The Courage to Create

March 01, 2025

Writing poetry. Drawing. Sharing my inner thoughts with others. Being vulnerable. All of these concepts were foreign to me before entering HopeWay in 2024. Now, as I share my story, I can truly say all of these things, while scary and uncomfortable at first, helped me tremendously in my recovery.

August 2024 roared into my life without mercy and led me to enter the front doors of HopeWay for the first time. I had previously not embraced or experienced mental health treatment, as many Americans have not, which made the decision and journey to HopeWay that much more challenging and scary. My wife was committed to supporting me and ensuring I received the best treatment, so she introduced me to HopeWay and helped guide me through the admissions process.

On my first day at HopeWay, I made the important decision to embrace everything that was offered. I must admit that I was skeptical of integrative therapies at first, but I attended my first art therapy group after dropping my bags in my room, and I was ready to do what I needed to do to feel better. I couldn’t recall the last time I had picked up a pencil to draw, but the beauty of art therapy is that it doesn’t require artistic skill—just the willingness to express your emotions on paper.

One of the most influential moments in my treatment was during an open mic session. Open mic is when clients have the opportunity to share an offering with the group – it could be a song, an original composition, or a story. During this session, another client shared an original composition, and the depth of the song and the vulnerability inspired me to participate. With encouragement and support from the staff and clients, I signed up to share a song in the first session. At that moment, I decided and challenged myself to write a poem for the following session.

Poetry, like art, was something I hadn’t attempted before HopeWay. I didn’t know how to look inward to find inspiration or motivation, and I was too scared to allow that level of vulnerability.  I drafted my first poem and shared it with another client, bracing myself for a rewrite; however, I was told to keep the poem as is.  Additionally, several other clients informed me that they would stand up with me while I read the poem or read it for me if necessary. However, I was able to make it through performing my poem, with tears and a little help, and was immediately asked if I was going to have another poem for the following week.

From that point on, I wrote a poem every week during my time in HopeWay’s residential program – each week the poems got a little lighter. Those poems became a record of my pain, my hard work, and, ultimately, my healing. They remain a testament to the transformation I experienced.

Even now, I continue to write poetry and experiment with art. These creative outlets, once foreign to me, are now invaluable tools for self-reflection and maintaining my mental health. HopeWay didn’t just help me find recovery—it helped me find my voice.

HopeWay - by Eric

Is that a dead man walking through the door

He looks like he has been through hell

Those eyes are empty and worn

He looks as if he doesn’t even have an ounce of joy

 

They tell him he will find peace

They tell him the seas will settle

They tell him the darkness will fade to light

They tell him the pain will ease

 

He prays his darkest days have come

Why was this even an option of his

How was this the way out in his mind

Would that have been a life sentence in hell for him

 

How many tears can he cry

How many tears does he even have to cry

Does he even know he has this many tears to cry

Oh lord let these tears wash away the pain

 

The path out of hell is harder to climb

The first step is the hardest of them all

For this journey he must be strong

He must look inward, outward, and all around

 

Don’t tell him he will be a new man

As this man has always been inside

He will be a better man, a polished man

He will be a proud and confident man