An Intimate Portrait of Healing, Faith, and Finding Strength Through Life’s Messy Middle

Bridget J. Harris is many things: an author, a mother, a devoted wife, an advertising veteran, and now—through her powerful debut memoir Therapy, Wine & God—a bold new voice in the conversation surrounding mental health, faith, grief, and resilience. With over 20 years of experience in brand marketing, she has spent her life helping others shape their stories. Now, she steps fully into her own.

Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Bridget enjoyed a loving and joy-filled childhood as an only child surrounded by a large extended family. “I had a beautiful, wonderful childhood,” she reflects. “I grew up with both of my parents, and even though I didn’t have siblings, I had cousins and friends around me all the time.” Her deepest influence? Her father—a journalist, author, and playwright. “I’ve always been a daddy’s girl. He was my inspiration. I was nine years old writing short stories for this thing called the Media Fair. Me and my partner, who was the artist, used to win medals every year. That fueled my love for storytelling.”

But it was a near-death experience in adulthood that redirected her path, forcing her to reevaluate everything. “I thought I would come out of that moment with a huge revelation and some grand purpose,” she says. “But I was still in the same job, same relationship, and stuck in old patterns.” It wasn’t until 2020, during the chaos of the pandemic, that her personal life took a dramatic turn—walking away from a 20-year relationship, reconnecting with a high school sweetheart, and suddenly becoming a stepmother—that she realized she finally had the story she was meant to write.

That story became Therapy, Wine & God, a memoir that is part confessional, part roadmap, and completely authentic. “My dad always said I needed to write a book,” she shares. “And I had all these ideas, but I wasn’t sure what story to tell. I’ve always been drawn to the hyper-human stories. Not the ‘good guy versus bad guy,’ but stories where real people mess up, grow, and keep going.”

In Therapy, Wine & God, Bridget opens her heart and her life—sharing moments of heartbreak, healing, and unexpected joy. From rediscovering love and blending into a family with children to struggling with fertility and mourning personal loss, her journey is full of grit, grace, and self-discovery. She divides her story into three symbolic pillars:

Therapy
 Bridget is a passionate advocate for mental health and sees therapy as a mirror—one that reveals your deepest truths. “Even if you don’t know what you’ll get out of it, just try it,” she says. “Our moms and best friends love us, but therapy offers a non-biased perspective. Therapists won’t tell you what to do—they ride in the passenger seat and say, ‘Here’s a map; maybe try this way.’” Her best friend, a therapist, taught her that metaphor, and Bridget lives by it.

Wine
 The “wine” in her title isn’t just about sipping Chardonnay—though that has its place. It represents sisterhood, communion, and joy. “Wine is a metaphor for connection—sitting down with my girls, laughing, crying, and just being. That kind of bonding is therapy too. It helps your mental health to be seen and heard by your tribe.”

God
 At the center of it all is her faith. “God is my anchor,” Bridget affirms. “Even when I don’t understand the outcome, I trust the process. I’ve learned that God often answers your prayers with seeds, not fully bloomed roses. You’ve got to nurture your blessings.” She believes faith and therapy are not in conflict but complementary. “You can pray for peace, and therapy can help you find that peace.”

Bridget also proudly identifies as a Virgo—a perfectionist, observer, and overthinker. “We like things a certain way. We work hard, we’re loyal, and yes—we nitpick, but it’s only because we care.”

When asked about her biggest challenge, Bridget pauses before saying, “Letting go. The art of surrender. I’m still learning it—how to release what’s not for me, whether that’s a person, a job, or a situation. I constantly ask myself: What’s my intention here?”

And her greatest accomplishment? Without hesitation: Motherhood. “My son has taught me patience. You don’t have a choice with kids. I’ve developed patience as a skill—one that has even helped in my marriage. It’s the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”

As our conversation winds down, I ask her the legacy she hopes to leave behind.

“There are three things I want people to remember about me,” she says:

No one is better than me, and I’m not better than anyone else.

Anything is possible—you just have to make sure it’s what you’re really meant to do.

I tried to leave everything I touched better than it was before I got there.

And through her writing, Bridget is doing just that—leaving a legacy that extends beyond her own life, inspiring others to heal, to reflect, and to hope. “I love that through writing, I can leave my words behind long after I’m gone. And most of all, I’m doing everything I can to raise an emotionally intelligent Black man—one who doesn’t default to anger as the only emotion. That’s part of my legacy too.”With Therapy, Wine & God, Bridget J. Harris reminds us that life isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about showing up, telling the truth, and healing out loud.

#Memoir #Inspiration #HealingJourney

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