The Ripple Effect of Sharing Your Story

“That action you took had a ripple effect in my life, and I’m safer, and my children are safer because you chose to share what you shared.”

I received this message yesterday. She sent it to me through audio, and I could hear her actually say the words. And when I did, it was fully body chills and instant tears.

She shared why and how an article I chose to write this summer – an exposé about the actions of an extremely wicked person – created a positive ripple effect in her life.

It wasn’t an article I wanted to write. It was one I NEEDED to write. It was a story that set the record straight around a series of events that had harmed dozens of women and children.

And I knew if there was even the slightest chance that it could lead to something good, something that could help make things right in someone else’s life, then I needed to publish it.

It made every sweaty, itchy, cortisol-raising second of writing worth it.

Because not all stories feel like bliss to share.

Some stories are meant to help us shed and to experience life in the raw– to release our hardened layers and just BE. Vulnerable. Open. Human.

Some stories are meant to help us birth new versions of ourselves, someone totally new once we’ve reached the end– and it can take a lot of deep breathing, eyes-squeezed-tight, and “I don’t know if I can do this” along the way.

These kinds of stories may even require us to squeeze another woman’s hand tight as we share them.

I’ve had to do this.

I’ve only been able to share my story BECAUSE I’ve been able to squeeze the hands of other women as I go.

Women who’ve been willing to listen to my story. And to create safety for ME.

THAT’S the ripple effect.

Women lifting women up. Holding space for. Supporting. Helping each other gain strength and to build courage. And showing one another that, YES, our stories matter.

So when you feel the nudge to speak up and share, don’t ignore it. Find a way. A way that feels right to you. Because you never know who’s listening and who’s life you can change for the better– simply from sharing your story.

– Malana

(This post was originally published on my Instagram on October 10th, 2023.)