What if the stories shaping your life aren't actually the whole truth about who you are?

And what if healing isn't about becoming endlessly positive, but becoming honest enough to see what shaped you, question what you were taught, and choose what you want to carry forward?

In this episode of Life Beyond B.S., Heather McNally sits down with writer, evidential medium, spiritual guide, brand strategist, former social worker, and founder of the Authentically Aligned Collective Abby Mae for a raw conversation about childhood trauma, survival, identity, motherhood, authenticity, community, spirituality, and rewriting the stories through which we see ourselves.

Abby shares experiences from her childhood and her book, Through Her Eyes: A Child's Search for Safety, including growing up without consistent safety and how those experiences followed her into adulthood, relationships, motherhood, and the way she learned to trust herself and others.

Heather and Abby also get real about re-parenting ourselves, seeing our own wounds reflected through our children, taking responsibility when we get it wrong, and why personal growth doesn't mean we'll never be triggered again.

In this episode:

• How childhood experiences can shape adult patterns and relationships
• Hypervigilance, survival patterns, and learning to ask for help
• Re-parenting yourself while raising your own children
• Why healing and personal growth are ongoing—not a finish line
• Accountability, apologies, and repairing relationships
• Why comparing trauma doesn't help us heal
• The difference between positivity and toxic positivity
• Why healing can be messy, uncomfortable, and deeply human
• Authenticity versus performing who we think we're supposed to be
• How our experiences become the “lens” through which we see ourselves and the world
• Why community and genuine human connection matter
• Abby's vision for the Authentically Aligned Collective
• Rewriting your story without denying what actually happened
• Recognizing the belief systems you inherited—and choosing what you want to believe now

Abby reminds us that other people may have opinions about our lives and our stories, but we are the ones who lived them through our eyes.

And Heather and Abby explore one of the central ideas behind Life Beyond B.S.: awareness gives us the opportunity to recognize what we've been taught, question what no longer serves us, and choose differently.

Connect with Abby Mae:

Authentically Aligned: authentically-aligned.com
Re-Written / Collective information: rewritten.authentically-aligned.com
Email: abby@authentically-aligned.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthenticallyAlignedCollective

TikTok: Authentically Aligned Collective

Instagram: Authentically Aligned Collective (_authenticallyaligned)

Connect with Heather McNally:

Explore coaching, programs, workshops, speaking, the Life Beyond B.S. podcast and more at HeatherMcNally.com

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Your past may have shaped your lens. It doesn't have to decide what you choose to see next.