Your Story Matters More Than You Think with Cristina P. Simmons

What if the parts of your story you're most tempted to hide are actually the parts that could help someone else?

In this episode of The Growth Now Movement, I sit down with Cristina P. Simmons, a mom of three adopted children, wife of 27 years, author, and founder of her own publishing company, to talk about the power of storytelling, healing, faith, and designing a life with more freedom.

Cristina's journey began with writing her trauma-heavy memoir, Eat Your Feelings. What started as a deeply personal process of putting her experiences on paper eventually turned into something much bigger. After hearing Amberly Lago on Ed Mylett's podcast, Christina joined a mastermind, wrote and released her book, and discovered that she didn't just want to tell her own story. She wanted to help other women tell theirs.

We talk about how Cristina's experiences with childhood abuse contributed to emotional eating and how becoming more self-aware helped her recognize the connection between what she was feeling and how she was responding.

Her son's autism diagnosis and her studies in occupational therapy also played a major role in helping Christina better understand herself, her patterns, and the tools she could use to respond differently.

Instead of simply trying to eliminate the urge to eat, Cristina talks about learning to redirect it through movement, walking, breathing, prayer, workouts, and community.

We also dive into the process of writing a memoir and one of the biggest questions many people face when telling their story: What actually belongs in the book?

Cristina explains why every story matters, how to identify the moments that shaped you, and what it means to become ready to share those experiences with the world.

At the heart of this conversation is a powerful idea: your story doesn't have to be perfect to be meaningful.

Cristina now helps women navigate the emotional process of bringing their stories to life through publishing, while continuing to build a life centered around faith, freedom, family, and intentionality.

We talk about healing, emotional eating, storytelling, entrepreneurship, motherhood, faith, resilience, publishing, masterminds, and what it really means to create a life by design.

If you've ever thought, "My story isn't important enough," this episode is for you.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Cristina's journey from memoir writer to publishing company founder

• Writing Eat Your Feelings

• How childhood experiences can influence emotional eating

• Recognizing emotional patterns and learning new responses

• The impact of her son's autism diagnosis on her self-awareness

• How a mastermind helped Cristina take action on her book

• Why every person's story matters

• How to identify the moments that belong in your story

• Knowing when you're ready to share your story

• Tools for redirecting emotional urges

• The role of exercise, walking, breathing, prayer, and community

• Faith and resilience

• Building a life around freedom and intentionality

• Daily habits that support success

• Turning your personal experiences into purpose

If this episode resonates with you, make sure you subscribe to The Growth Now Movement, leave a review, and share this conversation with someone who needs to hear it.