Today's episode features someone who is an author, a poet, a soon-to-be one-woman show coordinator, a survivor, a mother, and a library fan.

DeLisa Seals has weathered life's storms and believes that we all have our storms to survive. With her collection of poetry, Clearing the Room, she has taken that first step beyond the stories of the past, to create a new life, and a more positive outlook on possibilities.

DeLisa survived an abusive relationship, leaving it on her own during COVID, with her young son, moving to a hotel, teaching him on her own during the lockdown, and completing her college degree, magna cum laude. She's a proud mom who knows her value, and that you can make a change to have the life you want, and she knows for certain that everyone deserves a good life. But as we discussed, she had a lot of inner battles to overcome, including a childhood filled with challenges. She is working on a one-woman show dedicated to the grandmother who raised her. She's always been a poet, but didn't find the courage to publish her work until she got herself out of the bad places she'd been in, and took the time to "clear the room" of old habits, old negative self-talk, and old beliefs and create a room filled with sunlight, positivity, and room for possibilities to become realities. We talk about how hardship can sometimes feed creativity, and how we all have choices in life, to draw from our experiences, good or bad. As she has learned, we are not called to fit in, but instead, we are called to stand out. As DeLisa says, don't let someone else tell your story; speaking up and letting the world know who you are is important.

Note: In today's episode we talk about abusive relationships, how to get out of domestic abuse situations, and how DeLisa accomplished this on her own, but in her own words, if this is your life, you are not alone. There are people out there who can help you.

#poet #domesticabuse #abusiverelationships #proudtobeme #raisinggoodkids #parenting #speakyourstory #thisisme #clearingtheroom #authorchat #onewomanshow #tellyourstory

See links to important websites below:

National Domestic Violence Hotline (please note this site gives instructions to erase your activity so it cannot be tracked.

DeLisa's book, Clearing the Room (link to purchase)

Do The Thing Website with Stacey Lauren

Do The Thing Collaboration Network on Facebook