Finding Gold in the Cracks: Why Your Story Deserves to Be Heard
When you live with scoliosis, it can feel like your story is already written for you. It can feel marked by diagnosis, decisions, surgeries, and recovery. But what if the most powerful part of your story is the part you have not told yet?
In this month’s podcast episode, I had the privilege of talking with Gail Rossi, author of Tilted Temple: My Life with Scoliosis. Gail’s journey is filled with twists and turns. From discovering her scoliosis at age 11, to living in silence for years, to facing multiple life-changing surgeries later in life. But what stood out to me was not just what she had been through. It was the way she chose to share it with honesty, humor, and hope.
For many of us, sharing our story feels risky. We worry about being too much, too messy, or too complicated. Or maybe we believe our story is not dramatic enough to make a difference. But here is the truth. Your story matters exactly as it is.
Why Share Your Story?
Sharing your story is not just for other people. It is for you, too.
It starts with giving yourself permission to stop pushing your experience aside. To stop minimizing what you have been through. To stop telling yourself it was not a big deal or that it does not deserve attention.
Your story deserves to be acknowledged by the most important person of all—yourself.
Owning your story means fully embracing the parts that are hard to revisit and the parts that still make you emotional. It means being honest with yourself about how your experiences have shaped you. You do not have to share it publicly to begin healing. Sometimes, simply saying it out loud to yourself or writing it in a private journal is the first step toward releasing what you have been carrying in silence.
When you do choose to share your story with others, you invite connection. You remind someone else they are not alone. You give others permission to speak up about their own experiences. And sometimes, your story might be exactly what someone else needs to hear to find the courage to take their next step.
You Do Not Have to Wait to Be “Fixed”
One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we have to wait until we are fully healed or have everything figured out before we share our story. The truth is, you do not have to wait. You can share from the messy middle. You can share from the place of not knowing. You can share from the cracks. Often, that is where the gold is.
As Gail beautifully shared in the episode, the Japanese art of kintsugi fills the cracks of broken pottery with gold, making them even more beautiful than before. You can also find meaning and strength in your cracks, not by hiding them, but by letting them shine.
Sharing your story does not have to be perfect or complete to make an impact. Sometimes the most powerful parts are the ones you have not shared yet. These are the moments you are still carrying quietly inside.
Maybe it is the fear you have not voiced.
Maybe it is the struggle you have not shared.
Maybe it is the small, quiet victories you have never celebrated out loud.
It could be the moment you realized you needed help but were afraid to ask.
Or the moment you thought you could not take another step but somehow did.
Or the questions you still wrestle with every single day.
Many people assume that the most valuable stories are the ones with clear resolutions or perfect outcomes. But sometimes, the most powerful stories are the honest ones that are still unfolding.
By sharing those parts, the messy, the unfinished, the uncertain, you give others permission to do the same. You create space for real connection. You remind someone else they are not alone in the middle of their own uncertainty.
Sometimes the part you have not told yet is the exact part someone else needs to hear.
Ways to Share Your Story
You do not have to write a book or start a podcast to tell your story. Here are a few simple ways to begin:
Visit my website, scoliosiseducationnetwork.com, to find a scoliosis support group or share your story in Voices of Scoliosis: Creative Expressions, where you can submit your art, writing, or reflections.
Join an online support group and share your experience in a post or comment.
Talk to a trusted friend or family member about what you have been through.
Write in a journal to reflect on your thoughts and emotions.
Express yourself creatively through art, poetry, music, or photography.
Remember, you do not have to share every detail. You get to decide what feels safe and right for you. The most important thing is giving yourself permission to be heard.
Final Thoughts
You are more than your curve.
You are more than your diagnosis.
And you are the person you are today because of what you have lived through.
Your experiences—both the hard moments and the moments of growth—have shaped your strength, your perspective, and your compassion. You do not have to let scoliosis define you, but you can choose to honor how it has shaped your journey.
Your story deserves to be told.
Take a deep breath, open your heart, and start where you are. Someone out there is waiting for the hope only you can offer. 💙💚
