About Kristy

Meet Kristy Towson, MFA

"Writing helped me reclaim my power during one of the hardest chapters of my life. For a long time, I carried my story in silence, the way so many women do. Putting words on the page did not erase what I had been through, but it gave me something back. It gave me my voice."

"Today, I use my lived experience, education, and publishing background to help women share their truth with care, dignity, and literary excellence. Every story we publish has the power to remind another woman that she is not alone."

My own mental health journey taught me that silence is heavy. For years I believed that keeping my story hidden was the brave thing to do. I was wrong. The bravest thing I ever did was begin to write it down.

Writing did not fix everything. But it gave me a place to put the pain, a way to understand myself, and slowly, a way to feel less alone. That is what I want for every woman who finds Speak Up Against Stigma.

I created this movement because I needed it myself and because I knew, if I needed it, other women did too. I wanted to build something story-safe, where honesty is honored and no one is asked to perform a version of healing they do not feel.