The Butterfly Journal: A Love Letter to Every Woman Still Becoming
- Juli "Candi" Long
- Apr 24
- 4 min read
SURPRISE.
Ms. iCandi just dropped something brand new… and this time, it’s personal.
For the past few months, I’ve been quietly working on something behind the scenes. No posts. No previews. Just me, my story, and a blank document that eventually became… The Butterfly Journal.
This isn’t just a new project. It’s my healing in book form. It’s the testimony I’ve never fully shared out loud. It’s what I’ve been walking through for the past 6—almost 7—years.
If you’ve been following my journey, you’ve seen me rebuilding, rebranding, and rediscovering myself. But what you haven’t seen is the journaling. The crying. The praying. The self-checks. The surrender. The softness I had to fight to reclaim.
The Butterfly Journal is the result of all of that. And today, I’m finally ready to share it with you.
Why I Wrote It
I’ve always been the strong friend.
The one who gives the advice.
The one who shows up.
The one who looks like she has it all together, even when her world is quietly falling apart.
But carrying everyone else’s pain while burying my own eventually caught up with me.
I was hit with back-to-back losses.
My marriage was unraveling.
My mom was fighting for her life.
And I had just had a baby… in the middle of a global pandemic.
No support. No physical comfort. Just me, trying to keep it together while quietly falling apart.
And then—something shifted.
One day, my family doctor called. I thought she was checking on my mom, who was on a ventilator at the time. But instead, she asked me, “How are YOU doing?”
She already knew. She knew I had just had a baby.
She knew I was in the thick of postpartum depression.
And in that moment, I told the truth: I’m not okay.
That moment of honesty was the beginning of everything.
It was the first time I stopped pretending I was fine.
It was the first time I acknowledged my pain out loud.
And it was the first time I truly started healing.
The Butterfly Journal didn’t come from a place of perfection. It came from the darkest, most honest parts of my life.
As I slowly started coming out of that darkness—finding joy again, finding peace again—I noticed the women around me were silently struggling too. Friends who looked strong on the outside, but were hurting in private. And I wanted to give them something. A starting place. A soft place to land.
I hosted a Galentine’s Day event and created a special journal for my friends to write affirmations and messages to each other. The feedback was overwhelming. The way those simple words impacted them told me everything I needed to know.
That’s when it clicked.
This—this—was the next book I was supposed to write.
The Butterfly Journal is my journey, yes.
But it’s also yours.
Because after each chapter I share, I hand the pen to you.
You get space to feel. To process. To heal. And maybe, just maybe, to begin your own transformation too.
What’s Inside The Butterfly Journal
This isn’t your typical journal.
It’s not just blank pages and cute quotes.
It’s layered, intentional, and rooted in real-life healing.
Inside The Butterfly Journal, you’ll find:
My story—the raw, unfiltered moments I used to keep to myself.
The parts people didn’t see while I was smiling on social media.
Real-life chapters—each one centered around themes like burnout, boundaries, forgiveness, identity, grief, and grace.
Reflection prompts—so after you read my truth, you can start to uncover yours.These aren’t surface-level questions. They’re the kind that make you pause, feel, and go deeper.
Affirmations—because sometimes you need a reminder of who you are and what you deserve.
Each section is designed to gently guide you through your own process—not mine.
You’re not being told how to heal.
You’re simply invited to begin.
Whether you’re in the thick of it or finally exhaling after a long chapter of survival, this journal meets you where you are.
What I Hope It Does For You
I didn’t write The Butterfly Journal to fix anyone.
I wrote it to remind you that you're not broken.
You’re evolving.
I hope this journal becomes a safe place for you.
A space where you don’t have to shrink, explain, or perform.
Just breathe.
Just be.
I hope it gives you permission to feel everything you’ve been holding in.
To say the hard stuff out loud.
To write your way back to yourself—at your own pace, in your own way.
And more than anything…I hope it shows you that you're not alone.
Whether you’re in the middle of your breakdown, bouncing back from it, or finally standing in your joy—this journal is here to meet you right there.
This isn’t just a book.
It’s a beginning.
And when you're ready, turn the page.
Your healing is waiting.
From Legacy to Liberation
This post is Part Two of my 15 Years of Magic series.
In Part One, I celebrated the brand I built.
But in this one—I celebrate the woman I’ve become.
Because iCandi Productions isn’t just a company.
It’s a reflection of my growth.
My breakdowns.
My bounce-backs.
And now… my becoming.
The Butterfly Journal is my soft re-entry.
It’s the quiet victory after the storm.
It’s the most personal project I’ve ever released—and it’s yours now too.
From One Butterfly to Another
If you’re still in your cocoon, I see you.
If you’re still figuring it out, I honor you.
If you’ve already started to rise, I celebrate you.
This journal was born from my pain, but it's designed to hold your healing.
Your wings are coming.
With love,
Juli “Ms. iCandi” Long
Author. Survivor. Butterfly in full bloom.
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