The Power of Rising Through Pain

By Shanton Smith

There was a time when It felt like brokenness was my middle name.

I suffered more losses that my mind could grasp or heart could recover from. The kind losses that shake your soul and make you question why you were chosen to carry so much pain. But what I didn’t realize then was that my breaking point was also my becoming point.

The Girl Who Was Chosen Too Soon

I was adopted and raised by my grandparents — two of the deepest and most profound souls I ever encountered. They taught me strength, faith, and the value of hard work. 

But being adopted at just 11 months old left a question mark on my heart that I couldn’t quite erase: Why me?

As a little girl, I often felt misplaced — loved, yet searching. That inner battle shaped my need to prove myself, to be enough and to be understood. And when I lost my father and both grandparents at the age of 19, the foundation that held me together suddenly disappeared. I remember feeling like the walls of my world had caved in. I was alone, young, and fighting to survive a storm I wasn’t prepared to embrace. My heart broke as my whole world seemed to fall apart. 

I struggled to find peace clarity and perspective on why my life had to be so hard. After a bad breakup I ended up spending weeks sleeping in my car. I slowly began to piece my life back together as I began to gain some peace from my grandmothers voice from within. Years later after becoming a mother everything changed.

My children gave me reason to thrive to fight, and to rise. But even then, life didn’t go easy on me. I was advised not to give birth to my youngest son due to possible abnormalities. An abortion wasn’t an option for me, thank God he came out just fine. At the age of seven my oldest son was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and the doctors said he was on his way out. We spent countless hours in the hospital and emergency rooms. Somewhere in the chaos, I picked up a pen.

What started as journaling as a way to quiet my pain. Writing helped me make sense of the hurt and turn it into something powerful. Those pages became the foundation for my healing journey. 

Today, I am an award-winning screenwriter, author, and coach. I teach because I’ve lived through the darkness I now help others walk out of. My journey has taught me that success isn’t about what you achieve — it’s about who you become through healing. If my journey has taught me anything, it’s this: You don’t have to come from strength to become strong. You just have to decide that your pain will not define your purpose.

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