TikToker And Author CL Heckman Shares Trauma To Help Others

Viral TikToker and author CL Heckman is on a mission to not only heal her own past trauma but to also help others who can relate.

Heckman shares videos on TikTok sharing her story and has found that sadly many people can relate. In her quest to heal through therapy, she began writing and ultimately decided to publish multiple books to help others.

"Every day is a journey, and a lot of days are very hard," Heckman told The Blast exclusively. She finds solace in the fact that people are reading her books and finding their "village."

"I know how it feels to be alone, and most abusers use that to their advantage. We all have that in common, that feeling of loneliness, but not anymore," she said. "Finding your village is powerful, and gives you back the strength that was stolen from you. It gives you a voice. Talking about what happened to me is not easy, but if it helps others feel less alone, I'll shout it from the rooftops, hopeful that one day we will all be healed from our trauma."

Heckman recently shared a video on TikTok that quickly went viral. The video shows her sitting next to a closed suitcase with the words, "When I was little, I used to hide from my brother in a suitcase in the attic for hours...hoping it was a good enough spot to keep me alive..."

The video then shows her opening the suitcase and pulling her published books out with the words, "Now it holds all the bestselling books I wrote about what he did to me and put me through - making sure everyone knows what he did."

With more than 1.5 million views in just a few days and thousands of comments, it appears that far too many people can relate to having past trauma.

"The fact that so many people share similar stories to my own is absolutely heartbreaking," she said. "It's an epidemic in our society that isn't talked about enough. We can stand together in the fight against abuse of all kinds, and hope that one day it will be gone from this world."

Heckman's video grabbed a lot of people's attention. Many shared in the comments that they could relate, and others asked for advice.

"What advice do you have for parents of children who have experienced things such as you went through as a child?" one person asked, to which Heckman replied, "I always just wanted someone to believe me as a kid and to protect me. That would be my advice."

Another viewer shared, "My spot was in the dog house with our golden."

One other viewer said, "I hid behind the couch as he ran through the house with a butcher knife looking for me screaming my name to come out. After years of physical and SA, I haven't spoken to him in 30 years."

Heckman told The Blast that she wrote her book series after a therapist advised her to begin writing down her memories and then "burn them as a release."

"I couldn't burn them without them being read by someone else, in the hopes that it would bring me more closure. So I brought them with me to a session and once she read them, she was speechless," Heckman shared with The Blast.

"She believed my words were powerful and could change people's lives and told me that I should consider turning them into a book, so I did."

During the process of writing down her memories and reliving the trauma, Heckman struggled with intense PTSD, nightmares, and restless sleep.

"My anxiety was at an all-time high, with panic attacks almost daily. I wanted to shut it down and give up on it, closing the door to my past, but I knew that it was a story that needed to be told for the little girl inside of me, and I was the only one that could tell it," she said.

"With very little help, I wrote, formatted, and self-published my first book, which I never knew would reach the hands of this many people."

Writing was not something that Heckman said she ever dreamed of but she's grateful for it. She said she plans to keep writing no matter how hard it is so that she can help others "find a voice to get through their darkest days."

Heckman shares her story in videos on TikTok to help connect with other trauma survivors.

"TikTok is such an amazing way to connect with people all over the world who share the same experiences as you. The outpouring of support through this platform has been overwhelming. My heart is overflowing with it all, but it also breaks with how many people have similar stories to mine," Heckman told The Blast.

"Being self-published, I couldn't have done it without social media, and I am incredibly thankful for it. I hope that TikTok will help expand my reach and touch even more lives, bringing light to their darkness. The sense of community is so healing and so important when you've experienced something as traumatic as what so many of my readers have gone through."

Heckman's first book is "Charlie's Secret," a novel inspired by her abusive childhood.

"After its release over ten years ago, I decided the story wasn't complete and I needed to expand on it more, so I wrote and published the sequel, "Sam's Truth" to tie up loose ends about Charlie," she explained. "However, my fans were still asking for more background about the mom, Vicky, so I finished off the series with a final book that I published this year titled, 'Vicky's Redemption.'"

In addition to that series, she also has an equestrian series aimed toward teenagers. The books are "wholesome and fun" and follow a young adult on her journey to becoming a trainer in the Arabian horse world.

"My final published book currently is titled, 'The Hemlock Girl' and is inspired by my group of friends growing up," she said. "It touches on some dark and tough subjects such as depression and peer pressure. It's a great story for anyone who loves a good love story with some darker twists."

Heckman has future books planned out, including a mystery novel and a choose-your-own-adventure book.