I have to tell myself over and over that no one’s trauma is worse than another person’s trauma. The trauma may have occurred differently, or under different circumstances, but each person’s trauma is their own. We get to own our own stories and no one gets to tell us how to process that, what to feel or when we should be “over” it.

Sexual assault and violence do not affect everyone in the same way, but that does not make one person’s pain more valid than another’s. Too often, survivors feel pressured to measure their trauma against someone else’s story. The truth is simple: trauma is trauma. My story, your story, and our stories all deserve care, compassion, and healing without comparison.

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.

The book is about resilience, perseverance, mental health struggles, addiction—the roller coaster of life packed with a punch of trauma.

People who have experienced trauma will recognize the role these steps play in healing. Others will see fundamental truths that help anyone.

Healing from trauma can be a long process. For me my healing journey is never ending. I work daily to find the joy in everything.