Aly Raisman on what motivates her, the importance of representation, and her new children’s book - The Boston Globe (2024)

This interview has been lighted edited and condensed.

What drives you to to connect with people?

I feel really fortunate that when I have shared my story, whether it’s been about abuse prevention, my own mental health story, my story of being a survivor, or my story about my migraine journey, people have been really supportive. And I think people have been supportive because, unfortunately, a lot of people can relate to what I’m experiencing.

I’ve learned over the years that no matter who you are, we all know either what it feels like to go through something or we know somebody who’s going through something hard. I think the more we talk about it, the more people can hopefully have courage to reflect on how they’re feeling and ask for help. I also think that hearing people’s stories helps me feel more comfortable to continue to share mine.

Do you feel like using your platform helps others?

I absolutely think that representation matters so much. I’ve been very fortunate where my story has been very supported and very heard in the media. I’m very passionate about using my platform to tell other people’s stories because I know that not everyone is going to be able to relate to my experience or my story. I think that the more people that we shine a light on their stories and their experiences, hopefully the more people that can be helped.

Healing and finding a treatment plan is definitely not one size fits all, and everyone has to do what works for them. That’s why I think it’s important for people to — whether it’s going to a therapist, whether it’s going to a doctor — do what works for them.

What inspires you to address these issues head-on?

I feel very fortunate that I have a good support system. I think that it’s really important no matter what someone’s going through to have a good community and a support system. I recognize that’s not easy to find, and I recognize not everybody is close with their family or doesn’t have close friends that they can go to.

I also do therapy once a week. I think it’s important for people to know that even though I might share my story publicly, it doesn’t mean that it’s easy for me, or doesn’t mean that I don’t get stressed out or nervous or sometimes things can be triggering for me. I’m still on my journey of healing and I try to share as much as I can because I want to be relatable and I want people to know that if they’re going through a hard time, I’m still dealing with my own anxiety or mental health struggles. Life can be like a roller coaster. There’s ups and downs.

I do believe that there’s a lot more people than we realize that are struggling.

What projects are you working on?

I’ve been working on a children’s book, which is focused on trying to empower kids to reflect on how they’re feeling and encouraging kids to communicate what they need. That’s been a really great experience because I’ve learned a lot. It’s such an interesting balance. Obviously to an adult, it’s much easier to communicate than it is to really little kids.

We’ve been going back and forth and working really hard on getting the drawing in the right way or the wording in the right way just to make sure that we’re all feeling like this can be the best that it can be to help educate kids and help empower kids to feel confident and comfortable speaking up and advocating for what they need.

What motivated you to do a children’s book?

Education and prevention is very important to me. I wish that when I was a kid I had the tools and education that I have seen [from] organizations like the Monique Burr Foundation or Darkness to Light. They’re two great leaders in the space that work to prevent abuse. I wish that I had that training. I’m just very passionate about creating more ways for kids to be educated on abuse or just trusting themselves.

When I was younger, I wish that I was more empowered by the adults around me to trust myself more. I think that we can’t hope to live in a world where there is no abuse if we’re not working to educate adults and children.

How does your advocacy work relate to your experience with migraines?

I’m partnering with AbbVie, the maker of UBRELVY, and I am excited to share more about my migraine journey and my story because what I’ve learned from speaking about my migraine is there’s actually so many more people than I realized that are living with migraine. Being able to finally have a neurologist who gave me a diagnosis [within the past couple of years] and help me understand what my migraine was and what my symptoms and triggers are has been really helpful and honestly empowering for me to have that sort of validation to better understand what I’m going through and how I’m feeling.

I can remember when I was younger I would compete, and after and during competitions I would have what I thought at the time was a headache. But now I know it was a migraine. It kind of in my mind just became normalized. I would wear my hair up in a really tight bun with like 16 hair elastics so my hair wouldn’t fall out. I just remember I sort of would joke, “Oh, I’m going to get a hair headache.” But actually that was a migraine. I wish that I knew then what I know now because I would have had better tools to take better care of myself.

Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.