The Power To Share Your Story

Christen Jeschke is vice president of the Freiling Agency in Virginia.

By Christen Jeschke

My 12-passenger van packed near to bursting, my four children and I set off across the country for a new beginning. I called it "an adventure," but in truth, it was an escape from an excruciatingly difficult chapter of our life defined by the struggle to survive the wreckage of a painfully destructive marital relationship.

Seeking safety and a new start, my children and I worked to heal and build security in our new normal. Grateful for a fresh beginning and a new career at a fast-growing publishing company, I poured myself into pursuing great stories.

Shy about sharing my own story, I observed with great admiration as my publishing clients opened the darkest, most raw parts of their lives and invited others in. They bled on the pages, yet their words brought solace and understanding to those who read them. Their courage in vulnerability inspired me to share the shattered parts of my own story while allowing the reverberations of my words to powerfully connect with and free those going through similar journeys.

Instead of searching for the voices of seemingly perfect clients who had all the right answers and advice, I sought to elevate the stories of those who had been dragged through life but had gotten back up and learned lessons from it—lessons that gave them strength, endurance, persistence, resilience, and victory. These were the messages that tore at my heart and healed it at the same time, and these were the messages that rewrote the lives of others, breathing life into brokenness.

Publishing is most powerful when it captures the raw, unfiltered truths of human experience. These stories, born from pain and struggle, have the ability to heal, connect, and transform. By giving a voice to the resilient, we help others grasp their own strength. 

Christen Jeschke is vice president of The Freiling Agency in Virginia. https://www.facebook.com/ChristenMJeschke/ ; https https://www.instagram.com/christenmjeschke ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/christen-m-jeschke-9159171b0/