Controlling our own narratives is very empowering. However, the farther away we are from power, the more we have to struggle to tell our stories and have control over our narratives. This has become devastatingly clear to me as I navigate the world as a survivor of sexual violence, watching as others struggle to be seen, to be believed. The dominant narratives focus on the events themselves and occasionally the perpetrators. Much less attention is given to the survivors: what their lives look like after and what their healing processes are.
A Diary of Afterwards explores what my healing process has looked like after being sexually assaulted: the sadness, the anger, the exhaustion. It looks different at different times and is not linear. I wanted to center my experience of my life after what was done to me instead of the event itself. My hope is that more narratives will work to center survivors healing, instead of ending at challenging their stories or punishing perpetrators.