12/1/2022, Chicago, Illinois, 8:02pm

Call me back asap.

I peeled one eye from the festive group chatter surrounding me at the bar and scanned Dad’s text message.

I dashed off a quick response.

Out with friends right now, but can call when I get home. What’s up?

My phone pinged again immediately.

Call me now.

I had writer’s block for five years, y’all.

Seriously. The only things I wrote during that time were this and this.

I entered such a deep emotional healing period that my voice essentially went mute. I couldn’t imagine baring my soul publicly with my writing - and my mind made sure I wouldn’t be in that position by withholding all but the tiniest drops of authentic phrases with all the flair of a malfunctioning citrus press fruitlessly attempting to squeeze an oversized lemon.

And then everything changed this year.

Your body rebuilds itself completely every 7 years. This is what I’ve rebuilt in 3.5 years. Anything is possible with cellular detoxification & regeneration.

I repeat, anything.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been determined to change my life.

I wanted this change for many reasons (the heart of this story), but even if I didn’t, nothing would have stopped me from doing it.