What Lives Beneath — A Story of Survival, Healing and Coming Home

Today, I am incredibly proud and more than a little emotional to announce the release of my new book, What Lives Beneath.

This book began with a question: what lives beneath the person the world sees?

Beneath the smiles, achievements and carefully constructed façade lived a frightened little girl who had learned to disappear. Beside her stood a dragon—fierce, watchful and created from everything she needed to survive. And waiting beyond them both was the woman I would eventually become.

What Lives Beneath is the story of all three.

It is an honest exploration of childhood trauma, gender identity, transition, grief, survival and the long, uneven journey towards healing. It follows me through moments of pain and transformation, from a childhood shaped by silence to becoming the woman, wife, Wiradjuri sistergirl, student, author and therapeutic youth worker I am today.

This is not a story about leaving the past behind. The past does not disappear simply because we have survived it. It continues to live within the body, the nervous system and the ways we learn to protect ourselves. Healing, for me, was not about defeating the dragon or silencing the little girl. It was about listening to them, understanding why they were there and finally giving them somewhere safe to rest.

Throughout the book, I share the people, places and experiences that helped me make sense of my life: studying psychology, meeting Bessel van der Kolk, discovering chosen family, riding with Dykes on Bikes, finding purpose through my work with young people, reconnecting with culture and learning to experience pleasure without waiting for fear to disappear.

At the heart of the book is the healing framework that emerged from my own lived experience: Soften. Stabilise. Step Forward.

Soften towards the parts of yourself that are hurting.

Stabilise when your body believes the danger has returned.

Step forward not because fear has disappeared, but because your life is still waiting for you.

Writing this book required me to revisit some of the most painful parts of my life. It also allowed me to recognise the extraordinary strength that existed within them. The little girl was never weak. The dragon was never the enemy. The woman was never an imposter. They were always parts of the same story, waiting to be brought together.

Although What Lives Beneath is deeply personal, I know its themes belong to many people. It is for anyone who has worn a façade to survive. Anyone who has questioned whether they are enough. Anyone who carries invisible grief, lives with trauma or is still trying to find their way home to themselves.

I hope these pages remind you that healing does not require you to become someone new. It asks you to stop abandoning the person you have always been.

“The healing wasn’t becoming someone new. It was bringing everyone home.”

What Lives Beneath is now ready to meet the world. Releasing it feels vulnerable, frightening and deeply meaningful—but this story was never meant to remain hidden.

If it helps even one person feel seen, understand their own protective parts or believe that another life is possible, then every difficult word was worth writing.

Thank you to everyone who stood beside me while this book came to life. Thank you to those who saw the little girl, respected the dragon and welcomed the woman. Most of all, thank you to every reader willing to look beneath the façade.

Welcome to What Lives Beneath.

Live your truth.

— Carla Aurora Hope

Purchase your copy of What Lives Beneath here

Self-Discovery Journey | Behind the Facade