About Me — Scarlett Jess Perrodin

I am everything that my pen name allows me to be

Photo by author of a boab tree in remote Australia

Though introducing myself under a nom de plume feels awkward at best and deceptive at worst, I can confidently say that my written work is more honest than what comes out of my mouth in person.

Scarlett Jess Perrodin is not my real name, but it holds great meaning to me.

I have spent much of my life uncertain of who I am, existing as an anxious energy, confused by traumas, struggling to be authentic, and lacking the freedom to express any of this.

Writing has given me that chance.

Scarlett Jess Perrodin is my voice after being silenced for years. She allows me to write safely, with reckless abandon. She is not so much my alter ego as she is my central, candid identity.

My writing is focused on mental health, healing from traumas, and self-discovery.

It is often therapeutic, which can be painful. When I write personal essays, it is a deep tissue massage that digs at my nerves, making me gasp for air at first but then brings relief when I release my work. Because that is when I feel like my experiences no longer own me.

With the power of writing, I can own my experiences, with descriptions that make sense of nonsense and explain the unexplainable.