17times*
Reflections on #17times, and the evolved pursuit of Freedom.
*A special Friday edition.
Don’t worry, I won’t email more than one weekly newsletter on Mondays at 11:11 am MST… except to remember this first step toward Freedom and the day I become Free (hopefully very soon).
17times marked my first realization of worth beyond the life sentence of “abuse victim”; it evolves as my current pursuit of Freedom.
Compiling and arranging my first EP, 17times, began as a need for a space to hold my reality of abuse that seemed inescapable. 17times became a vessel for the pain that had long gone unseen, unspoken, and unheard.
The weighted veils that silence women remain a strange paradox: rooted in unspoken expectations, respectability politics, and the shifting boundaries of who is deemed valuable and who is dismissed as inconvenient.
The growing cost of surviving as a caricature (acceptable enough to be spared, but never free) to survive my abuser became impossible. Thriving seemed out of reach, and the long routine to dress up the chains of abuse and call it strength - unsustainable.
With the help of a small but mighty village, I was able to begin confronting and now dismantling the performance I had mastered: a quiet complicity that kept me contained.
Even so-called “silver linings” lose their lustre.
Dressing up oppression and silently protecting my abuser reached a crucial point of awakening - in service to whom? And at what cost?
I’m incredibly grateful to reflect on 17times as more than a project - it is this beginning. A chance to speak, imperfectly but honestly, in case I never could again. It marked the first realization that I am worthy of more than the life sentence of “abuse victim.”
17times is the advent of my pursuit of Freedom: to unbind my future from the chains of abusers.
I invite you to listen for spaces created just for you alongside each song, precious to hold the Freedoms you pursue.
Practically Speaking, Support.
Thank you for your practical and meaningful support toward my Freedom.
If you are able, please consider:
🙏🏾 Donating to my GoFundMe
🙏🏾 Sending your contacts for safe legal advocates, lawyers, or experts via Email
🙏🏾 Sharing this newsletter to increase its reach toward safe legal advocates
🙏🏾 Supporting by streaming, and sharing 17times
In Gratitude and Freedom,
Kaeyae Alo
*THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
#PracticallySpeakingFreedom