My name is Jenna Edwards and I hail from a small town in Minnesota.  On July 16^th, 2003 I was buying oranges at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market when I was struck in the now infamous “Farmer’s Market Crash” which left 10 people dead and 64 of us with serious injuries, both physical and mental.

On that horrific day, a car going sixty miles an hour came crashing through the outdoor market sending tables, debris and people flying through the air.  One of those tables flew at me like a bullet pinning me to the ground and knocking all the joy and life out of my body with a giant jolt.

I struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  so severe it sent me into flashbacks that caused me to pass out daily.  I didn’t sleep for eight months and ended up in a hospital psychiatric ward.  I couldn’t read, I struggled to remember common words and I stuttered when I talked.  My joy was gone and I thought my life was over.

It wasn’t, it was just turning the page on a new chapter.  While in the hospital I was able to make a collage, which I didn’t know at the time, would help me heal, regain my joy and take me on a path that I never even imagined.  It brought me to scrapbooking and through scrapbooking I have been able to heal and plan the life of my dreams.

As strange as it may sound, scrapbooking my past as well as my visions for the future helped me to heal and process things I thought would be with me forever and today I am flourishing.  It helped me deal, not only with all the struggles of PTSD, but also with issues of abuse as a child, my parents divorce, an eating disorder I struggled with in my teens and general, everyday issues I think most of us deal with.  It took a long time for me to heal, but I am better than ever and I know that scrapbooking played a huge part in that.

It is with that sentiment that I have set out to share how I did it and inspire others to not only heal the past, but create the life of their dreams through scrapbooking.