Auntie M’s Advocacy Project

I have always had this big dream in my head.

For most of my life, I have been the person people came to when they needed someone to listen. I asked others why they didn’t stand up for themselves, while rarely taking my own advice. I was the quiet one, the peacekeeper, the caregiver, and the person people trusted with their problems.

Now here I am, trying to change the world one story at a time.

Before I explain the project, I should share a little background. I won’t go into the details here because I already wrote an entire book about my life. But the short version is that storytelling has always been part of who I am.

When I was a child, I listened. I observed. I tried to understand people. I didn’t always have answers, but people often told me I seemed wise beyond my years. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I was also good at telling stories. Even in elementary school, I wanted to experience life and share my perspective along the way.

That was the first seed of this advocacy project.

For years, I knew I wanted to write my life story. I wanted to tell the truth about the struggles I had to fight through and the person I worked to become. After finishing that chapter of my life, I found myself a little lost. I had a brief identity crisis and forgot, for a moment, what my larger mission had always been.

At the same time, I tried helping someone who was also searching for their own answers. We were both lost in our own ways, and in that process we hurt each other. That experience forced me to reflect on what I had been working toward for decades.

This project.

The idea is simple, but the dream behind it is big.

I want to travel, observe communities, listen to people, and share stories from my perspective. I hope this website becomes a place where volunteers can submit their own stories anonymously. A place where people who feel alone can find connection and understanding.

The truth is, I sometimes feel a little insane for dreaming this big.

I have never traveled more than a few hundred miles from the place where I was born. Now I am imagining a future where I explore parts of the world I have only seen on television or the internet. I am building a platform and hoping that people I have never met will trust me enough to share their experiences.

But every movement starts somewhere.

My goal is to bring people together, highlight resources, and draw attention to communities that are often neglected. The only way to remind people they are not alone is to share the stories that so many are afraid to tell.

The first brave people who speak up will make it easier for the next person. And eventually the dominoes will start to fall.

Anonymity is important to this project. No one has to use their real name. Even I don’t always use mine. Some people know me personally but not legally. Others know my legal name but not my private life.

That separation exists for a reason.

My late brother helped me understand just how important it is for people to have a safe place to tell their story. He was molested by a Boy Scout leader. He joined the Boy Scouts of America lawsuit but passed away before the case ever reached court.

The only person he ever fully shared his story with was his little sister.

The other people he tried to tell didn’t believe him.

That experience is one of the many reasons this project exists.

Every person has a story. Every person deserves to be heard and believed.

I will never dismiss someone’s perspective or deny the feelings they have about their experiences. Even when life gets messy, complicated, or uncomfortable, every story still matters.

I question myself constantly. I named this project more than five years ago, and the idea itself has existed for more than ten. I completed the legal paperwork so that when the time came, the project would be protected.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m a little crazy.

Maybe I am.

I’ve also recently learned that I’m neurodivergent. I grew up with a brother who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. My mother likely lived with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. My daughter has bipolar disorder as well.

Discovering that my brain works differently didn’t feel like a diagnosis. It felt like clarity.

Maybe this advocacy project will help give neurodivergent people a voice.

Maybe it will help survivors speak up.

Maybe it will connect people with resources they didn’t know existed.

My goal is to build a living ecosystem of stories, resources, and connections. As I travel and learn, I will document what I discover and share reflections from the journey.

For safety reasons, I will never post about places while I am actively there. I won’t share travel plans or future locations. Everything on this site will be written in past tense.

Protecting the people involved in advocacy work is more important than curiosity or convenience.

You can’t help someone if you’re putting them at risk.

Behind the scenes, I plan to work with domestic violence organizations and other advocacy groups. I’m still figuring out many of the moving pieces, but the mission itself is clear.

I want to create a place where stories matter.

And if I’m a little crazy for trying to build something like that…

Then maybe that’s exactly the kind of crazy the world needs.