Dear Reader,

For over a decade, I kept my experience of sexual abuse a complete secret. I needed to disassociate and pretend it didn't happen, because if it did, it was real. And I had no

idea how to face that truth.

As my physical health declined and I exhausted every avenue for a diagnosis or root cause, my family and I packed up and moved far from my home province to a little

sanctuary on the ocean.

It was there-on the land by the Bay of Fundy, with the highest tides in the world-that every stitch of every seam began to unravel.

My body had been screaming for years under the weight of what I had stored. It finally burst open. The latch had unlocked.

Poetry began playing in my mind-one line, then two, then three-arriving mid-conversation or on a walk, revealing my secrets page by page.

It was during this time that I broke.

What I didn't know then was that after years of hiding, the best version of me would follow. That if I could allow myself to crumble-to sit in my feelings, face my fears, lay down my perfectionism, part with my people-pleasing tendencies, and reclaim my story-I would find not only my voice but also my self-worth, self-love, and courage. It was the hardest and the most rewarding season of my life.

This is a collection of the poems that carried me through, allowing me to process my emotions, lift the weight, and unveil the goddess within.

And now, these poems are yours.

Love,

Krista-Lee