The Beautifull Project

"I just want to go back. To a time when we don't have fear. When we're not so sheltered from each other, from the external relationships with each other. I just want to go back.

Welcome to the first interview of The Spilling Stories, a special series dedicated to abandoning the idea that we need to hold it all together and showcasing the grit it takes to allow ourselves to spill over.

These are stories of resilience, of ordinary women who are willing to let their grief take up space, so that it can serve their greatness.

In today's episode, we sat down with Katie Thompson, owner and curator of THE Market - A Journey to Joy. Katie's shop is home to 40 small business owners, all of whom she feels a personal sense of responsibility for. Add to that Katie's roles as wife, daughter, and mother, and she finds herself in a position of trying to be a lot of things to a lot of people. We talk about holding it all together, and spilling over a little when we need. 

"It doesn't do me any good to try to struggle to the surface until I've touched the bottom. If you don't let yourself go to the bottom where you can actually find your feet, it's hard to know which way is up.

So, part of it for me is allowing myself the full sink, allowing myself to fall apart."

Welcome to the first interview of The Spilling Stories, a special series dedicated to abandoning the idea that we need to hold it all together and showcasing the grit it takes to allow ourselves to spill over.

These are stories of resilience, of ordinary women who are willing to let their grief take up space, so that it can serve their greatness.

In this episode, Sarah invited her wife Becky to the mic to talk about all of the spilling over that has happened in their home, in their marriage, and with their kids during the early days of the pandemic in the United States. Becky works with this metaphor about slipping into her sadness, but having to go all the way to the bottom so that she push off from there and know which way to swim to find the surface.

It is beautiful. And it’s just the beginning of the stories we will share here in this place.

Stay with us.

"Maybe I don't need to hold it all together. Maybe I really need to just let myself spill over."

The Beautifull Project podcast is interrupting its regularly scheduled programming for a series of special episodes aimed directly at what it means to take up space in a world flipped upside down.

In this first special episode, Sarah unpacks her own reaction, explains some of the silence on The Project's platform, and shares a small shift that is working for her as she moves through her own fear and anxiety. She also throws in a little dig at diet culture and the "No Excuses" movement taking IG threads by storm during this time of physical distancing. She wraps up with an invitation to find some solace in this space, together, in the uncertain days and weeks ahead.

"A lot of our conversations are filled with smile emojis, but at the end of the day it's leaving us empty. Just because we're more doesn't mean we're more connected... we need community."

In episode 4, we sat down with Haley DeGreve, college senior, marketing and communications major, and co-founder of The Gray Matters.

The Gray Matters is a mental health campaign that seeks to initiate conversation around the gray area between mental health awareness and stigma. The goal is to spread a message of hope, solidarity, and compassion. This movement is making waves on Haley's college campus because it empowers everyone to be a part of suicide prevention. Haley is a creative force behind this movement, a creative force for good in general, and it is an honor to hold space for her story.

Resources:

Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1800-273-8255

"I don't really now how this big, black lesbian got accepted into so many circles, but it happened for me. Since they let me in the door, I'm going to always have something to say."

In this episode, we welcome Brandy Donaldson - author, speaker, and activist - to the microphone. 

Brandy began her journey into social advocacy and activism shortly after moving to Illinois. Her volunteerism has included Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, the Rock Island County NAACP, The African American Leadership Society (Quad Cities), Dress for Success, Young Professionals of the Quad Cities, the Q2030 Regional Action Plan, The QC Empowerment Network, The Chemo Care Package Project, which she created, the Palomares Social Justice Center and African American Lesbian Professionals Having a Say (ALPHAS), which she co-founded. Brandy also serves on the Illinois Council on Women and Girls and the Equality Illinois Advisory Council.

Brandy is a vocal advocate for change, in particular for change in the oppression of marginalized people. She is a living example of what it means to "use your voice." She is a creative force for good, and it is an honor to hold space for her story.

Connect with Brandy at www.brandydonaldson.com

"It doesn't matter who tells you that you can't have access. You go and you see... 'Can I get in here?'. And maybe not today, but tomorrow you can try again. I think it's important for women to give themselves permission."

Welcome to Episode 2 of Season Three: The Mamas and the Makers. In this episode, we sat down with Gaye Shannon Burnett. 

Gaye has been active in the local community with art and drama programs for young people for over 20 years. She is an artist with studio space at Bucktown Center for the Arts. She uses intense colors and compelling interpretations in her work to help create a different conversation regarding "abstract expression" in African American art. As an artist of the Black Diaspora, her work explores colors, motion, social commentary, and influences taken from her life experiences

She is the co-founder of Azubuike African American Council for the Arts. Azubuike's mission is to reconcile the racial divides that exist in our community by giving at-risk youth a voice to express themselves, to be heard without bias, and to spark a much larger conversation about race relations in the Quad Cities through the arts. Gay's vision is to use the arts to understand the past and help shape our future while telling a compelling story about why our lives matter.

She is a force for good in the world and we are here to hold space for everything she has to share.⠀⠀

Welcome to Season Three: The Mamas and the Makers! In this first episode, we welcome Sara Dean, the original Shameless Mom, to the mic for an incredible conversation about what it takes to make something you love.

Sara is the creator and host of the Shameless Mom Academy Podcast, a top rated podcast with over 2 million downloads. Her biggest passion is helping women own their space.  After enduring her own identity crisis following the birth of her son, Sara took her background in psychology/health/ wellness and rebuilt her identity, one step at a time.  Sara motivates and inspires women to stop shrinking and start shining.  She is on a mission to inspire women and moms, in particular, to live bigger, bolder, braver #everydamnday.

Sara serves women through her podcast, her thriving Momentum Mamas membership community, her Tenacious Mamas business & leadership mastermind and her annual event, Shameless Mom Con.  

When she’s not supporting Shameless Moms, you’ll find Sara with her husband and 7 year old son - building Legos and pretending to understand Pokemon.

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Connect with Sara at www.shamelessmom.com

The Shameless Mom Academy podcast 

Free Facebook Group

Instagram

+Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault+

"When the truth gets stuck in us, it crowds out the space that could be used for love and connection. Telling the story is a way to get the truth outside of me." 

In this final episode of the Season of Survivors, Sarah sits down with her wife, Becky... not to interview her, but to BE interviewed by her, and to share a part of her own survival story she has not shared before. Sarah tells the story of her own sexual assault, a story she had buried from conscious thought for nearly two decades. She shares her experience processing the sense of betrayal specific to being assaulted by someone she trusted. She opens up about how she still struggles to name her assault as rape. And she acknowledges that she still has more work to do to find healing in this place.

Her story is brave and it is beautiful and it was brought into the light because of the brave beauty of every woman who sat down across the microphone from her this season. 

Resources for Survivors:

RAINN

Family Resources (local)

+ Trigger Warning: Miscarriage +

In this episode, we sat down with Katie, a survivor of miscarriage. Katie unpacks her story delicately, the way you unpack some little treasure you've stored away for safekeeping. And in many ways, that's what Katie had done with this memory up until this point. She had kept the memory of "Baby T" alive inside of her, and wanted to share that memory with all of you. She hones in on the importance of slowing down with grief and not rushing the process. She also speaks to the idea that she felt she needed to "just move on" from this miscarriage... a sentiment shared by many women. Finally, she talks about the tension and anxiety she felt during her next pregnancy, making it difficult to connect to the joy of the experience.

Katie is brave and she is beautiful. And her story follow suit.

+Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault, Spiritualized Trauma +

"And then one day, I sat up in bed, and said, 'I'm whole again.'"

In this episode, we sat down with Rachel, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and later, a survivor of an abusive marriage. Rachel grew up in a deeply religious context, and when her abuse was disclosed, she was silenced and told to believe that what happened to her was her fault. This belief took root in her, informing her decisions through much of her adult life, and ultimately landing her in an abusive marriage. Rachel's story offers powerful proof of the impact of early childhood messaging.

But she also offers powerful proof that healing is possible. And her healing is brave and it is beautiful. Join Sarah and Rachel as they hold space for the story of this survivor.

+Links to Resources for Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence +

RAINN

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Argrow's House (local)

Family Resources (local)