About Jessica
Hi, my name is Jessica Witmer. I live in rural Southern TN with my husband Brock and our two precious children. I am a homeschool momma, learning new things about myself and life every day; many times from my not-so-little-anymore babies. We love God, quality time with each other, and connecting with friends. We gravitate towards nature and simplicity where the complicatedness of life fades away to remind us of the things that matter most. This is us. We haven’t always had us. It’s a hard, beautiful and crazy life that I am so grateful for.
I daydream a lot.
Of homes where innocent children are understood and treasured.
Of marriage relationships with mutual respect and honor for each other.
Of churches and communities where truth and justice are as important as connection and support.
Of safe spaces where visible emotional pain is not viewed as insignificant, subordinate or weak.
Of men and women courageously rewriting the narrative of their stories and creating a life they are passionate about.
— Jessica Witmer
More of my story…
I was born and raised in the Amish culture, later becoming Mennonite in my teens. We stopped identifying as Mennonites several years into marriage, although the beliefs and ways of life have taken years to sort through. While there many helpful aspects in my upbringing (such as gardening, food preservation, and living with simplicity); the effects of fear and performance based living, along with spiritual mind control created indescribable turmoil.
I was number six of fifteen children in our family. We had strong resilient minds with vivid imaginations that kept us going. We foraged, worked hard, dreamed, and hoped. Abuse and neglect was rampant in our community, covered in silence and hidden beneath a religious façade. Our home was no exception. I lived in daily terror and constant chaos.
My childhood was marked by relentless rigidity and terror. Each day filled me with dread before it even began, and I coped in ways that seemed most effective at the time. I developed a self-harm addiction at the age of six, which progressively worsened as time went on.
When my teenage years arrived, anorexia and bulimia also became harmful ways through which I attempted to maintain my sanity. Everything reached a breaking point when I turned sixteen; as the coping mechanisms I had developed no longer seemed to provide the relief I lived for. I knew I needed a change and a safe environment.
A week after my seventeenth birthday, I made the decision to leave my childhood home and family. This marked the beginning of my journey towards recovery, as I struggled to navigate how to live without the pain and fear I had depended on to remind me that I was alive and a fighter.
I am a survivor, though just barely. Since that turning point, I have actively pursued deeper healing. Much of my passion for mental health stems from my personal journey.
I am a believer and follower of Jesus, whom I am learning to know in a way that is separate from my past religious experiences.
I have been through long seasons of unraveling and sifting through the ruins of my indoctrinated belief system, longing to know God as He truly is and to find belonging in Him as my true and complete self.
I find joy in transformation. My hobbies are wrapped up in trauma informed home design, where I create gentle and safe spaces to heal and feel.
I have an insatiable desire for words. I write about my experiences, my thoughts, and my dreams. Sometimes I write on behalf of my clients. Words and verbal processing have brough me much clarity and reduced my shame, and it is my hope to pass that on to my readers.
Thank you for being here, and I hope you feel welcome and understood. May you be inspired to create a life where you are free to thrive and be authentically you.
—Jessica Witmer