Nyajuok Doluony: Hi, friends, and welcome to today's episode. I am Nyajuok Doluony, Cardiology Service Line Director here at San Juan Regional Medical Center. I am also an author.

Today, I want to share something deeply personal with you why I decided to write my memoir titled "I Am My Mother's Wildest Dream", which can also be found here at the hospital gift shop.

Writing about your own life is unlike anything else. It's raw, it's vulnerable. It's like holding up a mirror and saying, "This is who I am. This is what I have lived through. This is my truth." When I first started writing, it wasn't for the world, it was for me. I needed to process the chapters of my life, some painful chapters, some beautiful chapters that I had carried in silence for so long. Initially, it was a private journal of healing, remembering, and making sense of everything.

But as the words begin to flow, I realized something powerful, this wasn't just my story. The details may be mine, but the struggles, the resilience, the lessons, they are universal. So many of us know what it's like to survive. So many of us know what it's like to carry invisible scar, and that's when it hit me. Maybe my journey could help someone else. Maybe someone out there would read my words and feel less alone. Maybe they would see a piece of themselves in my story and find hope.

I won't lie, writing a memoir is not easy. There were days I typed through tears, reliving moments I thought I had buried forever. There were times I wanted to stop because the memories felt too heavy, especially when some wounds were still fresh. There was also a deep, unexpected freedom in it. With every page, I felt like I was honoring the truth of my life, the good, the bad, and everything in between.

In my book, I shared my childhood growing up in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, watching my mother give birth to three children in unimaginable conditions. She raised us with strength and dignity, often collecting firewood to sell at the market when the UN food rations didn't arrive on time. I talked about my oldest brother's battle with PTSD after serving in Iraq, his attempted suicides how his pain shaped my decision to join the US Army Nurse Corps. I opened up about my healing journey after a painful divorce, childhood marriage, navigating identity, family, and the search for myself.

Through it all, I learned one powerful truth. Our past does not have to define us, but it can shape us. It can teach us resilience, compassion, and courage. This memoir isn't about perfection or having all the answers. It's about being human. It's about surviving, growing, and finding meaning in the hottest seasons. And if you are listening today and you ever thought, "My story doesn't matter," I want you to know it does. Every life holds wisdom. Every journey has value, and sometimes by simply sharing our truth, we give someone else the courage to share theirs.

Over the last three years, I have shared glimpses from my memoir, moments that shaped me, lessons I will never forget, and the chapters that were the hardest and yet the most important to write.

Before I close today, I want to say thank you. Thank you for giving me this space to be open. Thank you for listening. Thank you for walking alongside me on this path of honesty, healing, and connection. If you would like to stay connected. You can find my memoir, I Am My Mother's Wildest Dream, at the gift shop here at San Juan Regional Medical Center, also at Quill and Quest Downtown Farmington, Maria's Bookstore in Durango. And you can also simply just come up and say hello, where I work here at San Juan Regional Medical Center. I would love to hear from you, your thoughts, your questions, and even your own story. Until next time, remember this, your past does not define you, but your truth can set you free. You cannot heal what you hide. Thank you.