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Here's an excerpt from Kristine's story:

"In December 2022, another massive tsunami came, knocking everything down in its path. Here comes cancer and all the feelings you don’t want to have at 40. Feelings of scared, nervousness, the unknown, sadness and trauma barreling at her full speed. Pain is what crashed into her first and she tried to swim. White caps started to appear at every angle and there was no way to swim around them; there were scans, biopsies, chemo that left her with feelings of anger, hopelessness and made her tired and weak. She pushed past using support and wisdom from her fans. Months and months of swimming around the dangerous white caps and next came the bi-lateral mastectomy and exchange surgery. While learning how to stay above the water with one storm at a time, the boat filled with love and support stayed right by her side.

Her husband as the captain and her 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son as the co-captains. They were ready to give her the support that she needed but when she could not love herself, it was hard to let anyone close. The wave of ugly and embarrassment crashed over with every “you look great” whisper in the wind. She was fighting not just on the outside where they could physically see, but on the inside where her thoughts were on repeat.

One day, test results came floating by with positive news that she was free of cancer. She yelled for the lifeboat and she quickly pulled her tired body out of the water. With time to rest, she rode the lifeboat past the rocks and back into the calmness of the ocean. While focusing on her breath, she made her way to the sand where hope, love and support were waiting with open arms."

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Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

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In this interview and story, Joy shares how You Night's Story Crafting program helped her break free from the mental gymnastics she was having over the subject matter of friendships that end with betrayal. We've all been there...where relationships that we form can unexpectedly turn into negative experiences, often leading us to scratch our heads as to what went wrong. Joy talks about how that can feel like the sting of a bee when that happens, but shares that the bee stings have resulted in more of a butterfly effect where those stings forced her to grow, and like a butterfly, spread her wings and fly.

Thank you to our sponsor, Dr. Martha Stewart, Board Certified Dermatologist.
Please SUBSCRIBE to this podcast so that you can be inspired by future interviews!

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Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

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Here's a partial transcript of the interview. Lu was on an oxygen tank at the time of this interview and it might be hard to make out all of her words.

My name is Lutricia Milton. I am the last of ten children. I was born November 5th, 1970 at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. As far as I can remember, I had a good childhood. My mother sent my siblings and I to Mississippi to spend the summer with our grandparents. I enjoyed spending the summer with my grandparents. I learned most of my values unknown color. I learned most of my values and beliefs and Christianity from from them. Every morning we had to wake up to the sound of the rooster crow, make our bed, sweep the floors. Then we would rush out tea, wash our face, and sit at the table for breakfast. My grandmother would have breakfast ready for us Christians grits, eggs, bacon, sausage, homemade biscuit syrup and orange juice. And you could tell. I remember all of that. I remember we all had to say a Bible verse. We. For what we ate and had to give thanks to God. This was my life. Well, you know, childhood until I was 15 years old. Um, when I was 15 years old, I became pregnant and was too ashamed to tell my parents. So I went to Mississippi and apparently couldn't hide it from my grandparents either. So I went home to face the music. Um, I had an 8 pound, seven ounce baby girl on January 6th, 1987. I named her Alexis Dominique Nelson. She was the most beautiful baby that I ever seen. After having Alexis, I dropped out of high school because I was completely overwhelmed with life. Within 18 months later, I had another beautiful girl. I listened to Mitrice Nelson. She was 6 pounds when I when I was. I then realized I had to move out of my parent's home, and I applied for low income apartment and was approved to. I was 22 years old. I had no income from working and two babies to take care of. It seems as if my life is falling out of control. I enrolled in college. I received my Associate of Arts degree from Delgado Community College in 1996. Um, I havebeen. Two years later, my son was born Alonzo DeMarcus Milton. He was such a handsome and cute baby boy. I felt that I was finished with having kids after him. Then I met his father. In a year of his 8 pound 6oz was born. She was healthy. A healthy, beautiful baby girl. We were married for 20 years. He had his moments and so did I.

To see the entire transcript, visit You Night's Story Crafting Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories

Thank you to our sponsor, Dr. Martha Stewart, Board Certified Dermatologist.
Please SUBSCRIBE to this podcast so that you can be inspired by future interviews!

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Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com