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by Lourdes Valtierra Dirden (Author), Anaiah Davis (Editor)
The echoes of childhood can last a lifetime until you choose to respond. I grew up in a household dominated by fear. My father was a man of extremes-calm one moment, explosive the next. We all learned to sidestep his outbursts. I learned early that expressing my true feelings was risky. I remained quiet out of fear of my father, and later, I became burdened by judgment, criticism, and shame. By the time I reached my teenage years, defiance began to emerge, but silence still dictated my actions. It influenced the roles I adopted, shaping how I presented myself and how I faded into the background. Gripped is about persistence, walking through the noise, and peeling away the layers of what's been buried. It is for anyone who has spent years silencing themselves to maintain peace, feeling invisible, or wondering if it's too late to change.
