Speaking
from the scars
Welcome to Speaking From The Scars
My mission is to use my story to recognize the wounds and hold space for the unfinished parts of healing, so others can do the same. I want to embrace that process because it is in the becoming, in the messy, uneven journey of healing, that this work truly lives.
Speaking From The Scars is the stage I stand on as a survivor, speaker, mental health professional, and a truth-teller. I speak from my scars because I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to live in the dark, to fight my way back, and to discover that the system we’re told will save us often needs saving itself.
Suicide Prevention and Recovery Speaker
Amy speaks with the authority of a mental health professional and the passion of a lived experience speaker. With over 30 years of recovery experience and more than a decade as a suicide prevention and intervention specialist, youth mental health advocate, and eating disorder recovery advocate, Amy bridges personal story with professional insight to create conversations that change lives. Honest. Hopeful. Human. Exactly what today’s audiences need.
Amy's Talks
Beneath the Surface: The Pain Killing Our Kids
Description: Teen suicide, drug overdoses, eating disorders, and mental health crises are rising at a devastating rate—and behind the statistics is one universal truth: pain. In this powerful and emotionally resonant keynote, Amy Kathleen Lee takes audiences beneath the surface of the youth mental health crisis to reveal what so often goes unseen. Drawing from her lived experience as a suicide loss survivor and parent of a teen who attempted suicide, Amy combines storytelling, student art, and cutting-edge research to expose the hidden pain driving this epidemic—and the hope that can still be restored.
Through the power of personal stories, attendees will:
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Reframe youth suicide, substance use, and emotional crises as expressions of unresolved pain.
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Equip adults to take meaningful action before a teen reaches crisis.
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Discover the power of confidently initiating mental health conversations as a solution, not to be dreaded.
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Gain real-life insights that turn talk into a walk of saving lives.
After this presentation, attendees will see the crisis from a new perspective and understand their role in initiating conversations that become the bridge on which youth walk out of isolation into connection.
From the wounds to the woman I am
Description: In this deeply personal keynote, Amy shares her journey through an eating disorder, abuse, bipolar disorder, PTSD, suicidality, and the redemptive process that turned her wounds into scars. With raw honesty and a message rooted in hope, Amy invites audiences to reframe their own stories: from evidence of damage to proof of survival. Through storytelling and reflection, she reveals how healing isn’t about erasing what hurt us but about reclaiming it, integrating it, and allowing it to guide how we show up for ourselves and each other.
In this talk, Amy defines:
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Transformation Through Truth – Learn how owning your story can move you from wounds and shame to who you are meant to be.
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The Wound-to-Scar Framework – Understand the healing process as a continuum: from what happened to you, to your healed, authentic self.
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Hope in the Aftermath – Discover how scars can become a guiding light for others still fighting to survive.
Ideal for conferences, recovery events, survivor gatherings, universities, and organizations focused on trauma recovery, mental health, or empowerment.
“Amy is entertaining and informative - that’s hard to do as a presenter! She gave us a lot of information but did it in a way that was easy to understand. I imagine sharing her personal story is difficult but it is very helpful to help relate to the information. Her courage is appreciated and admired.”
— Middle School Teacher
