The Bloom Book

Let me begin by saying I am neither a therapist nor a professional gardener.

In the beginning COVID, I found myself moving through some very painful life transitions and events. I sat (and survived) in depths of loneliness and depression that, 10 years ago, I never thought I could have gotten through. I started the long journey of naming my wounds and beginning to move through them with myself. Processing truths about my upbringing, my abusive mother, my sexual assault and suicide attempt, and the suicide of my brother, to just name a few. I had many nights healing Little M, building blanket forts, eating candy for dinner, and watching comfort movies. In those moments of darkness, my PLANTS helped me realize I needed to do a better job of caring for myself.

This world is such a difficult place to be right now, and if you are part of any systemically marginalized group, it can feel excruciating, because the people holding the reins of power currently in government and beyond are actively trying to erase you. For so many people, it feels like their lives don’t matter, so why continue living them?

I hope that by sharing my lived experience it can help you sprout new ideas and perspectives about how listening to our “blooms” and how having difficult conversations could be the key to our mental healing - especially in the midst of so much pain.

The Little Bloom Book is about how observing the life cycles of my plants taught me to better listen to myself. - Excerpt from The Little Bloom Book

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About the Author

M Abeo

M Abeo (they/them) is a Mental Health Advocate, TEDx Speaker, Podcast host, Producer and Photographer from Seattle, Washington. In 2017 M started the Faces of Fortitude project: A portrait series documenting the images and stories of people touched by suicide in any way, be it loss, attempt or first responders. The project initially began as a side project to help M in their own healing of losing their only brother to suicide when he was just 26. In just 5 years, it has grown into a body of work that shows the resilience and fortitude of the human spirit, as well as the light and joy that can be found in the darkest of moments. Their goal is to create communities of survivors across the globe that understand the importance and power hidden in the act of difficult conversations and sharing our stigmatized stories - in the hopes of creating a system of mutual healing. M currently travels around the US and beyond, sharing keynote presentations and workshops about the power of learning to Unearth your Trauma, as well as working on 2 books and a new gallery exhibit entitled, The Faces of Fortitude Experience.