About

Hi! Welcome to the Acorn Stash! My name is Helena Ritchie, and this is my creation.

I’m pretty proud of it too, because for as long I’ve wanted to be a writer, it’s taken me half my life to get to this point where while I’m still not completely comfortable putting myself out there, I’m at least willing to give it a go and see what happens. Did I mention that I just turned 50?
So yeah, this has been a long time coming.

I have to tell you , I’m not really very good at talking about myself. That comes from a combination of being naturally introverted and shy, and from years of being told to shut up because no one like me or cared what I had to say anyways.

Yep… I had a verbally and emotionally abusive husband. Actually I had two of them. Seems I was a bit of a slow learner.

By the time the second one was done with me, I was lower than I’d ever been. I used to say I felt lower than worm-slime, but that was an insult to the worm. My self-esteem, which was always pretty fragile at the best of times, was non-existent. I let myself go physically and mentally and the result was I had a heart attack at age 40.

So here I am 10 years later, still a work in progress and still putting the pieces back together. I am slowly but surely re-creating myself into the woman I want to be. I have been down as low as can possibly go, and I know that the only place left to go is up (or maybe a little sideways).

One of the things I have learned is that when you come through adversity, you have an obligation to share your experiences because there might be someone out there who needs to know that they are not alone. When you’re in that dark place you need to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

If my experiences can help even one person know that it is possible to survive, rebuild yourself, and thrive again, then I will consider my life a success.

If an issue of The Acorn Stash helps even one person to know that they’re not alone and that it is possible to go for your dreams even when you’re shaking in your boots, then every minute I spend agonizing over getting the words just right is worth it.

I may not always give you sunshine and roses, although I try to keep everything as positive as possible. There’s already enough negative energy in the world without me adding more to it.

What I will promise is that I will be open and real with you. I will let you see the real me and I will be here for you to share experiences, to listen, or just to send a hug across the ‘net when you need it.

From my heart to yours,
Thanks for being here.