A Series of Unfortunate Events | Stephanie Rodriguez

Deana Brown Mitchell: Hello there, this is Dina Mitchell from the realize Foundation. And I'm here today with Stephanie Rodriguez, who we're talking about our next scars to start book that is coming out Timber 20 seconds. So, Stephanie, welcome.

Glad to have you here. Thank you so much. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this project. And I've really enjoyed writing for the book and being a part of this. So thank you so much.

Thank you. Well, I have two questions for you. And the first one is to give the audience a little taste of what your chapter is about.

So my chapter is called A Series of Unfortunate Events. And well, that's really what the what it's about. When I write I, I feel like writing kind of comes through me, right, I don't think about what I'm writing, it just sort of comes through. And what came through for me was the eight years that I spent going through my divorce in my first marriage, and, you know, it's really rough, a lot of things happened during that time, everything from dealing with drugs, alcohol, capacity problems. And then you know, the end the message really is no matter what you're going through, you can get through it. And there's light on the other side. And so that's really the message that I wanted to send, I wrote a lot about my story and less about how I got over what had happened. But, but it was because the story needed to be told, I think more than the overcoming of it. Because things can just get so crazy in your life, you know, and you think that there's no way out. But you're always is. There's always a way out.

Yep. Yeah. And I think people also think whatever they're going through the video could possibly have been through this. And what I've learned in the last two years is there's nothing we go through that someone else has not been through in some scenario might not be exactly our, our situation. But it could be similar and, and the message that we want to make loud and clear is that you are not alone. And there is someone that you can relate to, and there is a way out. So thank you for sharing it. I know, it's hard sometimes to be so vulnerable and talk about things that that you never know how they're going to come back to you in the world. But I think it's important, and I think people mostly appreciate us being vulnerable and sharing it because it does help them feel better about their situation. Or that there is there is hope, at least. So yeah,

absolutely. My pleasure.

So my second question for you is, how has this projects? You talked a little bit about how writing was for you. But being part of this project? Would it how we felt about that, and and what have you gotten out of it?

No, I think it's amazing. So I was referred to this project from a friend in the same industry as me. And when she told me about it, I was like, yes, yes, do it. I have been sharing little snippets of my story here and there. You know, on social media, I have a pretty large following. And so. And really, this is the first time that I've actually gotten to put it on paper and get it out there. And I hope that, you know, it was hard, it was scary, actually, to have that come out and be like, Oh, God, what did I just write, you know, what, at the same time, I was like, I can do this, I can do this. And I think that every person that's a part of this project is courageous and amazing for just being able to undertake something like this and put their story out into the world. You know, it's so helpful for other people to be able to hear things like this, you know, maybe they didn't go through the same thing. But it's just really nice to be able to know, like you said, you're not alone.

Yeah, that's, that's true. And thank you for, for sharing that. I think that some people in during these projects we've been doing with our foundation, I get a lot of people who say to me, Well, I haven't been through anything near what you've been through or what this person has been through. And I'm like that it's there's not a it's not a contest. There's no comparison. Like we're all just here to support each other and help each other. And what is like, usually traumatic for one person could be like, a fourth of what someone else has been through like that. That's not the point. The point is that we all go through hard stuff in life. We all have to deal with different things. And it's how How do we help each other through it? It's not about, you know, who has the harder situation or anything like that, because

now I would definitely say like for people who read these stories, and they're like, Man, I can't relate to that, like, I wouldn't even know what to say to that happened to me, it happened to me a lot when I was going through it, people didn't know how to relate to my story. You know, and that's okay. Like, you don't have to relate, just know that, like, it could be worse. And your situation may not be that bad. If you haven't been through, you know, the CSI haven't scenes that you have, or you know, the things that many of these other people who are sharing their stories have. And so that does kind of give you a little bit of hope to say like, Okay, well, maybe what I'm going through, isn't that bad, maybe there really is more hope than I thought. So. That's what I was.

That's true, that's true. You know, there's so many factors in our lives that, you know, it's not necessarily just that one situation we're in or something there, there's a lot of people in our lives that can make it better or worse, there's, you know, as your story points out, you know, there's, there's a lot of different factors for each person, and where they live and who they surround themselves with, and what their family it like all these they. So I think it's, you know, we all have very unique situations, but we can relate to each other in a lot of ways, and we can share similarities that can help us, you know, find the other side of whatever it is. So I think it's, I think it's important, and every story is different. And every story deals with something that is, you know, in this book, particularly, there's some pretty rough stuff in here. But I think it's it's also important for us to talk about, and when we started the realism nation, like our mission, is to reduce suicide statistics, through human connection. And that looks like really hard conversations, community, and personal stories. And I think that the biggest question I get is, How do I support my loved one that is going through XYZ? You know, and like, how do you? How do you support someone who had suicidal ideation? And my answer to that is go to our website and watch the whole course that's free. On our end, you'll learn some more about it. But you really, the first thing I would say is, you don't want to try to fix the situation, you really just want to listen, and you really just want to be supportive and and ask them what they need, instead of telling them, oh, you should just be happy, or you should just do whatever they think you should do. It's not really helpful when you're in that place. So I think it's important for people to know that because they want to help their loved ones. They don't know how, and sometimes they don't say anything, which is bad, because then the person feels like they don't care, which is not true. You know, and it's this whole, this whole thing. So, anyway, would you like to add any any more to that before I close us out?

I mean, I think you're definitely right about what you're saying. You know, I think in some of the darkest times in my life, the hardest part was feeling so alone, right? And it doesn't sometimes it doesn't matter, like how many people are around you, or you know how many friends are around you, if they're not supporting you in the right way. It's you still feel alone, you know, and so really, when you get to that place, that's what you need months, you definitely need someone to listen and someone to support. So that's why I'm super grateful that you started this foundation. I'm super grateful that you're doing this project. And thank you so much. And I know that it will help so many people.

Thank you, Stephanie. I'm so glad you're part of it. I'm so glad we to introduced us and I'm talking to her neck worker. So for all of you watching, if you would like to join our journey with this book, and others, you can go to realize foundation.org and you can subscribe so you get emails to get updates about what we're doing. Our book launch for this book on September 22 will be virtual, it will be 1pm. Mountain Time to 3pm Mountain Time. And that's three to 5pm Eastern just in case we needed another time zone. And it will be it will be virtual. You'll get to meet all the Arthur's you'll get to get in breakouts and meet other people in the room. And I've said on every video so far, but the hardest thing I've ever had to do is hit end on that first book launch event because nobody wanted to eat. Who's that? Oh, I'm excited for the next one. To see how much more We're we we made it at 30 minutes longer so that we can have a little more time together. So excited. Yeah. So again, realize foundation.org Go to the events tab and you can register for free. You can also donate money if you'd like. We're always appreciative of that. So we hope to see you there.

Thank you.