COURAGE CHRONICLES: Melissa Lombardo's Journey of Healing and Thriving

Featuring stories of courage, resilience, and transformation from our Serenity Circle community

There's a particular kind of courage that emerges when we choose to face our pain rather than run from it. When we decide that our trauma doesn't write the ending of our story. That's the courage I see in Melissa Lombardo - and it's the same courage I witness every day in the families who gather in The Serenity Circle.

Melissa brings a unique blend of lived experience and professional expertise to her work as a bilingual sexual assault crisis advocate, trauma-informed author and speaker, writing facilitator, and founder of Write, Heal, Thrive®. She's a natural community connector who understands deeply that healing doesn't happen in isolation - it happens in community.

I've had the honor of working with Melissa as the Director of Toivo Center in Hartford, where I teach in-person recovery yoga. Watching her lead with both vulnerability and strength has been a masterclass in what it means to turn our deepest wounds into our greatest gifts. Her journey mirrors the path so many of us walk in family recovery... the path from surviving to thriving, from silence to storytelling, from isolation to community.

Here is Melissa's story, in her own words:

Melissa Lombardo's Journey of Healing and Thriving

For 20 years, I carried my past trauma like a silent companion. Just like a shadow, my trauma was always there. No matter where I went, what I did, trauma patterns and triggers showed up. I got good at traveling, moving, disassociating, living from one experience to the next to not have to think about any past hurt. Traveling turned out to be key to my later healing but at the time it was an escape from my past.

Years passed and I sometimes felt like I was walking through fog. I expertly hid my trauma. Behind closed doors, trauma took over my body; I was constantly sick with a variety of unexplainable illnesses, I did not eat well and no matter how tired I was, I could not sleep. Depression and mental health challenges were a constant presence. I tried to pretend everything was fine, but the weight of unresolved trauma was taking a toll on my life. I regarded myself as "damaged goods" that I was never enough. I experienced years of self-medicated, disordered eating and worked hard at controlling everything around me to keep me safe.

In 2019 I returned to the US after living abroad for 17 years and realized I needed to heal my mind, body and spirit. I began by making conscious mindful efforts to live more intentionally. I began reading books written by survivors of sexual violence and journaling what was coming up for me. During this time, I became a sexual assault crisis advocate and began working towards publishing my story.

Writing became an avenue of healing. During the healing journey I realized my purpose was bigger than me. I realized that my experiences, as raw and painful as they were, could become tools for connection and empowerment. Although incredibly difficult, I chose to publish journal entries written by my 20-year-old self after being sexually assaulted in hopes I could one day inspire someone else to begin healing.

Reflecting on my journey, I now see myself as more than a person with trauma, depression and mental health struggles. I see courage, resilience, and growth. I know now that sexual violence was not my fault, and my trauma does not define me. I discovered that even in my darkest moments, healing is possible and it begins with each of us, together in community.

If you are reading this and it resonates with you, please know: You are not alone. You are enough. I encourage you to find additional ways to become an active participant in your healing and recovery journey via small, consistent, intentional steps. Rest when you need to and then keep moving towards the light. You got this!

Melissa's words, "healing is possible and it begins with each of us, together in community" - could be the mission statement for both Toivo and The Serenity Circle.

Just as Melissa discovered that her pain could become a tool for connection and empowerment, it is my hope that families in The Serenity Circle are learning that their experiences with a loved one's addiction don't define them either - but they can inform how we show up for ourselves and each other. We practice the same principles Melissa embodies: small, consistent, intentional steps. Rest when we need to. Keep moving toward the light. Together.

About Toivo Center

Toivo is a peer-run, trauma-informed Center for Holistic Healing and Stress Management located in Hartford, Connecticut. The word "Toivo" means hope in Finnish, and hope is exactly what this special place offers to everyone who walks through its doors. As a donation-based wellness center, Toivo provides yoga, meditation, qigong, sound healing, support groups, creative expression, and other holistic healing modalities - all rooted in the belief that human connection is essential to healing.

To learn more about Toivo's offerings or to support their vital work in our community, please visit toivocenter.org.

The Courage Chronicles features stories of healing, resilience, and transformation from members of our community. If you have a story to share, please reach out, your courage might be exactly what someone else needs to take their next step toward healing.

Join The Serenity Circle community where we practice healing together through mindfulness, support, and shared wisdom. Because just like Melissa discovered, and just like we're learning together - healing is possible.