15 yrs ago, while hiking on my own, I was violently assaulted & raped. Every anniversary, I go for a solo hike to remind myself I can still do it, that there is great beauty to be found, even after trauma. Here’s today’s hike. And my essay I always post 👉tinyurl.com/482k67e9

Woolly friends along the way

Flowers in bud & bloom: wild garlic, early bluebells, daffodils

Incredible views

If you told me 15 yrs ago that I could find joy in these things on my own again, without the panic & PTSD, I’d have never believed you. But we heal & grow ✨ And after publishing 2 novels, raising a small child with a partner & traveling again, I can tell you: it gets better 💪

For those wondering what my essay is: ‘On the Anniversary of Your Rape’ ✍️ I first posted it 9 yrs ago & people still contact me about it even now tinyurl.com/482k67e9 #MeToo #survivor #endVAWG #StrongerTogether #BreakTheSilence #recovery

5 yrs after my rape, I started writing my debut novel #DarkChapter (a fictional re-imagining of my rape, told from victim & survivor perspective). It was published 9 yrs after my rape & is now translated into 10 languages. a.co/d/7qUOowB

And 14 yrs after my rape (2022), my second novel #Complicit came out, which allowed me to address the loss of my film producing career after my rape, as well as the #MeToo movement & the film industry. There are always new stories within us.
tinyurl.com/c7c4jxc2

Oh, and I totally forgot, I did a @tedxlondon talk too, about rape, recovery & reframing the way we think about sexual violence, to centre survivors' knowledge. (Since heck, let's be honest: there's a lot of us survivors out there!) #MeToo #endVAWG ted.com/talks/winnie_m…