Following Your Heart
Hi there, I’m Dawn.
I’m a poet, writer, survivor, stepmom, and dog-mom, living and thriving in my third life. When I say my third life, I mean it. I am a two-time heart transplant recipient, and I am living with my third heart.
It was a long, hard road to get to this point in my life. The odds were not in my favor, and few people thought I would live to see this day. I’m an adult survivor of childhood trauma, domestic violence, medical misdiagnosis, and just plain shitty luck. (FYI, we swear over here. Okay?)
I’m writing this letter with the intention to pin it to the top of my profile on Substack so that anyone who is new to my publication (welcome!) will have a better idea of what to expect.
My hope is that you will find value in what you read here, especially if you are interested in:
Learning to heal from trauma, either physically or emotionally, by following along with my healing journey.
Literature, poetry, and creativity in general as I share my own writing and of those I admire.
The business of writing as I figure it out along the way.
I joined Substack in December 2023 after one of my essays was published on this platform, but I didn’t start posting regularly until March or April of 2024. I’m hoping to keep up a regular schedule of one post per week with “bonus” posts sprinkled into the mix now and then.
If you followed me here from another platform, welcome! This is where you will find me going forward.
My Mission:
From My Heart to Yours is my effort to share my lived experiences and observations with the aim of giving you inspiration and encouragement as you venture forth on this wild ride we call life!
I want you to feel welcome and know that you deserve to be happy and know love, especially the love you give to yourself.
Just maybe, I can make you smile for a moment in your day.
If you’d like to support my work without a paid subscription you can do so by:
· ‘Hearting’ this post and others.
· Leaving a comment (I respond to each comment).
· Sharing this post by email, Notes, or on social media.
· Recommending my page on your page.
Thank you for being one of my readers, I appreciate every single one of you very much!
Its a fight and no one gets out alive… https://open.substack.com/pub/doctorbuzzard/p/the-struggle-for-freedom?r=21v0ff&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Hi Dawn! So grateful to find you here and look forward to reading more. I'm a SCAD heart attack survivor 6 years now. I live with an untreatable vascular condition (FMD) and underwent a 4-hour heart surgery at Mayo Clinic to close a congenital heart defect only discovered when I was 43 and had my heart attack! I am incredibly lucky, and thankful to feel good and live my life. I am glad to read you are in a good place too. and TWO heart transplants? You are a queen! Cheers to you.