A story of healing, transformation, and community—told one chapter at a time.
Eclosion: An Artist’s Path
to Power and Peace
Hi, I’m Carrie Ziegler—artist, speaker, and community catalyst. Eclosion is the memoir I never imagined I’d write… and now, I’m sharing it with you one chapter at a time on Substack.
This is the story of how I moved through addiction, trauma, and deep personal healing to become a proud mama and full-time Artist and Change Maker. Along the way, I share how collaborative art became not just my calling—but a way to shift hearts, move policy, and reimagine community.
“Your story is rich, accessible & an empowering call to anyone—everyone who thinks that they can’t make a difference in their life or in the world. I’m enjoying myself mightily as I read.”
What You’ll Find Inside:
Each chapter invites you into a piece of my story—and offers space for your own.
Alongside the memoir, I’m sharing art prompts, reflection questions, and creative invitations to help you engage with the material in a personal way. You’ll also have opportunities to help co-create an Artist Handbook and Resource Section that will follow the book.
This is more than a story. It’s a conversation. A co-creative process. A call to step into your power—through art, story, and connection.
“Part memoir, part call to action, this book is a healing. A poetic portrait of an artist who, just like you and me, has struggled with abuse, trauma, and grief. Using art, the author forges her own singular path to steadiness and joy through sobriety, clear speaking within her own family, community, and on the world stage. This artist’s rendering of life is a handbook and clarion call guiding us all to forge our own paths through action and art.”
The Journey Unfolds in Phases
Like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, Eclosion is structured in phases:
An Opening (Preface)
Poem: We Are the Imaginal Cells
Grounded
Negative Space
Silent Roots
Generational Echoes
Trapped
Breaking Free
Escape
The Birdhouse
Love and Lies in Alaska
Borderlines
The Audacity of Art
A Chameleon’s Confession
Learning to Fly
Ecology meets Equity
Delphinia
A Necessary Failure
The Plastic Whale Project
Back to NoDak
The Power of Story
The Anatomy of Impact
Fear in the Face of Art
Where Everything is Music
Turning the Wheel
Love in the Islands
The Darkness Inside
Into the Chrysalis
Fragile Power
Wrapped in Darkness
Uncovering the Nest
Facing Fear
Emerging from Chrysalides
Unnamed Chapter (Former Prologue)
Taking Flight
Becoming an Artist Mama
Change Starts here
Working in Community
Where Change Takes Root
Growing from the Ground Up
Making the Invisible Visible
Growth, Grace, and Social Justice
Art as a Tool for Community-wide Change
Trust
Back in the Chrysalis
Listen to your Body
Falling Apart
Running Away
Asking for Help
Grief in Color
Climate Grief
Eclosion
It doesn’t have to be so Hard
Running Towards
Acceptance
Forest of Grief, Seeds of Hope
Valuing yourself as an Artist
Balancing Act
Best Summer Ever!
Carried by the Wind
The Constellation of One
From personal Transformation to Cultural Metamorphosis
Art as a Global Connector
Filling the Creative Well
When Grief Comes
Integration
Claiming Artist, Claiming Self
Cultivating Growth
Living in Today
Integration
Migration
Systemic Resistance
Hope as Action
Ripples of Change
Return
Invitation to the Chrysalis Project
Each phase holds stories, lessons, and moments of transformation—not just mine, but ones that might feel familiar to you, too.
Let’s Grow Together
Subscribing is free, and when you join me on Substack, you’ll get:
Early access to Eclosion as it unfolds, one chapter at a time
Art prompts, journal reflections, and creative invitations
Opportunities to co-create the Artist Handbook and Resource Section that will follow the memoir
Be part of a growing community of artists, change makers, and creative humans
You’ll also find monthly reflective blog posts and extra insights here on my website after each weekly drop.
“I think that as I started reading, I felt that this was a task that I had chosen to complete to help a fellow artist achieve a goal, but as I became involved in your story, I began to sense a personal transformation happening within me that your words were helping to bring forth.”