About Me — Nina Hope. From brokenness to stories that heal. | by Nina Hope | Oct, 2025

From brokenness to stories that heal.

I am both the shadow and the light, a woman who has lived on edges most people never see. I’ve always lived in two extremes: too much, not enough, light and darkness side by side.

I come from the happiest country in the world. Or at least, that’s what they say.

Here, daylight is a luxury, something that we chase and celebrate. In summer, the sun refuses to set, pouring itself onto us, until we’re restless with light.

In winter, darkness lingers for months with the blue glow of winter mornings and the silence of snow. People disappear into themselves. That land of extremes lives in me too.

I had an ordinary childhood. I was a 90’s kid growing up with VHS tapes, Tamagotchis, and rollerblades.

I enjoyed the simple joys like Saturday morning cartoons and riding bikes until the streetlights came on. It was the kind of innocence that could almost trick you into thinking the world was good. For a while, I believed life really could be as simple as a Saturday morning cartoon.

I have had a thing for words since an early age. The library was my favorite place. I enjoyed being surrounded by great minds.

Nancy Drew was my first love. I spent hours reading and solving mysteries with her. Books gave me a world to escape from the growing chaos inside my mind.

I felt different, but I couldn’t explain it. I tried to do everything right and be perfect to prove my worth. I was a sensitive child and there was a monster growing inside me fueled by a childhood trauma.

I felt too much but I didn’t want to be a burden so I became an invisible child. I thought being invisible would make me safe. Instead, it made me lonely.

My life hasn’t been easy. I’ve struggled with a mental illness all my life. I have been running from wounds, pain, and blood of a broken soul my whole adulthood.

But then came the Crash. I hit a wall. A monster got a name. Bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.

I broke. The life I knew was gone forever. I lost my identity to the illness. I couldn’t trust my own mind. One moment I was invincible, the next I was afraid of shadows.

I went through seven years of hell. Depression, anxiety, mania, psychosis, self-harm, hospital stays, med trial and errors, electroconvulsive therapy.

But it needed to happen. It was brutal, even violent, but necessary. It allowed me to build something new, something sustainable.

I’ve always liked putting my thoughts on a paper, but this time it meant something more. Writing became a healing process and it gave me purpose.

I made huge realizations through the keyboard. That’s when Nina Hope was born — not as a mask, but as a promise: to speak, to write, to survive.

I write about invisible illness, identity, and the in-between.

I’m not going to lie, I write for myself. But I write for you too.

If any of my words resonate or help you, I’ve done my job. I’m here to share a story. A story that can help so many individuals.

Mental health issues are everywhere now — more people being diagnosed and seeking help. Awareness is rising, but we still need to talk louder, write about it, and give it a voice and be loud.

Writing articles and short stories allows me to explore both my pain and my imagination.

Some days, the words spill out heavy, raw, and sharp — like I’m cutting into old wounds to see what still bleeds.

Other days, the words are lighter, carrying me into worlds that don’t exist except on the page.

Writing gives me room to be both: the woman who has suffered, and the woman who dreams beyond suffering.

I’m a wife, a mother of three teenagers, a writer, and a mental illness survivor. Healing is my priority, and I find it through writing and therapy.

I love coffee, wine, good food, and Netflix nights that remind me joy doesn’t have to be complicated.

I’m not who I used to be — I’m building someone new, piece by piece. I don’t know exactly where the path will take me, but for now, I trust I’m moving in the right direction.

If you come with me, I promise you raw truth, strange detours, and a little bit of hope in every shadow.

This is not just my story. It’s a mirror, a map, maybe even a lifeline — for anyone else who has ever felt too much, carried too much, or lived at the edge of themselves.