This is the first contribution from our lived-experience authors featured in Voices of Change.
Author: Alice Perle. Memoir: Resolve: A Story of Courage, Healthy Inquiry and Recovery from Sibling Sexual Abuse. First Published July 2023. Available everywhere!
When I was writing Resolve, fear was never far away. Not the fear of writing, but the fear of being truly seen. One of the deepest fears I carried was this: What if it’s not real?
What if, as I’d been told when I first disclosed my sibling sexual abuse, I really was lying?
These doubts lingered for years, fed by silence and distance within my family. As Resolve neared completion, I found myself reaching for anchors. I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic to remind myself that fear and creativity often walk hand in hand. I walked daily, listening to Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements.
One idea from Ruiz became a lifeline:
Imagine a street full of cinemas.
In the first cinema, you see yourself seated watching your life unfold from your perspective — your truth.
You then walk into the next cinema, you’re seated behind your mother, she doesn’t see you there. What you see on screen is your mother’s point of view. You’re seeing the same scenes, the same characters. However, you and everyone else looks slightly different and are playing out their roles differently to how you think of them. It’s the story from her perspective.
In another cinema, it’s your sibling’s view.
Each person’s truth is shaped by what they could see, what they could feel, and what they were ready to see.
Hearing that, I found peace.
I wasn’t writing the truth — I was writing my truth.
And importantly, I chose not to tell anyone else’s story — only mine. What happened to me, how it shaped me, and how I found a way forward. That choice let me write Resolve with integrity. It let me write without shame.
If you’ve wondered whether you can share your story without hurting others, I’m here to tell you it’s possible. When you focus on the bigger picture, your biggest vision, and your journey, you will find it easier to stay anchored in your truth. It’s not easy, working on something that is your life story, brings up unconscious memories. Writing from the place of an empowered, conscious, and evolved human being takes practice… and many drafts of your manuscript as you change along the path of writing and healing. Then storytelling becomes a powerful act of self-respect and change.
Writing Resolve deepened my healing in ways I could never have predicted.
I hope the same for anyone brave enough to pick up the pen.
I’ve provided the link to view the YouTube clip of the Cinema of Truth that helped me find my courage when I needed it most.
Shared with love,
Alice Perle
P.S.
If you’re feeling the call to tell your story, but you’re unsure where to start, Blue Borage has created a coaching program designed exactly for that.
Tell Your Story, Shape the Future is for those of us who want to share our lived experiences with courage, authenticity, and healthy intention. It’s a guided journey to help you find your voice, shape your narrative, and inspire change, whether for personal growth or a wider impact.