Survivor not Victim, Stories Behind my Scars and the Path to Thriving
Victim, survivor, thriver my camp counselors and mentors wrote down on the easel in front of us with the mountain view behind. I first learned this analogy while attending a camp for young burn survivors like me and since than a vision was formed. A vision of me living as a survivor and thriver to my burn injury and not a victim and helping others learn how to do the same. My book Survivor not Victim, Stories Behind my Scars and the Path to Thriving takes the reader on my survivor journey while outlining all the elements needed to live a life of survivorship and thrivership and not fall victim to life circumstances.
At just two years old I was burned over 91 percent of my body. The doctors predicted I would have a grim chance of living and if I did, I would have no hands, feet, be blind, ventilator dependent and never live independently. Spoiler alert – I proved them all wrong! I take the reader on my journey of remembering the fire, the numerous surgeries (over 80!) and therapy to recovery, learning to find passion and belonging when I looked and felt ‘different,’ healing from post-traumatic stress and achieving thriving. While sharing my story I take the reader on the journey with me as demonstrate what it takes to build the Survivor Bridge, the bridge that can take them as well out of a life of victimhood and to survivorship and thrivership.
Survivor not Victim, Path to Thriving Workbook
Michelle Lauren Anderson is the author of Survivor not Victim, Stories Behind my Scars and the Path to Thriving. In this book Michelle shares her story of being a victim of trauma and how she learned to move from victim to survivor to thriver and the ‘Survivor Lessons’ she learned along the way. The ‘Survivor Lessons’ throughout the book all build a suspension bridge that is known as the ‘Survivor Bridge.’ This this imagery and the analogy of a bridge is something each of you reading can also apply to your life to also move from victim – survivor – thriver. In this workbook, Survivor not Victim, Path to Thriving, Michelle will take you on the journey of self-discovery, learning how trauma impacts each of us, and help you build your own Survivor Bridge as you go on your path to thriving. This workbook is not a replacement, nor should it be used as an alternative to mental health therapy.
The Survivor Bridge analogy allows me to share all the complex aspects of this journey in a way that helps us see how they are purposely connected. I have three main goals in sharing my story. I hope to encourage, empower, and equip you, my reader, in your life journey.
Encouraging – by sharing my survivor story, what I learned and how I overcame (in Survivor not Victim, Stories Behind my Scars and the Path to Thriving).
Empowering – To share my learnings with you and give you, the reader prompts as you discover your own story.
Educating – I share my story to educate others about the lasting effects of trauma to help them also be more trauma-informed.
Equipping – I provide a model that is very visual to fall back onto when life gets challenging to equip you with the knowledge needed to continue to live as a survivor.
As you go through this workbook you will build all the parts of the Survivor Bridge by learning and applying each Survivor Lesson to your life. Together all parts of the book will help you build all the parts of the bridge.