This was originally published shortly after the blog was launched. I thought I would re-post it for new readers who might be wondering how this blog came into being and why I write it.

Someone asked me the other day, after reading this blog, if I had always been this way. As in, sharing my personal information in such an open manner. I had to ponder that for a bit.

I realized I have always been an open book, but only to a point. I can honestly say that I never aspired to share the minute details of my life on a blog. Until the summer of 2010 when my world was unzipped.

I saw two paths going forward, although it never felt as though I had a choice regarding which one to take: get a shovel and dig a bunker or walk through the ruins and search for clues and understanding as to how I arrived in this place.

I have written in a journal since I was a young girl. The blank page provided a canvas where I could make sense of the world. Initially, my writing was just to keep track of everything that was happening. Most of it was scribble scrabbled notes: dates, incidents or names. Then I began to add insights and impressions.  I am so thankful I did this because it provided a trail back into the abyss, filling in the murky details that the shock and trauma erased. My reams of notes are a testament to what happened — a silent witness by my side, day in and day out.

Then, serendipitous things began to happen, people crossing my path at just the right moment or bewildering coincidences, which kept pointing me in the direction of sharing my story. There was the British woman, who owns a company that creates brands and stories for companies. In a conversation about whether or not it would be worthwhile to share what happened, I discovered that although she lives here in San Diego, she sends her son to boarding school. You just don’t meet many people in San Diego who send their kids to boarding school in England.  I was intrigued and asked her which school.

“Oh you wouldn’t have heard of it, it’s just a small school, way up in the North,” she said. All of a sudden, I got goosebumps.

Her son attends the same school that my husband attended over forty years ago.

We both looked at each other in disbelief. “Now that’s a rather odd coincidence, isn’t it?” she said, shaking her head.

Just for the record, I am fascinated by this kind of stuff. My kids lovingly call me “spiritual, woo woo” person.

Or, there was the young woman who broke up with her fiancé after listening to my story.

“I could be you in twenty years,” she said to me, referring to his struggle with alcohol. A couple months later, I ran into her and she thanked me, saying that listening to my journey helped her see what was happening in her relationship more clearly. The break up forced her fiancé to get help and, happily, their relationship has been re-designed and they are getting married next year.

“You have to write about this so you can help people,” she said to me.

I had no map for what happened. I was dropped into unfamiliar territory with a litany of challenges, but for some reason I was able to think and act quickly on my feet. Though I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, my journey has redefined me in ways I hope to put into words here on this blog. I am incredibly grateful for the lessons and the amazing people who have become my friends.

There have been days when I have been stretched  far beyond my capacity, only to wake up the next day and discover I can stretch some more.

It has been an opportunity to explore layers of life that exist well beyond the naked eye and discover the powerful resilience of the human spirit. I see it everyday in the eyes of my children and it gives me hope and fuels the “why” behind writing this blog.

“Every man has within himself the entire human condition.”   Michel de Montaigne

Thank you for being here.

To you and your healed soul.

-db

Who is Dianna Bonny:

Hi, my name is Dianna Bonny. It’s my mission to candidly share my journey with you. For me, it’s all about the healing: to create a radiant healing energy for others who have befallen a similar fate. Together, we can forge beautiful lives of belonging and connection. Thanks for joining me today! I look forward to hearing from you.