I walked away from violence and today I am here, many years after all that tragedy, stronger than ever, raw, with memories and marks in my mind and soul that would never disappear. They are emotional scars that I am not sure I could ever delete from myself. But I also have no regrets about the things I did. It was never my fault, this was the most important fact for me.

My pregnancy experience gave me insight into the cold and unfeeling approach that doctors often take towards the female body. It comes as no surprise that Black women are experiencing fibroids and unnecessary hysterectomies (removing the uterus) at alarming rates. I wanted to reclaim my body.

The Africa that is sold to us is not my Africa, the dry and desolate place filled with starving people and war lords is not my Africa. My Africa is filled with trees that are a heavenly green and the soil bleeds red. My Africa is beautiful so therefore, I am beautiful.

Back in Spoken Black Girl's personal blog days, founder and Editor-in-Chief, Rowana Abbensetts, held the first ever Journal to Healing Challenge. Now the challenge is back and we're digging even deeper into our minds and souls for honest answers about healing through the art of journaling.

SBG had the honor of speaking to Amamda Dookie, Founder of Heal Her Heart, a non-profit organization committed to empowering women who have experienced trauma to share their stories and continue the work towards their journey of healing.

Writing our own stories and the stories of our mothers and grandmothers and their grandmothers exorcises those ghosts out from inside us. It unleashes the power those stories hold. It is a rebellion against a system that wants you to believe that you aren’t enough, that you aren’t valued or heard or seen.