💔 From Survival to Reclamation: Why I’m Here Now

Hi. I’m Faye.

For a long time, I’ve been creating—photography, storytelling, taking intimate self-portraits—but much of that work came from a place of survival. It was beautiful, sometimes, and deeply personal. But it was also shaped by what I thought I had to do to be seen. To be wanted. To be enough.

Then, in the past year, everything changed.

I was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD in my 40s.
I experienced autistic burnout so severe I lost parts of my cognitive functioning.
I left work on disability.
And most days, I genuinely didn’t know if I wanted to stay alive.

That breaking point was the beginning of something I couldn’t yet name—but now I think of it as my Return to Self.
Not the masked, over-performing version of me. Not the version who survives by making herself small, palatable, desirable.
But the real me. The one underneath it all.

And so, this space is not about performance.
It’s about healing.

I’m using this platform to document a slow, soul-deep reclamation through photography, dreamwork, art therapy practices, and whatever else rises along the way. I’ll be sharing photo series that explore trauma, identity, body, sexuality, and the lifelong effects of being unseen. I’ll also be offering art therapy prompts, journal entries, behind-the-scenes process, and reflections on what it means to rebuild a life from the inside out.

💡 This is both a personal journal and a body of work in progress.
Every dollar raised here goes toward my Art Therapy studies, the supplies I need to create, and (if I’m lucky) gas to reconnect with my photo community and collaborate again. I have missed the joy of creative collaboration as well as connecting with these amazing folx.

If you’re here, I’m grateful.
If you stay, I hope this space gives you something meaningful in return.

This is what healing looks like—for me.
Raw. Honest. Ongoing. Art as survival. Art as truth. Art as home.

With love,
Faye