SAVED MY SOUL
SAVED MY SOUL By: Chris Talbot-Heindl A Talbot-Heindl Experience www.talbot-heindl.com
A common saying in roller derby is “roller derby saved my soul.�
The derbsters who say this say it in earnest, because for a lot of them, it has.
Prior to roller derby, I was slightly agoraphobic, having trouble leaving my house for more than a trip to the coffee shop. I certainly never took any trips out of town. instantly
TALK with your
CAT
My sister-in-law convinced me (after three years) to join roller derby.
LD U YOU SHO
WOMEN’S FLAT TRACK ROLLER DERBY
MID STATE
SISTERS OF SKATE
IN JO
D E R BY
I joined it and fell in love.
Then, roller derby started saving my soul and my life.
I found reasons to make the effort to leave my house, and I left my town to play in other towns.
I learned to take up space, assert myself, and to believe that I deserved more.
Believing that I deserved more eventually led to me seek a hysterectomy to deal with my extreme pain and bleeding.
I had begun to have periods that lasted 3-4 weeks with one week off and had accepted it as just another thing I had put up with.
Roller derby taught me, I could ask for what I wanted/ needed.
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I’ve learned to excel rather than just exist. I’ve become my most authentic self and learned to love who that is.
Roller derby saved my life and soul.