When Strength Becomes Armor

Bridgette grew up in Jamaica, where she was left behind at seven when her mother moved to the United States. She came to the Bronx as a teen and was pregnant at 16 with nowhere to go. She was told she was a dunce. She went on to earn the highest GED score in New York City, become a nurse at 40, and earn a master's degree. Now she is learning something new: how to let someone else take care of her.She explains:- How being left alone as a child taught her that she could only depend on herself- What it was like to be 16, pregnant, and on her own in New York in February with no coat- How she learned to give grace, even to the man who abused her when she was seven- Why strong women are so often misunderstood, and what it costs to keep the walls up- How one honest talk turned years of hurt with her mother into deep respectYouTube: https://youtube.com/@WhereSheGoesNext?si=ZsWRDqp3Sy9Z-l4OWebsite: https://whereshegoesnext.comJoin the Where She Goes Next community and share your story. What chapter are you living through right now?Drop it in the comments, find us on Instagram, or connect with us on Facebook.And send Tracie your song recommendation for the Where She Goes Next playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.

Sophia was 27 when a routine procedure after a miscarriage left her in septic shock and rushed into emergency surgery. Now 42 and newly moved from Jamaica to the United States, she shares how she built a full life after learning she couldn't have a biological child without IVF.She explains:- The moment at a work event when she realized something was seriously wrong- Why she credits a partner she didn't stay with for saving her life- The reason she decided against IVF, and what she chose instead- Why the length of a relationship isn't the measure of its success- How she stopped comparing her life to everyone else's timelineYouTube: https://youtube.com/@WhereSheGoesNext?si=ZsWRDqp3Sy9Z-l4OWebsite: https://whereshegoesnext.comJoin the Where She Goes Next community and share your story. What chapter are you living through right now?Drop it in the comments, find us on Instagram, or connect with us on Facebook.And send Tracie your song recommendation for the Where She Goes Next playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.

Gitika grew up in a joint family home in India with 17 relatives under one roof, went to an all-girls Catholic convent school run by nuns, and came to America at 25 for what was supposed to be a six-week work trip. She never left. She built a career, a marriage, and a life in the U.S., and then lost her mother suddenly in an accident in 2019, an event that reshaped how she grieves, prays, travels, and shows up every single day.She explains:- Why losing her mother in an accident triggered PTSD around flying, and what it took to get back on a plane- What growing up in a multi-generational Indian household and an all-girls convent school taught her about identity and connection- The years of grief processing that followed her mother's sudden death, and how silence and beach walks became her spiritual practice- Why her mother's advice, "choose nice over important," shaped her into a people-pleaser she later had to unlearn- How writing three intentional words each January fuels a daily practice of manifestation and intentional joyYouTube: https://youtube.com/@WhereSheGoesNext?si=ZsWRDqp3Sy9Z-l4OWebsite: https://whereshegoesnext.comJoin the Where She Goes Next community and share your story. What chapter are you living through right now?Drop it in the comments, find us on Instagram, or connect with us on Facebook.And send Tracie your song recommendation for the Where She Goes Next playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.

Heidi grew up in the Midwest, moved through a blended family and a childhood shaped by early independence, and was living on her own by 17. She built a life on her own terms through her 20s, made a clear-eyed choice not to have children, and joined Tracie to talk about what self-trust looks like when nobody hands you permission for it.She explains:- What growing up fast and living alone at 17 taught her about self-reliance- Why the milestones we inherit often go unquestioned until we choose otherwise- How watching her mother claim her own agency shaped the way Heidi built her life- What it took to make peace with the childfree choice — and how others react to it- The one question every woman navigating a transition needs to ask herself, and the courage it takes to honor the answerYouTube: https://youtube.com/@whereshegoesnext?si=ZsWRDqp3Sy9Z-l4OWebsite: https://whereshegoesnext.comJoin the Where She Goes Next community and share your story. What chapter are you living through right now?Drop it in the comments, find us on Instagram, or connect with us on Facebook.And send Tracie your song recommendation for the Where She Goes Next playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.

Tracie Wong grew up in Jamaica and moved to the United States at 30, nine months pregnant, where she became a mother and built a career she's proud of. She spent years as a caregiver  for her mother through Alzheimer's and her father through cancer and started Where She Goes Next because she needed a space like it herself.She explains:- Why the people who love you most still can't see the grief you're carrying- What moving countries at 30 and nine months pregnant taught her about starting over- The years spent caring for both parents, and the mark that grief leaves behind- Why two close friends of 40 years had never discussed something central to being a woman- The one thing that becoming a new version of yourself actually requires and it isn't permissionYouTube: https://youtube.com/@whereshegoesnext?si=ZsWRDqp3Sy9Z-l4OWebsite: https://whereshegoesnext.comJoin the Where She Goes Next community and share your story. What chapter are you living through right now? Drop it in the comments, find us on Instagram, or connect with us on Facebook. And send Tracie your song recommendation for the Where She Goes Next playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.