Perspective
In two longitudinal experiments, expressive writing helped participants view a distressing experience with more distance; that shift predicted lower emotional reactivity later.
In Every Woman's Life, There's at Least One Chapter that Nearly Broke Her.
When that chapter is the very Faith and foundation that was supposed to protect you, that promised you "forever," the deconstruction can be especially devastating. And lonely.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
*Note: Your story is yours. You decide what stays private, what gets shared, what is published, and what stays inside Lemons to Lemonade.
I spent over six months in bed, barely able to function.
I had given 50 years of everything to my church, in the name of keeping my "eternal family." In spite of an abusive marriage, misogynistic church leaders, and multiple gross Mormon men — and the damage that all did to my daughters — I clung to the hope of the "One True Gospel."
If you're here, you're probably processing some of the same things I grieved (still grieve) as I deconstructed, including:
- Patriarchal roles that gaslit, shamed and discounted women
- A church history that was never honest
- Paying tithes with your broke-ass while the church invested billions
- A richer than God, law-breaking corporation where you thought there was charity and giving
- Multiple child sexual assault cases protecting perpetrators, and ignoring victims
For starters.
The shame, depression and regret I felt was nearly impossible to bear, and there were several moments where I truly just wanted to die.
I don't ever want anyone to deconstruct like I did – largely alone, and deeply in shame.
Julia Cameron and Liz Saved My Sanity, and Possibly My Life.
Morning Pages were a part of my life for years, before my unexpected and unwanted Deconstruction hit me.
Like nearly everything else, I dropped Morning Pages (and hiking and reading, and all my other writing, etc) while I binged the Mormon Stories Podcast, went down the Floodlit.org rabbit hole, analyzed actual, documented church history, and took a deep dive into SEC filings — and managed the grief that followed.
Months into this journey, a friend's update on her sister's heartaches led to a HUGE "me too" moment with our very similar Gospel struggles.
With time, and on my own would I have eventually just figured it out and been fine? Maybe.
But what if I hadn't hid in shame? What if I had a place to go, with a community of sisters processing the same deconstruction? What if I took that heartache-energy, and wrote it out — for myself, and for the "me too" moments it could create for other women?
That's the point of Lemon's to Lemonade.
Community and writing as support are backed by TONS of research:
- kept you in buried under the covers in shame and/or depression for months
- comes back in fragments instead of neat chapters.
- deserves honesty without requiring you to surrender every private detail.
- needs to be written, but you can't start with "that" chapter just yet
- could help you write forward—not stay trapped in what happened.
You're supported where you are, seen as where you could be, and encouraged with tremendous love.
Read the research:Park, Ayduk & Kross (2016)Lu & Stanton (2010)Meads & Nouwen (2005)
Research Backs Up This Experience.
For decades, researchers have explored the benefits of writing for cognitive and emotional support. Some studies connect structured writing with perspective, meaning-making, and lower emotional reactivity over time. Other reviews find small, inconsistent, or context-dependent effects. The careful conclusion is not that writing is a cure—it is that writing can be a useful support.
Story shape
A randomized study found that emotional expression and a clearer narrative structure were associated with lower perceived stress and depressive symptoms among college students.
Honest limits
Broader reviews have found uneven results across people and settings. Writing may feel difficult before it feels helpful, and it is not the right tool for every person or every moment.
You may want to write with us, if:
I knew so much when I was in my 30s and 40s. I knew the purpose of life, I knew where I was going, and I worked hard to be a devoted mother, so I knew I'd always be close with my kids.
Long story short – and several heartaches later, I now know nothing. Literally, I feel like I know less now than I did at 5.
And YOU Don't Have to.
Lemons to Lemonade xxxxxxx
Courses.
Find the heartbeat beneath the memories: the moment, question, or truth asking to be written.
Community.
Use thoughtful prompts and practical craft to give scattered pieces a form that feels clear, honest, and yours.
Creation.
Keep it private, share an essay, begin a poem, or plant the seed of a book. You remain the author of what comes next.
