Day 16: If My Body Is a Story, I’m Rewriting the Ending

The power of reclaiming your narrative through expression and color.

My body has been through so much more than I ever expected it to endure. A stroke tried to write an ending I never asked for. An ending that suggested stillness, silence, limits.

But I refused to let that be the final chapter.

Every time I paint, I’m reclaiming authorship of my story. I’m showing up for the version of myself that was told she wouldn’t or couldn’t. Through color, motion, and shape, I’m saying: I am still here; and I get to decide what this life looks like now. You too have this choice. Choose to press beyond your limitations. Paint. Walk. Stroll. Use your cane, or walker.

There was a time when my body felt like a battleground. Every step, every movement was a reminder of what had been lost. I tried walking, but failed at first.

Eventually I was able, with assistance to walk. My most memorable day, was making it to my neighbor's house. I numbered the tree that sits in front of her house “tree number 5”. I slowly walked and barely made it, but I did. Everyday was met with small steps. And a whole lot of rest.

Now that I'm a creator/painter, I've seen major changes. When I create. I see my body not as broken, but as brave. Not as limited, but layered with memory, strength, and truth.

Painting is helping me rewrite my story from the inside out. It gave me new language, visual, emotional, mental languages to describe what recovery feels like. Not as a return to what was, but a full-hearted movement into what can be.

This is not the ending I expected, but it’s a powerful continuation.

A reclamation.

A reimagining.

A reinventing.

And every brushstroke is proof that my story didn’t end with a diagnosis, it opened into a new chapter of resilience, creativity, and becoming.

Gentle Assignment:

Reflect on a moment in your life when someone or something tried to write your story for you.

How did you push back? How might you reclaim that chapter through creativity, honesty, or compassion?

Journaling Prompt:

What story has your body been carrying? If you could rewrite the ending, what would it sound, feel, or look like?

Affirmation:

“I am not just surviving, I am rewriting. My story is still unfolding, and I am the author now.”

"Each brushstroke is a sentence in the story I choose to tell, one of strength, softness, sensitivity, and survival." —Michelle Joy Brown

In loving joy,

Michelle Joy Brown Your Artist Friend 🧡

Your financial support really does go towards helping this artist purchase supplies to continue painting and entering exhibitions as well as selling art. I'm a full-time artist now, all monies I earn supports my continued journey.

Thank you for your support and love. 🥰🥰

© 2025 Michelle Joy Brown. All rights reserved.

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Artwork: Rewritten in Bloom

[Purchased online course $99)

Acrylic on canvas. 16”×20”. $250 by Michelle Joy Brown - Artist