The eight authors who contributed to this book accepted the challenge to "own their stories." In so doing, they chose to embrace some of the most difficult parts of their lives. They accepted to face their deeper struggles and to revisit the wounds those struggles left them. They learned to follow a key element from Native American storytelling which encourages us to balance the pain and darkness in our stories with beauty. Each of their stories captures this life-transforming journey from bad places to better places, from pain to understanding, and even from confusion to wisdom. Each of them owns their story in ways that make the story their best teacher and a positive guide to a lifetime of better stories awaiting in their futures.