Part One: A survivor’s honest account of family dysfunction, gaslighting, and the long road to trusting yourself again

Transmute motherhood reshaped by autism & special needs into a life you genuinely LOVE inhabiting. A weaving together of a personal lifeline, honest letters, soulwork, & intimate community.

I gingerly press that there is MUCH more to say about the topic of resurrections than what Religion provides to us.

Just like another stronghold of a figure that immediately comes to my mind, our old thoughts, too, can rise up to take space in our lives, whether intentionally invited, or not. And I’m considering the variety of old thoughts that no longer serve us in positive ways, and that deserve to remain committed to their stone tombs as they are always univited (at least to me).

In my previous Journal entry, I waxed on the topic of a mindful course of action to take whenever our lives begin to feel heavy and burdensome with feelings of discontent. And I found myself unprepared for a lesson on the very subject itself during my observance of the Easter holiday surrounded by a mixture of my family of origin and the one that I’ve established with my husband (WHAT a combination!)…

In a few words, I’d now like to lay out a condensed history of unfortunate milestones in my relationship with the man who conceived me. This was originally explored in an earlier post of mine hosted elsewhere: Was My Father’s Abuse Tied to Undiagnosed Autism? A Survivor’s Reflection:

…I want to be clear about something: I’m not sharing this to be perceived as a victim. I’m sharing it because somewhere out there is a person who is still calling themselves “The Crazy One” and I need them to know that clarity and craziness are not the same thing. You were paying attention. THAT was never the problem.

And if you made it to the end of this, Thank You. Not everyone can sit with stories like this one; and the fact that you did means something to me personally. Part Two is coming. And there is so much more to say…

With warmth,

Cheniece Patrick ♡

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Little Alchemies is more than just another lifestyle blog or newsletter about parenting special needs and neurodivergent children; it’s a mom’s real life personal journal and a sanctuary for other mothers and women inhabiting their lives again after Survival Mode. Through honest essays, gentle prompts, and an intentional community, you’ll rediscover your creativity, identity, and inner calm.

TRANSMUTE the weight of living into gold.

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