My name is Saowaluck Pongsuvan Arnold (SP). 

I was born during the Vietnam War in Udon Thani, Thailand. 

My journey from hardship to strength and purpose has always returned to one place: “my heart”.

I grew up in the slums of Bangkok. Life challenged me early. My grandmother raised me while my biological parents left due to their age and responsibilities. I learned to survive before I understood what childhood meant.

Fear shaped my environment. It lived in the streets, inside homes, and in the uncertainty of each day. I experienced abuse and carried deep feelings of worthlessness. For years, I accepted painful stories as truth and defined myself by them.

I saw myself as a victim of everything that happened. 

Today, I see clearly.

Those who brought darkness into my life became my teachers. Darkness pushed me toward the light. Every hardship built the foundation of who I became. Through it all, something within me stayed strong. My heart kept guiding me forward, even when I did not understand the path.

As a child, I learned to face fear directly. Instead of running, I walked into it. I told myself:

I have already been to hell many times. I know my way out. Each time I returned, I carried gratitude for what I learned. Over time, I realized something that changed my life: Our lives are not defined by what happens to us, but by the story we choose to tell ourselves. That awareness shifted everything. I began a path of healing and rebirth.

In my early twenties, I endured a stressful and abusive marriage. My health collapsed. I developed chronic pain and serious autoimmune conditions, including Multiple Sclerosis, Celiac disease, IBS, severe anxiety, seizures, vertigo, and migraines. My body fluctuated drastically in short times. One day, I walked into a doctor’s office in tears. I begged her to check if I was dying from cancer or something serious. She prescribed medication and referred me elsewhere. Another doctor later recommended removing my uterus after two years of nonstop bleeding, without a clear diagnosis. I refused to accept that as my truth. I had survived too much to break now. I reminded myself: Fear has two meanings:

Forget Everything And Run
or
Face Everything And Rise

I chose to rise.

As a single mother raising two children while working and managing illness, I often felt alone. Still, my children gave me a reason to keep going. They became my strength.

I wanted them to remember that they are my strength and my legacy. I wanted them to know that my love for them transformed every hardship back into love. I refused to live as a victim. I chose to heal the past so I would not pass it forward to them. So I made a decision.

I would live and I would find my way, no matter what it required.

For years, I searched, learned, and continued healing.