Moral Injury: Learning to Live With What You Did

What happens when one choice alters the course of your life?

At 20 years old, Cheryl Wilder made a decision that led to a devastating accident and decades of shame, guilt, and self-questioning. For years, she carried the weight of what she now calls moral injury, unsure if she even deserved healing.

In this candid conversation, Cheryl opens up about the accident, the long and layered path toward forgiveness, and how poetry and storytelling became her lifelines.

1. How one night reshaped the way she saw herself and the world
2. Why shame felt easier to carry than forgiveness
3. The moments and practices that helped her reclaim her worth

This episode is about accountability, healing, and the courage it takes to finally believe you are worth good things.

Guest Bio

Cheryl Wilder is an author, coach, and motivational speaker. She helps clients connect their personal lives with their skills and knowledge to create a professional presence aligned with their values. A natural mediator and believer in the journey as a destination, Cheryl has an instinct to understand people, anticipate their needs, and listen to unvoiced questions. She’s passionate about helping clients see purpose and connections in everyday occurrences.

An advocate for the arts, Cheryl was the Burlington Writers Club president (2022–24) and is a co-chair of their Alamance County, NC Student Writing Contest. She’s co-leader of the For Alamance Arts & Culture Team, teaches writing workshops, and serves as a member-at-large for the North Carolina Poetry Society. As a poet, Cheryl could talk about line breaks all day. Other topics of proficiency are poetry and architecture, shame and forgiveness, the arts and community, and reinventing the self. Learn more at bornwilder.com.

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This episode is brought to you by *still HERE: True Stories of the Moments That Changed Everything* by Matt Gilhooly. Matt is the creator and host of The Life Shift Podcast. Over four years and more than 240 episodes, he has sat with strangers and asked them about the moments that changed everything. *still HERE* is what he found. Over 100 true stories. Eight sections. One listener making sense of what it all means for the rest of us. Available now in Kindle and paperback on Amazon. Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Still-Here-Stories-Moments-Everything/dp/1639011854/ If you read it and it moves you, an honest review on Amazon helps more people find it.