🗓️ Beyond Survival: a year in review (2024)

It's been a big year. Here are some highlights!

2024 has been a big year, both personally and professionally. Before 2025 begins, I wanted to take a moment to pause, reflect and celebrate how far we’ve come.

I founded Beyond Survival in 2023 because I wanted a space for survivor-centred conversations about life after trauma. This community has grown a lot in the last 12 months, and I am deeply grateful for your support. Particular thanks to our Paid Subscribers who make this work possible. Your financial support and generous notes mean the world to me!

If you believe in Beyond Survival’s mission, I hope you’ll consider supporting it financially.

A selection of the notes paid subscribers have left for me. 💕

A year in review

In 2024, I published 70 articles. I wrote guests posts for

Sober App

(on sobriety and sexual violence)¹ and

Aisling Walsh

’s AutCasts (on trauma & my favourite childhood film, The Lion King). I also appeared in

Ali Griffin Vingiano

’s Little Things and Cup of Jo.

I spent way too long on this infographic, but isn’t it pretty?

Other work things I’m proud of:

• I published my first essay with The Huffington Post (I wrote about how I did it too!)

• I launched the Ask Clare column, which quickly became my favourite thing to write each month.

• I designed a survey on the experiences of people who’ve experienced sexual violence. (It’s still open for submissions if you’d like to share your thoughts.)

• I began compiling some of the resources that helped me rebuild my life after sexual trauma.

• I started revising the novel I wrote during covid. I still have a long way to go with this project, but I’m proud of the work I’ve done so far.

• I stepped outside my comfort zone and spoke about the night my mother died at a live storytelling event. (I didn’t win, but I didn’t die so I count that as a success! 😉)

• I launched SurvivorStack, which has grown very quickly and now includes more than 70 great newsletters. It’s brought me so much joy to build this directory and create community among writers delving into difficult subjects. (If you’d like to be a part of it, please let me know!)

• I completed two training programs in social entrepreneurship: Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s The Ideas Academy and Rethink Ireland’s Start a Social Enterprise course.

Aside from work, here are some of my personal highlights from 2024:

• I got engaged!

• I completed The Artist’s Way.

• I got nature stoned during forest bathing.

• I kept going to therapy, even when I thought I didn’t need to.

• I took breaks when I needed them.

2024 has been a big year. It’s been an honour to share part of it with you. Thank you for spending your valuable time and attention with me every week. Thank you for being a part of this community.

Here are some of 2024’s most popular posts:

📚 Eight books I recommend to every survivor of sexual violence

💍 I’m engaged!

🏳️‍🌈 I shared my coming out story with the Huffington Post.

I don’t have many regrets, but this is one.

Ask Clare: How to find a good therapist

🗓️ If you’re curious about Beyond Survival’s growth, here’s last year’s annual review.

💕 If this piece resonated with you, please tap the heart below to help spread the word.

💬 In the comments, I’d love to hear your reflections on 2024. What have you enjoyed about this community? And what are the things you’d like to read more of in 2025? (Gentle feedback is also welcome - is there anything you feel is missing from this space? Or anything you wish I did differently. I am all ears!)

1. Huge thanks to my editor

Dana Leigh Lyons

for this opportunity. If you’re a sober writer with a story to share, I really recommend this publication opportunity.