I read this book by Jazz Thornton called Stop Surviving Start Fighting. This book is such an amazing book. Its probably my second favorite book coming below The Reason my all time favorite book.
In this book, Jazz talks about a lot of things. She talks about incidences that happened when she was 3. She talks about bullying. Jazz talks about suicide and suicide attempts as well as being in a psych ward.
This book is not for the faint of heart to say the least. There’s a lot of good in this book though. There’s quotes like these:
“If we can disassociate the illness from the person’s identity and instead present it as something that is separate from who they are and something they are simply struggling with, hopefully it will mean that people will feel there is a point in trying to fight.”
“You are not a superhero. You don’t have to save those around you.”
“You are stronger than you know. You are stronger than your mind lets you believe.”
“The idea of secret-keeping implies that we alone can and need to save our friends. But that is not our job. Our job is to love people, to speak hope, and to be consistent.”
And one of my favorites
“It is impossible to fight if you don’t know what you are fighting for.”
These are quotes from Jazz’s book. These are just a few of the many powerful things that Jazz said.
This book is a book that really opened my eyes. I love that last quote. “It is impossible to fight if you don’t know what you are fighting for.” On one of Jazz’s lives she said something about making a list of reasons to recover or stay in recovery. I thought this was a great idea and made my own list. This list consisted of different things like joy, happiness, the cats, my fiancé, my dad, and God’s will to be done in my life. If I hadn’t of chosen recovery, there is a good chance I wouldn’t be here today or if I was, I would not be a good person.
The idea of doing more than surviving but fighting is one I never thought of. There were times I thought I was fighting but it seems like I was merely surviving. I was giving into temptations, I wasn’t fighting the intrusive thoughts, I wasn’t choosing recovery, I was choosing to stay where I was at because it was comfortable (in a weird way) and not fighting.
I am choosing to fight now. I have been fighting for a while. I fight to get better. I fight to stay away from temptations. I fight for myself. I fight for God in me. I fight for that little girl who was wronged all those years ago. I fight to be the person God wants me to be. I fight for the true Madison who is full of happiness and joy and is a giggle box who got her voice taken away all those years ago.
Fighting is hard but it is worth it. Recovery is worth it. Right now, I am currently doing the best I have ever done in my life. Yes I still have moments, but its nothing like it was. I fight to save my life.
I chose to stop surviving and start fighting, have you?
Hold onto hope and stay Strong.
Madison Rae <3
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