Dear Everyone,

In writing this book, I have laid my soul bare. In doing so, there is no doubt in my mind that I will face backlash, judgement, and disdain. You will not be impressed by how I handled every circumstance revealed in these pages. You will not agree with the ways in which I lived through my grief. You may read my story and often think to yourself, “this is not how I would have done it.” You will judge the way I needed to expose myself in order to heal.

It is clumsy, messy. At times selfish, immature. It is absolutely raw, and rigid, and vulnerable. But more than anything, it is the real me. And while I have thrown every bit of caution to the wind in excavating my soul and sharing it with the public, I feel certain that this is something I must do. Because for all the ways you may judge me or change your mind about me, it has the power to hold a mirror to your soul; not so that you may see yourself perfectly in my story, but so you may see yourself in your own – the real you.

You may not choose to share your brokenness, shamefulness, and healing with the world like I did. But, I hope that in reading this book and going “there” with me, you know there’s a world where all of our pieces paint a beautiful picture of womanhood on the canvas woven together by our stories.

This book was never about making money or making “it” as an author. Maybe for a time it was. Then real life happened, and it changed the story. And the story became something that could not be written with any purpose in mind other than to heal through that which was unfolding in front of me.

Dear Everyone, is a story written to all people, but most importantly, it is written to women. Women who have lost something, are grieving something, are searching to heal wounds that never quite closed. It’s for the woman who had a miscarriage and didn’t know how she’d get through one more day. For the woman who sought answers in unhealthy relationships with men, alcohol, and their bodies.

For the women who have lost touch with their inner child. For the women who have felt the intense expectations of their families, their mothers. For the women who were once little girls that needed to grow up too fast. For the women who felt the need to put on armor, pick up the pieces, and take care of those around her.

It’s for the women who don’t know if their career is more important than motherhood or the opposite. For the women who have worked so hard to girlboss their way to the top, only to face the biological urge to have children, and the scary but real feeling that it may be more important. For the women who don’t feel they have a choice. For the women who feel pressure to “have it all” instead of what they actually want. It is for the women who realize, and who have not yet come to realize, that their strength is within and their power is in their creative genius.

This book is meant to be a conversation – one with yourself first, and others second. It’s a dual narrative of two women living sixty years apart, finding purpose in their art, while asking the question that I believe defines the female experience: What does it mean to choose yourself? And what is lost when you don’t?

I have loved and hurt and grieved and cried and felt anger and joy in the writing of this book. I have cherished my time with Martha’s letters, knowing there will never be a moment as impactful for me as the first time I read them. And this is how I hope you will feel when you do – like the world has become a place you can run free, trust your intuition, and choose the truth that lives deep within you.

When you read Dear Everyone, it is an invitation to participate in our call as women – to live authentically as leaders who shape beauty, who guide families, and who sow legacies into the fabric of our world.

In writing and sharing this work, I have found many answers. But there are still many others that will only be answered when we come together and answer the call.

Thank you for your love and support on this journey. You’ve made a terrifyingly vulnerable experience feel like a dream coming true.

With love, truth, an excitement for how our unified strength can change the world,

Henley