WHEN LIFE BENT YOU, WHAT KEPT YOU ROOTED?
Every one of us has weathered something.
A loss. An illness. A change we did not choose. A season that asked more of us than we believed we could give.
Yet somewhere within those moments, something helped us remain rooted. It may have been another person, an unexpected kindness, a place, a purpose, a quiet realization, or a strength we did not know we carried.
The Forest We Become is an invitation to share those stories.
Because when one person speaks honestly about what helped them endure, heal, and begin again, someone else may recognize that they are not alone.
One story is a single tree.
Together, we become a forest.
THE FOREST WE BECOME
The Forest We Become is a human storytelling movement rooted in resilience, renewal, and connection.
It is a place for ordinary people to share the moments that changed them, the people and experiences that carried them, and the wisdom they discovered along the way.
These are not stories about perfect endings or pretending that every difficult experience happens for a reason. They are honest stories about surviving what we did not expect, learning to live with what remains, and discovering that growth can begin even after the hardest seasons.
We may weather different storms, but within one another’s stories, we often recognize something familiar. A feeling we have carried. A truth we needed to hear. A reminder that we are not the only ones finding our way.
The Forest We Become is built upon a simple belief: your story does not have to be extraordinary to matter. It only has to be true.
When we share what kept us rooted, our individual stories become something larger. They offer shade, shelter, hope, and companionship to those still standing in the storm.
The forest grows one story at a time.
WHY I PLANTED THE FIRST TREE
The view from my father's hospital room.
This movement began before I knew I was creating it.
For more than two years, I knew something was wrong with me. I had symptoms that did not make sense, answers that did not fit, and diagnoses that failed to explain what was happening inside my own body.
I wish I could say Lyme disease was discovered because someone finally put all the pieces together. It was not.
I discovered it because the Today Show placed it in front of me twice.
The first time was through a mention of Bella Hadid and her treatment for Lyme disease. I remember thinking, “Huh. I wonder what that is.” Then I went on with my life.
The second time was through Christopher Meloni.
This time, something stopped me in my tracks. I went directly to the Global Lyme Alliance website and began reading through its list of symptoms.
There I was.
After more than two years of being misdiagnosed, I finally saw my own experience reflected back to me. I was clinically diagnosed, and treatment began. It was not enough. I sought additional treatment in July 2024, and on September 3, 2024, blood testing confirmed that the Lyme disease was still active. That was when the treatment I truly needed began.
I am better, but I still fight some of what the disease left behind.
What has stayed with me just as deeply is how I found the answer. Someone I had never met spoke openly about something they were experiencing. The Today Show carried that story into my life, and it helped me recognize my own.
A passing mention changed the course of my life.
As a result of my diagnosis, and perhaps many other things I cannot fully explain, I started the podcast Life Between Coasts. I felt drawn to sit across from people and ask them about their lives.
Not celebrities. Not experts telling the rest of us how to live.
Ordinary people telling honest stories about what they had survived, discovered, lost, loved, and learned along the way.
One human talking with another.
As part of those conversations, I began asking every guest to name their anthem. What song represents their life, their journey, or the person they have become?
That question became The Anthem Project.
Music creates another point of connection. We may not have lived someone else’s exact story, but we may recognize something in the songs that they choose. A feeling, a memory, or a few words may help us understand someone we might otherwise have believed was nothing like us.
Every guest adds a song. Together, those songs are becoming a soundtrack made from our lived human experiences.
My book has an anthem, too.
The song is All That Really Matters by ILLENIUM and Teddy Swims. I chose it because beneath everything we accumulate, endure, chase, and survive, what matters most is the love we give, the connections we make, and the people who remind us that we are not alone.
Swaying With the Trees grew from my own healing process and an effort to understand resilience differently. Throughout the writing and publishing process, small synchronicities continued to appear. Most were quiet confirmations that I was moving in the right direction.
Then, on May 20, 2026, the Today Show made another appearance.
I was interviewing a literary agent, book publisher and promoter named Sarah for the podcast. I had not told her I was writing a book. During our conversation, she said, “It’s not like you can just take your book to the Today Show.”
When the interview ended, I told her that taking my book to the Today Show was exactly what I intended to do. This is something I started joking about almost from the point I began writing it. My Mister had even promised that when the book was finished, he would take me there.
Sarah laughed and then told me that she usually says Good Morning America.
Of all the examples she could have used, on the day she was speaking with me, she said the Today Show.
I paid attention.
I finished Swaying With the Trees, and it was released on August 26, 2026. My conversation with Sarah is the September 30 episode of Life Between Coasts. Now I hope to offer the book to the TODAY team and invite them to help place one question before more people:
When life bent you, what kept you rooted?
I do not know what will come of that invitation. I only know that The Today Show was where the first clue appeared. Then it appeared there again. Years later, before Sarah knew anything about my book or my plans, The Today Show found its way into our conversation once more.
I keep following that thread because a story someone else was willing to share helped change my life.
The Forest We Become is the next step.
It is my invitation for other people to share what kept them rooted. Because we never really know who may hear our story, recognize themselves within it, and finally find the answer they have been searching for.
Someone else’s story helped change my life. Perhaps yours can do the same for someone else.
FROM ONE STORY TO A FOREST
We do not share our stories to compare pain, measure strength, or decide who has endured the most. We share them because recognition creates connection.
When one person says, “This is what happened to me,” someone else may finally feel understood.
When one person says, “This is what kept me rooted,” someone else may discover something they can hold onto.
When one person says, “This is what grew afterward,” someone else may begin to believe that new growth is possible for them, too.
No single story contains every answer. No single person can show us every way forward. But when our stories stand together, they become something larger than any one of us could create alone. They become a place where people can find comfort without explanation, hope without comparison, and connection without needing to be exactly alike.
That is the forest.
Every voice brings something different. Every experience adds another layer. Every anthem gives us another way to hear and understand one another. The goal is not to erase what separates us. It is to remember what connects us beneath those differences.
One person may never know how far their story traveled or whose life it quietly touched. That does not make its impact any less real.
One story can become a point of connection. Many stories can become a place of belonging.
Together, they are The Forest We Become.
ONE BOOK. ONE TREE. ONE STORY.
Swaying With the Trees planted the first seed.
I wrote the book for anyone who has survived the storm but is ready to do more than survive. It is for those learning to put down the armor, make peace with life’s changing seasons, and discover a softer, gentler way of being strong.
But I never wanted its message to end with the final page.
For every copy sold, one tree will be planted through my participation in the Arbor Day Foundation Supporter Program. That means each book has the opportunity to create something tangible. Somewhere, a tree will take root, grow, provide shelter, and become part of a forest that will continue long after any one of us is gone.
The Forest We Become extends that promise into our human lives.
A book can plant a tree. A story can plant hope. An anthem can create a connection between two people who may never meet.
You do not need to purchase the book to share your story or belong here. This movement is open to anyone willing to speak honestly, listen generously, and remember that every person is carrying something we may not be able to see.
The book is where this particular conversation began.
The forest is where we take it together.
One book. One tree. One story.
One more opportunity for something new to take root.
COME STAND AMONG THE TREES
Maybe life bent you recently. Maybe the storm passed years ago, but you are still learning how to live with what it left behind. Maybe you have found your way through and are ready to tell someone else what helped. Or maybe you are not ready to speak at all.
You are welcome here.
You can share your story. You can listen to someone else’s. You can offer a song, pass a story along, or simply remain for a while and borrow some strength from the people standing beside you.
There is no perfect way to heal and no single definition of resilience. Sometimes strength looks like holding on. Sometimes it looks like letting go. Sometimes it is simply waking up and trying again.
Your story does not need to be dramatic, complete, or beautifully told. It only needs to be yours.
If you are ready, tell us: When life bent you, what kept you rooted?
Your answer may become the reminder someone else has been waiting to hear.
Come stand among the trees. There is room for you here.
You do not need a perfect ending, a polished script, or a professionally recorded video. You only need your story.
Record a short video in your own voice and tell us:
- What bent you?
- What kept you rooted?
- What began to grow afterward?
- What song became your anthem?
Post your video publicly on social media using #TheForestWeBecome and tag Life Between Coasts.
Then paste the link to your public post in the form below so I can find your story.
Thank you for sharing your story. Submitting a link invites us to view your story. You retain ownership. We will contact you before featuring it.
Stay Connected
Your story may help someone recognize their own strength, feel less alone, or discover a way forward they had not seen before. Even if you are not ready to share your story, stay connected with us by subscribing to hear about any updates, or future events.
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