Butterfly Within: The Experience

What does it take to keep moving forward when life has given you every reason to give up?

From childhood trauma and becoming a mother at sixteen to experiencing the unimaginable loss of both her sons, Sherry Savoie's journey is one of profound adversity, enduring faith, and remarkable resilience.

In this deeply personal episode of Butterfly Within: The Experience, host Shurnetta Williams welcomes Sherry to the Healing Table for an honest conversation about the experiences that shaped her life and the strength she continues to discover within herself.

Titled "From GED to PhD: The Adversity Between the Letters," Sherry's story reaches far beyond academic achievement. After being removed from school as a teenager, she went on to earn her GED and continued pursuing her lifelong passion for animals and veterinary medicine. But between where she began and where she hopes to go lies a journey marked by childhood wounds, complicated family relationships, motherhood, heartbreaking grief, and learning to surrender what she cannot control.

Together, Shurnetta and Sherry explore what it means to forgive when an apology may never come, navigate grief that does not simply disappear with time, and rebuild a sense of purpose after profound loss.

Through it all, Sherry shares a message rooted in faith and perseverance: Take one day at a time, give yourself grace, and do not quit.

Her story is a reminder that our beginnings do not have to determine our futures, and that the person we are becoming is shaped not only by what we achieve, but also by what we have endured.

If you are navigating grief, processing childhood wounds, rediscovering your purpose, or simply learning to extend yourself a little more grace, we invite you to join us at the Healing Table.

Butterfly Within: The Experience, hosted by Shurnetta Williams, creates space for authentic conversations about healing, self-awareness, faith, self-love, and personal transformation.

If this conversation resonates with you, consider sharing it with a woman who may find comfort in knowing she is not alone.

Chapters

00:00 – Finding Resilience Through Adversity

00:33 – Welcome to the Healing Table: Meet Sherry Savoie

02:40 – Becoming a Mother Young and Growing Up Too Soon

03:46 – Who Is Sherry Beyond Her Life Experiences?

05:13 – Childhood Trauma, Family Relationships, and Forgiveness

10:22 – Teenage Motherhood, Leaving School, and Earning a GED

14:30 – Remembering Kendrick and Keon

17:01 – The Heartbreaking Loss of Both Sons

26:34 – Searching for Answers While Navigating Grief

31:23 – Losing a Job and Almost Losing Everything

39:50 – Finding Freedom Through Forgiveness

40:38 – From GED to Veterinary Medicine: Pursuing a Lifelong Dream

46:06 – Rediscovering Strength, Purpose, and Resilience

49:52 – Journaling, Healing, and Closing Reflections

Connect with Shurnetta & Butterfly Within: The Experience

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ButterflywithintheexperienceFacebook: https://facebook.com/Butterflywithintheexperience/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ButterflyWithinTheExperienceSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hxBwVE8HUhEjDlIWxxAdN?si=185c9cf246ed4456Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/butterfly-within-the-experience/id6802427604

Follow, subscribe, and stay connected for more conversations on healing, self-love, faith, emotional wellness, and becoming who you were created to be.

What can be hiding behind the smile of a woman who seems strong, joyful, and completely okay?

In this deeply personal episode of Butterfly Within: The Experience, Shurnetta Williams sits down with Phoebe for an honest conversation about the experiences that shaped her life and the healing she continues to choose each day.

Phoebe opens up about surviving sexual assault beginning at age 12, speaking up when others tried to silence her, and carrying the weight of that experience for years. She also shares how verbal abuse later in life contributed to anxiety, depression, and a gradual loss of herself behind the smile others continued to see.

Phoebe shares how therapy helped her begin unpacking what she had carried for years, recognize burdens that were never hers to hold, establish healthier boundaries, and learn that protecting her peace was not something she needed to apologize for. She and Shurnetta also explore the relationship between faith and therapy, the importance of accountability, and how healing has influenced the way Phoebe now parents her son.

Twenty years after her childhood assault, Phoebe made the deeply personal decision to confront the person who assaulted her. She explains why she did not enter that conversation looking for an apology and how confronting the past became part of breaking cycles and moving forward.

Through it all, Phoebe’s story reminds us that healing does not mean pretending the pain never happened. Sometimes it looks like recognizing old patterns, choosing a different response, asking for help, setting a boundary, apologizing when necessary, returning to God, and continuing to do the work one step at a time.

For the woman who recognizes pieces of herself in Phoebe’s story but has not yet begun her own healing journey, this conversation offers a gentle reminder: you are worthy of taking that first step.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — The Healing Behind the Smile

01:03 — Who Is Phoebe Beyond the Smile?

05:01 — The Pain No One Could See

07:15 — Surviving Sexual Assault & Speaking Up

11:36 — Carrying Trauma for 20 Years

17:03 — Prayer, Therapy & Asking for Help

17:58 — Verbal Abuse, Anxiety & Losing Herself

20:56 — “Mommy, Are You Okay?”

25:43 — Choosing Herself & Protecting Her Peace

27:12 — Therapy, Boundaries & Healthy Communication

31:03 — Choosing Peace Over Being Loved

35:00 — Taking the First Step Into Therapy

41:39 — Carrying What Was Never Hers

44:11 — How Healing Changed Her Parenting

49:11 — Grief, Parenting & Accountability

52:29 — What “Being Better” Really Means

54:40 — Journaling, Prayer & Reflection

59:02 — Confronting Her Abuser After 20 Years

01:02:21 — A Message to Women Beginning to Heal

01:03:27 — Staying Grounded in God

01:04:39 — Closing Thoughts

Connect with Shurnetta & Butterfly Within: The Experience

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Butterflywithintheexperience

Facebook: https://facebook.com/Butterflywithintheexperience/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ButterflyWithinTheExperience

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hxBwVE8HUhEjDlIWxxAdN?si=185c9cf246ed4456

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/butterfly-within-the-experience/id6802427604

Follow, subscribe, and stay connected for more conversations on healing, self-love, faith, emotional wellness, and becoming who you were created to be.

What happens when the oldest daughter becomes a protector before she ever has the chance to simply be a child?

In this deeply personal episode of Butterfly Within: The Experience, Shurnetta Williams sits down with her oldest daughter, Dria Amor, for an honest mother-daughter conversation about the unseen weight that can come with being the oldest child.

Dria Amor describes her childhood in words that are difficult for any mother to hear: responsibility, trauma, sacrifice, and the loss of childhood. From helping care for her younger siblings to feeling responsible for protecting her mother, she reflects on what it meant to become strong at an age when she was still learning who she was.

But this conversation is not about assigning blame.

Together, Shurnetta and Dria Amor look back with the perspective they have today, creating space for both truths to exist: a mother was doing everything she knew to do to keep her family moving forward, while a daughter was quietly carrying more than a child should have had to carry.

Dria Amor opens up about how those early responsibilities followed her into adulthood, shaping her independence, anger, relationships, ability to trust, and instinct to always take the lead. She also shares how she is learning that strength does not have to mean carrying everything alone.

Shurnetta reflects on her own journey as a mother, including the moments when survival and responsibility made it difficult to recognize what her daughter needed emotionally. Their conversation becomes an intimate look at what can happen when mothers and daughters are willing to revisit the past with honesty, grace, accountability, and love.

They also explore breaking generational patterns, allowing yourself to express emotion, learning to step back from responsibilities that were never yours to carry forever, and trusting God through seasons when life no longer looks the way you planned.

And when Shurnetta asks Dria Amor what she would tell the little girl she was before she learned she had to be strong, her answer brings the heart of the conversation full circle: it is okay to be soft.

This episode is for the oldest daughters who learned responsibility early, the mothers reflecting on what their children may have carried, and every woman learning that healing does not require erasing the past. Sometimes, it begins with finally being willing to see it clearly.

In this episode:

00:00 – Healing beyond childhood trauma01:20 – The weight of being the oldest child03:41 – Becoming the family protector07:19 – A mother’s perspective09:08 – Carrying adult responsibilities as a child14:00 – Faith, motherhood, and trusting God17:30 – Relationships, boundaries, and choosing yourself19:14 – When the strong child isn’t okay21:40 – Learning to express emotions23:13 – What it means to feel seen26:42 – Releasing control and trusting God28:42 – Resentment and the oldest-child burden32:02 – Childhood roles in adulthood32:51 – Trust, betrayal, and growth35:54 – Leaving trauma-connected environments36:35 – Breaking generational patterns39:00 – Accountability and healing40:13 – Stepping back without abandoning loved ones42:51 – The mother-daughter bond45:30 – Surviving abuse and sharing our stories46:34 – What Dria Amor would tell her younger self47:02 – A mother’s reflection48:30 – Learning to know yourself

Connect with Shurnetta & Butterfly Within: The Experience

Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/Butterflywithintheexperience⁠

Facebook:⁠ https://facebook.com/Butterflywithintheexperience/⁠

Follow, subscribe, and stay connected for more conversations on healing, self-love, faith, emotional wellness, and becoming who you were created to be.

What happens when everyone around you sees a strong, accomplished woman—but deep inside, you’re still wondering if you’re enough?

In this deeply personal episode of Butterfly Within: The Experience, Shurnetta Williams sits down with Karessa Mone for an honest conversation about self-worth, childhood trauma, abusive relationships, boundaries, faith, vulnerability, and the ongoing work of healing.

Shurnetta and Karessa also reflect on what it means to always be seen as the “strong” woman. They talk about allowing yourself to cry, recognizing when a person or environment no longer feels right, protecting your peace without guilt, and understanding that strength does not have to mean carrying everything alone.

And when asked what Karessa would tell someone experiencing abuse or struggling silently, Karessa’s message is clear: speak up and allow yourself to be heard. There may be people willing to listen, believe you, and help but they cannot know what you are carrying if you feel you must carry it alone.

This conversation is an invitation for any woman who has questioned her worth, carried pain quietly, or felt pressure to remain strong for everyone around her. Healing may not be linear or complete, but there can still be grace in facing what hurts, discovering who you are beneath the roles you carry, and learning to believe that who you are today is already worthy of love.

In This Episode:

00:00 – Episode Hook

00:42 – Introduction

02:10 – Who Is Karessa Mone?

04:30 – Why “I Am Enough”?

20:20 – Becoming Self-Aware

21:27 – Learning to Set Boundaries

23:18 – The First Time Karessa Felt She Wasn’t Enough

34:00 – What Would Peace Look Like Today?

36:35 – Journaling Through Difficult Emotions

40:18 – Why Crying Can Be a Good Thing

43:05 – When the Energy in a Room Feels Off

46:26 – What Karessa Would Tell Her Younger Self

53:36 – Karessa’s Advice: Speak Up and Be Heard

Connect with Shurnetta & Butterfly Within: The Experience

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Butterflywithintheexperience

Facebook: https://facebook.com/Butterflywithintheexperience/

Follow, subscribe, and stay connected for more conversations on healing, self-love, faith, emotional wellness, and becoming who you were created to be.

Season One finale. A reflection on healing, growth, and transformation.

The butterfly within you has always been there… this season just helped you see it. 🦋

I also share the affirmations that have grounded me throughout this journey:

✨ I am self-aware

✨ I am self-assured

✨ I am selfless

✨ I am SELF LOVE

In this episode of Butterfly Within, I reflects on what it truly means to be seen and understood. Many of us move through life being strong, independent, and handling responsibilities without asking for help. But being seen goes deeper than attention — it’s about someone recognizing the effort, strength, and quiet sacrifices behind the person you are. This episode explores the difference between being noticed and being truly understood.

There was a time when I chased clarity, validation, and even people. But healing taught me something powerful — what’s meant for me doesn’t require frantic pursuit. In this episode, I talk about the shift from chasing to observing, from reacting to responding, and from proving to positioning. This is calm confidence. This is growth.

In this episode of Butterfly Within, I reflect on self-awareness, boundaries, and rewriting your story at any age. Turning 50 has shifted how I see myself — and how I show up.

This is for the woman who feels like a butterfly with broken wings… learning that even broken wings can still rise.

Transformation always starts from within.

Sometimes growth sounds like, “Girl… you played yourself.”

In this episode, I reflect on what felt like my first real love — the butterflies, the chemistry, the potential — and the hard truth I had to face when feelings didn’t match consistency.

This isn’t about blaming anyone. It’s about understanding how father absence, childhood imprinting, and unmet needs can quietly shape the relationships we choose.

I share how I realized I wasn’t just in love with a man — I was in love with what he represented.

And how healing taught me the difference between butterflies and peace.

If you’ve ever chosen potential over patterns… this one’s for you.

In this episode of Butterfly Within, I open my journal and speak honestly about the weight of being labeled “the strong Black woman.”

After reading a journal entry that simply said, “I’m tired of being strong,” I reflect on what strength has meant in my life — not as a choice, but as survival.

We talk about the cost of always showing up, the emotions we were taught to suppress, how forced strength can disconnect us from our intuition, and what it looks like to soften in the midst of healing.

This episode is an invitation to release, to feel, and to redefine strength on your own terms.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by carrying it all, this one is for you.