Willow SFW/NSFW Art

All my life I've struggled with my appearance and my weight. I've gone up and down in size like a dang yo-yo. Every single day is a constant struggle. Some days are better than others. Some days I actually feel pretty, but there are many, many more where I look at myself and pick apart every single flaw, where I look at every thick part of me, every bit of stretched skin, and feel disgusting. That cycle is so, so hard to break.

Writing about plus size women in our books has been therapeutic. It allows me to share those insecurities through our heroines, to wrestle with them, and see that beauty, even if it's through the eyes of the hero. Because you know what? Those heroes are written by Rob. Of course he gets some direction from me, but I know the thoughts the hero has are thoughts that Rob has about me. They're real. He sees me as beautiful. No matter my size, through all these years since we've known each other, he fell in love with me when I was a thick teenager, when I gained weight with our daughter, when I was at my thinnest, and at my biggest.

You can have someone tell you over and over and over again that you're beautiful, but it's so much harder for you yourself to actually see it. Especially when everything in society tells you otherwise, when you open up and put yourself out there on social media and have people come into your comments just to tell you how fat and ugly you are.

But through our books, I am healing after years of trauma. Because it is trauma. It starts at a young age when children can be so cruel, when parents make remarks they don't realize are actually hurtful, with everything you see on television and the internet.

So today I am sharing art of Willow from Yearning For Her by Dahlialacrimosa. Willow who has found peace in herself, who has gone through that trauma and came out stronger and confident. Willow who is beautiful. I've stared at these pieces so many times and that's all I can see. Beauty. Because she is beautiful.