What happens when survival is no longer enough
This week on The Life Shift Podcast, I sat with Eugene Z. Bertrand, a 23-year-old social work student, domestic violence survivor, and author who almost lost his life just days after graduating college. What happened next, the slow and honest work of healing, is exactly the kind of story this show exists for.
Listen here: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/s4e238
Watch on YouTube: Search "Life Shift Podcast Eugene Bertrand"
Eugene's story reminded me that we spend so much time performing okay when we are anything but. And how, sometimes, it takes something enormous to crack that open and let the truth finally breathe.
3 Things to Think About
Silence as survival is real. When you grow up in an unsafe environment, staying quiet can be the smartest thing a kid knows how to do. That same strategy can follow you into adulthood and cost you more than it protects you. Eugene named this without judgment, and it landed.
Forgiveness is not for the other person first. Eugene chose to forgive because staying angry was keeping him connected to someone and something that had already taken enough. The morning after he decided, he felt terrible. That is what real forgiveness often looks like. Not relief. Just the beginning of something different.
Vulnerability does not mean broadcasting everything. It means being honest enough with yourself and a few trusted people to say what is actually happening. Eugene had friends who held space for him and reflected back the weight of what he had survived. That circle of honesty likely saved his life.
2 Things to Ask Yourself
Is there something you are still calling okay because it has always been okay, even though you know on some level it is not?
Who in your life actually holds space for you, not to fix or judge, but just to hear what you are carrying?
1 Thing to Try This Week
Say one true thing to someone you trust this week. Just one. It does not have to be the hardest thing. It just has to be real. Notice what happens in your body when you do.
If Eugene's story moved you, send him a message at eugenezbertrand.com or pick up his book, Resilience: Breaking the Chains, on Amazon. And if you want more conversations like this one, subscribe to this newsletter and never miss an episode.
I created a short-form podcast, “It’s Okay If…” Each episode is under three minutes long and provides a permission slip to be human. I’d be honored if you subscribed to the show. New episodes are released every Wednesday at noon ET.
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