#MeToo becomes #WeToo: It’s been a year, what happens now?

🖤 My #MeToo Story: Reclaiming My Power, One Truth at a Time

In the fall of 2017, I watched the #MeToo movement rise across social media—post after post, story after story. I felt my heart crack open with each one. And on October 16th, just days before the 15th anniversary of my own rape, I made the decision to step into that space and add my voice. I still remember my hands shaking as I hovered over the “post” button. But I knew I needed to speak.

Here’s what I wrote:

“Me too...This Thursday marks 15 years to the day that my life was forever changed by the evil actions of one person intent on sexual violence. I am not a victim, but rather I like to think I am a survivor and I’m living my best life! I have watched all of the #metoo statuses on Facebook of you who are so bravely sharing, and I couldn’t stay silent about my own reality. I don’t hide what happened to me, and I want to use my experiences to help others. You’re never alone. #metoo”

I didn’t know what would happen next. But as soon as I shared it, something shifted inside me. It wasn’t just about telling my story—it was about reclaiming my voice. I had spent the past 15 years walking a long, nonlinear path toward healing, and in that moment, I felt myself reconnect with a version of me that had long been silenced. The fear and anxiety didn’t vanish, but they dulled. What replaced them was something more powerful—freedom.

And then the responses began.

Supportive messages. Grateful comments. People sharing their own stories of harassment, assault, and survival. Some were telling their truths for the first time, and others had been carrying the weight of their trauma silently for decades. In that flood of vulnerability, one thing became crystal clear: we are not alone. And when we speak our truths—especially the hard ones—we not only begin to heal ourselves, but we create space for others to begin healing too.

That’s always been the root of why I do this work. Long before I ever posted my own story, my reason for becoming a therapist was to help others heal and reclaim their lives after trauma. I know how it feels to think you’ll never get back to yourself. I also know what it’s like to find your way forward, slowly, in ways that feel gritty and real.

A few months after I shared my post, my dear friend Cillah Hall of Gazelle Magazine reached out. She was curating a special Women’s History Month edition to spotlight survivors in the #MeToo movement. I hesitated for a moment—because let’s be real, telling your story in a Facebook post is one thing. Telling it in a published magazine and on camera for a documentary pilot is something else entirely.

But after sitting with it (and crying in my therapy office), I messaged her back: “I’m nervous… but I’m in.”

Originally, we were each going to submit a written account of our story. That quickly turned into a full-blown media project for Gazelle Life TV. A group of us—seven women in total—would be filming a documentary pilot and sharing our stories not just in print, but on screen. Our media day was scheduled for January 28, 2018. Call time: 10 a.m. I barely slept the night before, not from anxiety, but from sheer anticipation. I was ready. Ready to tell the truth. Ready to honor the version of me who had survived. Ready to stand with women who had done the same.

What I didn’t expect was the depth of connection I’d feel with the other six women in that room. We spent the entire day telling our stories, holding space for each other, and weaving a collective fabric of truth, vulnerability, strength, and radical empathy. Our experiences were all different, but we spoke the same emotional language. We got each other on a level I can’t quite put into words. There was something sacred about it.

That day remains one of the most powerful, life-affirming experiences I’ve ever had.

When the project launched publicly on March 2, 2018, it became more than just a story in a magazine or a video online. It became a testament to the fact that trauma doesn’t get the final word. Healing is possible. Reconnection is possible. And when women stand together in truth, it sends ripples that stretch far beyond a single moment.

Even now, years later, I hold that project close to my heart. It reminds me that every time we speak the truth—even with a trembling voice—we chip away at shame, secrecy, and silence. We reclaim our agency. We interrupt the narrative that says we’re only allowed to speak once someone else gives us permission.

I didn’t need permission. I needed freedom.
And telling my story gave me exactly that.

I’ve never been prouder to stand in my truth than I was here with 6 of the most amazing women I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. We are forever linked through this project where we found healing through sharing, and I am forever grateful for them and to them.

I’ve been able to share many more details since this story was published, but I am so grateful I was able to continue the process of healing by sharing my truth.

“I had a boyfriend in high school and into my first year of college. It was an abusive relationship in a lot of ways, but I didn’t see that then. He didn’t stay at my place very often, but we lived in the same apartment complex behind campus. One night, a friend of his was in from out of town and was staying at his place, so my boyfriend stayed with me. I remember exactly what I was wearing when I got into bed, and I had a barrier of body pillows between us. I was a virgin and not interested in changing that status, and he knew this. I always took a glass of water to bed with me, and this night was no different. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, I remember thinking it tasted weird, but I didn’t think much of it at the time.

I fell asleep fully clothed and alone on my side of the bed, but I woke up without any clothes on, except my socks. I was so cold, but I remember feeling my socks. I passed out again, and I woke up the next time to feel him raping me, but I couldn’t move. My arms and legs felt like they ere so heavy, and I passed out once more. When I woke up again, I was able to pull away, flip around and cover up. He tried to tell me I was having a bad dream, but I knew that wasn’t true. Then he told me I was no longer a virgin, and that we had sex for the first time. I was confused because I didn’t remember it, except a few flashes as I was waking up. We had a surprise party to go to for my mom’s birthday, and he left my apartment to go get ready. I took the longest shower I can ever remember taking, and I tried to convince myself it was OK.

I stopped sleeping. I would be so uncomfortable in my apartment bedroom that I started staying in the small living room. I fell into a depression that I didn’t understand. It wasn’t until later that I sought therapy to make sense of what happened to me. Once I was able to understand the reality of what I went through, I wanted to help others heal, too. That’s how I came to be a therapist.”

So, it’s been a year…what happens now?

What started as a movement on social media, has become regular part of our national conversation. It may have started with celebrities telling their stories, but it has turned into so much more. We know that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will experience abuse, rape, assault or sexual violence in their lifetimes. These numbers are staggering to imagine, and it doesn’t just happen to celebrities in Hollywood. It happens to real everyday people, and everyone deserves a chance to tell their story and to pursue their own healing.

This movement has taken the topics of abuse and assault and brought them into the light. No longer does suffering have to occur in isolation. The #MeToo movement has allowed these conversations to occur in a very public way, and topics that were previously under-recognized and often dismissed or minimized, are now being validated and heard and understood.

This movement has shown the true power in numbers. When we are willing to share our truths and stand up with others doing the same thing, it’s a powerful force to be reckoned with. We saw that when one person feels empowered to step out of the shadow of their struggle, others will benefit from hearing their story. Over the past year, I have been truly touched and sometimes blown away by the number of people who have simply thanked me for sharing because they now feel less alone. Feeling disconnected, lost or unable to connect to others are just a few of the struggles that stand in the way of healing from trauma, but now, thanks to the #MeToo movement, no one has to feel alone or like they have no one on their side. We are #StrongerTogether and I will continue to share my story as a way to empower others to know that suffering in silence is not necessary and healing is possible.

There is so much more to say, and this topic will continue evolving as our society continues to figure out to deal with the issues of rape, abuse, harassment and other sexual violence.