The Embers We Carry: Rebuilding After Divorce | Kimberly’s Story
Living Through Survival and Then Learning to Soften
Kimberly Manning, a chapter contributor toThe Embers We Carry, shares her perspective about separation, resilience, and what it means to rebuild your life while still holding space for your children. Kim’s chapter explores her journey through divorce and single motherhood, not as a story of failure, but as a testament to grit, vulnerability, and the courage to keep showing up when life looks nothing like you planned. The messy middle is where the true stories live.
Single Motherhood Without a Script
Kim spoke openly about raising her daughters without a co-parenting partner and the quiet, daily strength that requires. She described what it means to rebuild yourself while also being the emotional anchor for your children. There were moments of exhaustion and self-doubt, but also clarity. Kim believes that allowing children to see their parents as real, vulnerable humans can be a powerful lesson in resilience. They don’t need a perfect mom, they need a real mom.
Strength, she shared, isn’t about having it all together. It’s about being willing to be seen as you are.
Sharing With Care and Love
Kim was deeply intentional about how she shared her story, especially knowing her daughters, now teenagers, would one day read it. She spoke about the importance of giving them time and space to process the chapter before receiving the published book. This careful approach reflects Kim’s commitment to honesty without harm, openness without overwhelm.
Her story isn’t about blame. It’s about truth, growth, and modelling self-respect.
Writing What So Many Women Carry
For Kim, writing her chapter was both cathartic and confronting. She shared how putting her experience on the page required honesty about shame, fear, and uncertainty. But it also revealed strength she didn’t always recognize in herself at the time. Writing became a way to step back, gain perspective, and name the resilience that had carried her through. Shame thrives in secrecy and darkness. When she was able to bring it up and out, it heals.
A beautiful element woven through Kim’s story is her connection to the bumblebee. For Kim, the bumblebee became a symbol of resilience and support, a quiet reminder that even when something seems unlikely or difficult, it can still rise. She shared how bumblebees have appeared in unexpected moments, offering reassurance when she needed it most. Carrie acknowledged the way Kim uses this symbolism not only for herself, but as a way to help other women reconnect with their own strength.
Why This Story Matters
Kim’s chapter offers a grounded, compassionate voice for women navigating divorce, separation, and the complexities of single motherhood. Her story reminds us that secrecy feeds shame, but sharing creates connection. That vulnerability is not weakness, but a bridge. And that even in the midst of endings, something new can take flight.
Volume 3 of The Embers We Carry launches April 11, and Kim will be in Calgary to speak and participate in a panel, sharing her insights and tools with others walking similar paths.
Learn more about the FoundHer Summit here!
“When we stop hiding our stories, we give others permission to breathe.”
About Kimberly
Contributor to The Embers We Carry
Writes about divorce, separation, and resilience in single motherhood
Uses the bumblebee as a personal symbol of strength, support, and perseverance
Passionate about helping women feel less alone during major life transitions
