What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?

Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we carry—and the ways we learn to move through it—can define who we become. We asked community members from a broad array of industries to reflect on their defining wounds and have shared the responses below.

Gina Kronstadt

WHOA! THE defining literal wound (although I suppose there have been many smaller ones) would be having to quit playing violin from the nerve damage after the botched surgery. It was almost unbearable physically, mentally and spiritually. But, I somehow did (and still do) The Work, and am feeling the strongest I ever have. Read more>>

Ed Vargas

This question really resonates with me because this year has mostly been about reassessing uncertainty and understanding the value of suffering. I think my life was in many ways marked by an inner feeling of being different and weird and through the past decade I’ve been learning to embrace that, and use it as a bridge to connect with people. Read more>>

Nicholas Doan

My award winning series, MONSTER ELEMENTARY was originally going to be published by Image Comics. This was a dream come true! Image was the third largest publisher of comics and the number one publisher for creator owned comics. But my co-creator had some life problems and wouldn’t be able to meet our deadlines. So we were dropped. I was devastated. Read more>>

Maria Micha

The wounds from my early childhood where I was constantly faced with put-downs from a family member and my marriage which I had to walk out of, were hard to heal. But, with the power of spiritual psychotherapy, meditation, reformed self belief and self worth, I managed to leave that pain behind. Read more>>

Cambria Francesca

Loss… loss of not having a father in my life, loss of innocence at a young age, loss of my home, loss of my family, loss of my health. I gave myself the grace and the permission to mourn. Mourn the Daddy Daughter relationship I would never have with my father so that I could forgive enough to create a new type of relationship. Read more>>

Chenarii Bussey

The defining wounds of my life have come from family trauma,those deep hurts and relational struggles. I’ve healed by forgiving first myself, then others. I’ve learned to assess those situations with grace, understanding that just as God gives me grace, I need to extend that to others. Read more>>