Speaking
Fearlessly Always
Welcome to my blog!
This is the space where I share professional insights, personal stories, creative writing, and day-to-day reflections. My writing chronicles my living experiences and acts as a place where I can personally offer you professional expertise and best practice ideas.
I hope you will join my journey and stay in touch!
❤️
SUSIE 수지
September 1st is the first day of suicide prevention month. I’ve spent the whole day thinking about what I should say online, what I should share, post, or elevate. I’m […]
Real storysharing starts at consent. We don’t always think about the decisions that happen along the storysharing journey, because let’s face it, most of us don’t see it as a […]
Epistemically, our fields of mental health and suicide prevention were built for and by academics, researchers, and clinicians. They had no choice but to pursue formal education in order to create best practices. But, I wonder if, over time, and especially now, as lived experience leadership truly begins to blossom, if those degrees aren’t being weaponized against us? I wonder if our credibility judgments don’t still steer toward formal education and away from experiences we don’t know how to quantify or “letter”.
The field has spent years focusing on how stories are used, not nearly enough time on what happens to the people doing the sharing. Pressure to share isn’t accidental. It’s […]
Standing on stage is an experience. For several years, when I was invited to speak at larger events, I loathed the stage. Standing above everyone, the center of attention. (I […]
I have been involved in suicide prevention for over a decade. As I sit here, this suicide prevention month, I find myself wishing I could remember more about the early […]
Would paying a person to share their story “cheapen” the value? I recently came across a comment where someone said that if they found out a person had been paid, […]
What if lived and living experience (LLE) wasn’t a story we heard about but something we built alongside? This video project was created to help organizations, leaders, and partners understand […]
It’s been over ten years since I began my journey into suicide prevention. It’s strange to take that statement in and really consider what it means. When I started doing […]
Storysharing lacks best practice approaches. Lately, I have found myself saying, “Just because something is a common practice, doesn’t make it a best practice,” on repeat. Storysharing has been a […]
You’re wrong about meaningful engagement. I’m sure no one wants to be told what “meaningful” should look or feel like by someone else, let alone an organization that may or […]
Why is language development an important concept to understand for the lived-living experience space? Words shape how we see, navigate, and interpret the world around us. Words matter. They wield […]