While April is the time of year for anticipation of the joy and beauty that is to come with the approach of summer, it is also a time of year for reflection, meditation, and remembering the difficult journey of reaching this moment in the present.

Healing is not a linear journey. It is a constant back-and-forth, at least for me. There have been many moments in my life like this. In the early years, I thought those moments meant I was regressing—that I had somehow undone the healing I had worked so hard for. But over time, I came to understand something different.

Kenneth, Dawn and Neil are all survivors of sexual assault. Our experiences with the initial trauma and the recovery have all been different. Our journeys have one thing in common, however. Our paths to healing have been winding and unpredictable.