Beyond Survival: Still We Rise

Welcome to Beyond Survival: Still We Rise*, a new venture of MenHealing seeking to connect men, their partners and allies through stories, conversations and more. We hope this blog becomes a place for meaningful dialogue.  In these posts you will find honest sharing of the challenges and the joys which other men experience as they journey beyond surviving to thriving. We want you to know you are not alone.  Again and again we hear from men who attend a Weekend of Recovery commenting on the powerful experience of being with men at a meal or in a session who had experiences like theirs.  You are not alone.

We welcome heterosexual and cisgender males; gay, bi, queer and nonconforming males; and our trans brothers living and identifying as male. We want this to be a place for you.

In the coming weeks we will share stories, interviews, poems and other writings from male survivors.  If something speaks to you, comment on it, share it with someone else, ask questions.  We are on this journey together.

We want your voice included in our community!

If you have a story, essay, poem you’d like to share, contact me at: mi**@me********.org.  You can share it anonymously.  I am happy to arrange an interview if you would prefer.  We want your voice included in our community.

Let me introduce myself. I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. For over 50 years I suppressed almost all memories of those experiences. I attended school, college, and graduate school without remembering.  I married, shared a career with my wife for 35 years as pastors and supervisors.  We raised two boys, welcomed their spouses into our family and now enjoy our four grandchildren.   I struggled with depression and anxiety most of my life and did not understand why.  In my 60th year, in the midst of an acute battle with depression and anxiety I began to remember and my healing entered a new stage.  Participating in Weekends of Recovery has been an important part of this healing journey.  I learned I was not alone. Some of the men I met are now a part of a network of friends who regularly encourage and inspire me.

I am honored and humbled by each story I hear, each poem I read, each survivor I meet.  Wherever you are on your healing journey you are welcome here. 

I invite you to travel with us as we move beyond survival to lives of hope and healing.

Be well.  Stay safe.  Take good care.

Mike Davis

*The title of our blog was inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise.” The poem was written about slavery and the African-American experience but it’s theme of resilience and liberation in the face of oppression and victimization are universal. 

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