This chapter is about staying put—not in surrender, but in strength. It’s about choosing not to run, even when everything in you wants to disappear. Holding your ground doesn’t mean you’re not hurting. It means you haven’t given up.

This chapter is about turning the tables—making the first move, breaking the pattern, catching depression off guard. Small acts of defiance. Quiet rebellions. Tiny, deliberate surprises that say: I’m still here. I still have a say. And: yes, I can.

Before you can fight back, you have to understand what you’re fighting. This chapter is about giving shape to the shadow—naming the voice that isn’t yours, so you can stop listening to it like it is.

Hi. I’m Sad. But I’m Trying.

Thank you for trying, too.