I had been surviving on distraction for far too long, and its time of service was running out. Without healing, I knew my time risked running out as well. Should I choose to continue breathing, I would be choosing to walk through life buried within my own body, pretending to have a healthy mind, heart, and soul, an existence I had little energy to sustain. So, I started driving, hoping for a chance at change.

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I had felt pulled toward Colorado during a brief visit. Imagining my legs carelessly swinging from a 14,000 foot peak, I rediscovered the freedom I sensed as a child: when I went weightless on a swing, or looked out of my window at the magnificent maple tree, with its glorious steadfast presence. As I allowed my pain to surface, perpetually one moment away from being consumed by it, I simultaneously experienced a contrasting hope, an opportunity for an unexpected life in which those moments of freedom would become my new normal. But first, I knew I had to surrender to and embrace the hard work, unrolling like a stained red carpet before me: one hurt, one loss, one lie, one scar, one fear, one question at a time; then the next hurt, loss, lie, scar, fear, and question. Sifting through the ashes, I began learning what truths to carry with me and what lies to let float away, returning to nothing, like the vapor they are.”

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Naomi is the daughter of a pseudo-Christian cult leader. She was raised, yet hidden, within mainstream culture and public school education, where no one knew—or the few with a sense of something, stayed silent. She did not know this was the case until she was 28, from which point she has sought after truth with a questioning mind, adamant to never find herself so lost again.

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Throughout Naomi’s career, she has experienced the beauty of one individual walking alongside another in a therapeutic relationship. She has seen and felt the power of being present, and in sharing in the experience of someone else. She is passionate about the hope that comes with the choice to embrace life’s most difficult challenges—to lean in with gentleness, kindness, and grace—knowing that the possibility of a fulfilling life is real. She has committed herself to this reality for not only herself, but for those with whom she has the honor of walking alongside.

 

Naomi holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the University at Buffalo and is a licensed mental health professional in the state of Colorado. She also holds a Master of Arts in Christian Studies from Denver Seminary. Her areas of speciality include grief and loss, spiritual abuse, including cult abuse, as well as biblical and theological studies.