Stories Can Interrupt the Damage
When a child is exposed to stories that say:
- “Your feelings are valid.”
- “You get to choose happiness.”
- “You are worthy exactly as you are.”
- “You’re allowed to protect your peace.”
- “You can set boundaries... even when it’s hard.”
Those messages don’t just comfort them in the moment.
They introduce new neural pathways.
They give the brain an alternative option.
A different interpretation of reality.
A safer internal voice to return to when the outside world feels unsafe.
This is especially powerful for children living in confusing or emotionally harmful environments, where love may be inconsistent or conditional.
Stories Become Internal Voices
Children don’t always remember exact events.
But they remember how they felt.
And they carry those feelings forward as an internal narrator.
A child who grows up without empowering narratives often becomes an adult who struggles with:
- Self-trust
- Boundaries
- Self-worth
- Feeling “enough”
- Believing happiness is possible
But when a child grows up repeatedly hearing stories that reflect resilience, self-compassion, courage, and agency, something remarkable happens.
Those stories become their inner voice.
Even when circumstances are hard.
Even when adults fail them.
Even when life feels unfair.
Why the Books in a Child’s Library Matter
The books children return to over and over again are not random.
They are anchors.
Safe places.
Quiet teachers.
A child may not be able to change their environment, but they can absorb messages that help them survive it... and eventually transcend it.
Books that teach:
- Emotional literacy
- Self-love
- Hope beyond circumstances
- Boundaries as protection, not punishment
- Happiness as an internal state, not something granted by others
…become tools for resilience.
They whisper to a child:
“You’re not broken.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“There is more for you than this.”
And those whispers matter more than we realize.
Stories Are Seeds
You may not see the impact immediately.
But years later, that child may recognize unhealthy dynamics sooner, trust their instincts, leave situations that harm them, choose relationships that honor them, and build a life rooted in peace instead of survival
All because, somewhere along the way, they learned a different story.
Choose Stories That Build Futures
We cannot always protect children from hardship.
But we can give them stories that help them make sense of it.
Stories that remind them of who they are beneath the noise.
Stories that plant the idea that their life is not defined by what happened to them.
Because the stories we tell ourselves don’t just explain the past.
They build the future.
And when we place empowering stories into children’s hands, we’re not just giving them a book.
We’re giving them a chance to write a better story of their own.
This Healing Isn't Just for Kids
I didn’t write my books because I wanted to be an author.
I wrote them because I was desperate to help my own kids.
They needed reminders of who they were when the world around them felt confusing, painful, or unsafe.
They needed stories that told them the truth: you matter, your feelings matter, and you are allowed to protect your peace.
What I didn’t expect… was that those same stories would become the blueprint for my own healing too.
As I watched my kids absorb these messages, I realized I was relearning them myself.
Learning how to trust my instincts again.
Learning how to set boundaries without guilt.
Learning how to find happiness and peace even after trauma.
These books were written for children... but they have held adults just as gently.
If you’re looking for stories that:
- empower children without shaming anyone
- support emotional resilience and self-worth
- teach boundaries as an act of self-love
- remind kids (and grownups) that they are not broken by what they’ve been through
I invite you to explore my books.
They were written from a place of love, survival, and hope... for my own kids, and for anyone who needs a reminder that a different story is possible.
