Ten years ago, Jamie Tworkowski set out to help a friend in need. Renee was struggling with addiction, depression, self-injury, and suicidal thoughts. She cut hurtful phrases into her arms to convince herself that she would never be enough, hoping it would tip her over the edge to finally act on the feelings she'd had for so long.

Instead, her friend Jamie stepped in, and showed her how it feels to write love on her arms, instead of hate and pain. Jamie, who also struggles with depression, could relate to Renee's feelings of hopelessness and self-doubt. That's why he stepped up to the task of showing her the most love possible in the five days before she entered a treatment facility. To help contribute to the cost of an extended rehabilitation stay, Jamie made and sold t-shirts with one simple phrase on them: To Write Love on Her Arms.

People began to notice Jamie's hope for his friend, and his message of encouragement and suppport grew worldwide. In 2007, To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) became an official nonprofit organization committed to "promoting hope and help for people struggling with addiction, depression, self-injury or suicide. The purpose of TWLOHA is to encourage, inform, inspire and invest directly into treatment and recovery." They exist to acknowledge pain, and find hope and support in an understanding community.

Jamie's mission became publicly known through his blog, where he publish short pieces that were and continue to be real, raw, and true. He, and other contributing bloggers, do not sugar-coat their pain, or what they're going through. They write with such vulnerability and honesty, that they are able to inspire and encourage others who may be overwhelmed with their feelings, as well.

In 2015, Jamie published a collection of his blog writings, a book titled If You Feel Too Much: Thoughts on Things Found and Lost and Hoped For.The original founding story of TWLOHA starts the book, taking readers through Jamie's personal journey of loss, pain, and hope. I was so excited to read this book, and immediately became immersed as soon as it arrived in the mail!

As I read, I highlighted important quotes and phrases that related to situations I've been in, or inspired me to keep fighting and keep hoping. I would like to share some of those highlighted sections with you that I found most meaningful.

~"No one can name you. Find your identity in the one true place."

~"God must be a pretty big fan of today, because you keep waking up to it."

~"Love is a thousand things, but at the center is a choice. It is a choice to love people. Left to myself, I get quiet and bitter and angry. I get critical, and I get angry. I feel sorry for myself. It is a choice to love people. It is a choice to be kind. It is a choice to be patient, to be honest, to live with grace. It is a choice to be patient, to be honest, to live with grace. I would like to start making better choices."

~"You have a life. You have a story. You have your past and your pain, but also your dreams and your future."

~"We are glad that you were born. We are glad that you're alive. Don't give up. Don't give up on your story."

~"It's easy to be a critic, easy to tear things down, easy to be blind. It's a braver thing to build, to create, and to surprise."

~"Those people that try to tear us down, the meanest loudest ones, know very little about us. They don't want to know the truth, they just want to break the thing that's building. With that, I'm learning to ignore them, that this is not for them, that it's not theirs to steal. We do this work, we build this thing, because we believe it to be true, because we know the need is real."

~"It's better to be true than to be cool. Be yourself. Do what you love."

~"I am less and less impressed by "impressive" things or people who are presented as having things figured out. I am impressed by people who are honest and kind. I am inspired by moments of vulnerability, moments of confession and compassion, moments where someone makes it clear that they are a person in need of other people and someone else makes it clear that the first person is not alone."

~"I wonder if it's possible to get to a place of being thankful for your story, for the dreams that feel fractured, for things we loved but lost. I wonder if it's possible to get to a place of believing that we are shaped by all of it, that we are stronger and wiser for what we've walked through. What if the the things that ended- the things that broke and break your heart- what if it was the end of a chapter, but the story keeps going?"

~"We have to fight to not get lost in our own pain. We have to fight to remember the good, the things we love around us, the things not lost, the things that we are thankful for. Don't buy the lie that your story is just a tragedy."

~"If you're reading this, if there's air in your lungs, then you're alive today, tonight, right now. Will you fight? Will you fight to be healthy? Will you fight to be free? Will you fight for your story? Will you fight to get the help you need?"

~"This life- it's not a contest, not a race, not a performance, not a thing that you win. This life is not about status or opinion or appearance."

~"If you feel too much, there's still a place for you here. If you feel too much, don't go. There is still some time."

~"You are a living story that is entirely unique, a story that is sacred and priceless, one where no one else can play your part. Should you get to a place where you consider giving up on your story, if the pain feels like too much to bear, I pray those people will step in and remind you just how much you matter, that your story is worth fighting for. I wish that when your awful darkest days come, you will know you're not alone. Pain will tell you to keep quiet, but that's a lie. I hope you know that it's okay to ask for help. It is absolutely positively okay to ask for help."

~"I know that feeling of fighting to explain and defend, using words in hoping to be understood, but then it ends up going south. But you don't have to convince anyone. Your value is not based on performance. You deserve love. You deserve friends. You are enough."

~"The healing can arrive in the same manner as the wound-we get hurt in relationships, but God can use them also to restore."

~"Continue to bring light to dark places, even as you struggle. You're going to get through this. The pain won't last forever. You will be loved and you will get to love again. So keep going, even if it's slowly. See what's around this corner. See where the road ends up ahead. Isn't it reasonable to think that more good is on the way? Good things will find you once again."