Dear Reader I wanted to share something with you this week that made my heart glow. I love hearing about survivors who are able to heal and to find their passion and joy. I want to formally introduce you to a friend of mine, Arci Grey who has done just that. You may have heard that name recently, and that’s because Arci has dedicated some of her time to working on an exciting new project with the foundation. (It’s called Survivor School– and we have been sharing updates on this for the last few weeks.) Today, I wanted to share a little bit more of Arci’s success story so you can get to know her a little better. Arci and I have known each other for almost 2 years now, and I have had the pleasure of watching her grow. Arci struggled, like so many of you have, with the effects of childhood sexual violence. She spent over 30 years searching for answers and just trying to keep up in life. She describes her experience as “living in Freddy Krueger’s Groundhog Day” enduring one crisis after another. Arci always felt left out or left behind, like she didn’t belong and was just trying to prove herself to a world that was quick to dismiss her.
She felt like she was falling farther behind everyday; struggling with toxic relationships, exhausted with dead-end jobs, always tired, anxious and overwhelmed, living in a constant state of survival mode, wondering how she was going to pay the bills, and forgetting what it was like to be happy.
This continued for years until 2 days before her 37th birthday, when she was kidnapped and endured the most horrific 4 days of her life. Arci narrowly escaped murder.
When Arci and I had met, she had shared her story with me, and I connected immediately with her resilience and determination. Since her harrowing experience 5 years ago, Arci has not only fully recovered physically, but she faced the trauma of her childhood experiences and worked tirelessly to heal those wounds, and with great success! Arci has gone from a Survivor to a CEO. She started her own business, as a way to take back control of her life, and she says “ It was the best decision I could have made, and honestly, having a drive for something bigger is the reason I healed my trauma. Success is the best Justice!” When Arci and I spoke recently on my Podcast, she used one word to describe herself: Proud. And I am proud to call her my friend. ~Love, Jan P.S. If you would like to learn more about Arci and her programs, you can check out her website here. P.P.S. Keep an eye on your inbox, my interview with Survivor to CEO, Arci Grey is going live on Tuesday the 21st on the Jan Broberg Show Podcast |