The Stories We Carry - with Tasha Bowman

10/21/2026

Realized I hadn’t dumped all the MVA photos!

10/21/2026

Sometimes self-care is as simple as a warm bowl of soup, a cup of tea, and Scooby-Doo playing in the background. I’ve spent so much of this year running from one thing to the next, and I don’t think I’ve given myself enough time to just stop and enjoy the little things. Tonight, I’m doing exactly that. No big plans, no worrying about everything I need to get done tomorrow, just a quiet evening relaxing. I’m learning that I don’t always have to be doing something productive or taking care of someone else. Sometimes I need to take care of me, too. And tonight, this is exactly what I needed. ❤️

10/20/2026

The Stories We Carry: Ms. Veteran America 2026

When you hear the words Ms. Veteran America, what comes to mind? I imagine for some people it’s women wearing beautiful dresses, walking across a stage, and competing for a crown. And yes, there was some of that. But if that’s all you saw, you missed the best part.

In 2026, women veterans from across the country came together for something much bigger than a competition. We came from different branches of the military, different generations, different backgrounds, and with experiences that were uniquely our own. Some of us had served in combat, some had spent our careers serving stateside, and others had taken paths that looked nothing alike. But we all had something in common. We had worn the uniform, and we believed that women veterans deserved to be seen, heard, and supported.

The Ms. Veteran America competition was created to celebrate “The Woman Beyond the Uniform” while supporting Final Salute Inc., an organization dedicated to helping homeless women veterans and their children. I think that’s something a lot of people don’t realize. There are women who served our country who are struggling to find a safe place to sleep tonight, some with children depending on them. Final Salute Inc. works to change that, and every woman who participated in this competition became part of that mission.

Our journey took us to Tampa in June for the semifinals, and eventually 20 women advanced to the national finals in October. But somewhere between the fundraising, interviews, rehearsals, talent performances, and countless conversations, something happened that I don’t think any of us could have fully anticipated. We became a sisterhood.

I had the opportunity to meet women whose stories were nothing like mine, yet somehow I could relate to pieces of every one of them. Women who had overcome unimaginable hardships, women who had built organizations to help others, women who were raising families, pursuing careers, healing from experiences they hadn’t always been able to talk about, and finding new ways to serve after taking off the uniform.

And we laughed. A LOT. We encouraged one another, helped each other prepare, celebrated each other’s accomplishments, and shared moments that had absolutely nothing to do with a competition. There were women I had only recently met who somehow felt like people I’d known for years.

On October 11, 2026, we took the stage in Tampa for the finals. There were beautiful gowns, incredible talent performances, and plenty of excitement. But what I remember most wasn’t what happened on the stage. It was everything that happened along the way and the women I had the privilege of sharing that experience with.

I was fortunate enough to finish in the Top 10 overall, Top 10 in talent, and Top 10 in fundraising. With the help of my community, family, friends, and sponsors, I raised $11,607 for Final Salute Inc. Those are accomplishments I’m proud of, but when I look back on this experience, they aren’t the first things that come to mind. I think about the women.

I think about the conversations we had when nobody was watching. I think about how many of us have spent years being strong for everyone else and how meaningful it was to be surrounded by women who understood parts of our lives without needing an explanation. I think about the stories that were shared, the friendships that were made, and how many of those women I hope will remain part of my life for years to come.

I also think about how easily we could have passed one another on the street and never known any of those things. We might have seen a mother, a teacher, a business owner, a grandmother, or the woman standing in line beside us at the grocery store. We wouldn’t necessarily have known she was a veteran, much less everything she had experienced along the way.

That’s one of the biggest things I took away from Ms. Veteran America 2026. We are so much more than the uniforms we once wore, but our service will always be part of who we are.

When I started The Stories We Carry, I knew I wanted to continue sharing military history and the stories of veterans. After this experience, that desire has only grown. I’ve met people whose stories deserve to be heard, and I hope to introduce you to as many of them as I can, because of who they are, what they’ve experienced, and what they’re doing with their lives today.

Ms. Veteran America 2026 may have ended on October 11, but I don’t believe our story ended that night. In a lot of ways, I think it was just the beginning. We came together as women veterans from different walks of life, and we left with something that can’t be measured by a score, a title, or a crown. Different stories. Same mission. Stronger together.

And to my MVA 2026 sisters, I hope you know that I see you. I am proud of you, and I am grateful that our paths crossed. I hope that when you look back on this experience, you remember that you mattered, your story mattered, and you were part of something pretty special.

10/20/2026

Today, October 20, is National Day on Writing, and I think it’s a pretty fitting day to talk about why I started The Stories We Carry.

I’ve always believed that everyone has a story worth telling. But since I started sharing the stories of other veterans, I’ve come to appreciate just how important it is that we take the time to preserve them. After 20 years in the military, one thing I know is that you can serve alongside someone for years and still not know their whole story. We all wore the uniform, but our experiences weren’t the same. We came from different backgrounds, faced different challenges, and carried things that others may never have known about.

When we think about military history, we often think about battles, dates, and the names we learned in school. But there’s so much more to it than that. It’s the young soldier who left home for the first time, the friendships that became family, the sacrifices made by those serving and the families waiting at home. It’s the funny moments, the difficult days, and the experiences that shaped who we became. Some of my favorite memories from the military are things that would never make it into a history book, but they are still part of history.

Not every veteran has a combat story, and not every experience was life-changing. That doesn’t make those stories any less important. I want people to know the person behind the uniform. Not just where they served, what rank they held, or what they accomplished, but who they are and what their journey has meant to them. Sometimes the things we learn about someone have absolutely nothing to do with their military service, and those things matter too.

So today, on National Day on Writing, I want to encourage you to write something down. It doesn’t have to be fancy or perfectly written. Write about a memory from your time in service, someone who made a difference in your life, something that made you laugh until you cried, or even something you wish people understood. And if you never served, your story matters too. Write it down for your children, your grandchildren, or maybe just for yourself.

One day, someone may wish they could sit down with you and ask you a hundred questions about your life. Give them something to hold on to. We lose so much history simply because nobody thought to ask, and nobody thought to write it down.

Every uniform has a story, but so does the person wearing it. And I believe those stories deserve to be remembered. 🇺🇸

10/20/2026

Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas served ten years as a Marine Corps officer. In 2005 she deployed to Fallujah as a military police officer, where she was exposed to burn pits.

After she left the Corps she earned a PhD and built an academic career around Veteran su***de prevention. Her last book, published in 2021, was called Stopping Soldier Suicides: Veteran Voices to Help Prevent Deaths.

Somewhere in that work she found something she was not looking for. Post-9/11 female Veterans were developing breast cancer at rates 20 to 40 percent higher than civilian women their age.

In 2018 she was diagnosed with three types of stage four breast cancer. She was 38 years old with no family history of it. Her oncologist believed it was exposure-related.

She spent the next four years testifying before Congress.

She died on April 5, 2022, at 42. Two months later the Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas SERVICE Act was signed into law. It had passed the House 418 to 0.

The law requires the VA to provide breast cancer risk assessments and, when clinically appropriate, mammograms to Veterans who served in locations associated with burn pits and other toxic exposures, regardless of age or how long they have been separated from service. For eligible female Veterans ages 30 to 39, the VA recommends an individualized clinical risk review to determine whether earlier mammography is appropriate.

The VA's position is that no direct link between toxic exposure and breast cancer has been established, and that studies are continuing.

Kate did not need the link proven to understand what she was looking at.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, share this with a woman who served. 🎀

10/18/2026

So proud of NakitaS4MVA2026. Thank you for allowing me to tell your story.

Whole-person, integrative psychotherapy for reproductive health, complex trauma, and chronic illness.

10/18/2026

The Stories We Carry: NaKita W. Scott

When we meet someone, we usually see who they are today. We see their accomplishments, their careers, their families, and the lives they’ve built. What we don’t always see is everything they went through to get there. Today, I want to introduce you to another woman I had the privilege of meeting through Ms. Veteran America 2026, NaKita W. Scott.

When NaKita shared her story with me, she explained that resilience has never meant that difficult experiences didn’t affect her. For her, it has meant learning to move forward while allowing those experiences to shape how she serves others. After reading everything she shared, I understand why that distinction is so important to her.

Following her father’s military assignment in Germany and her parents’ divorce, NaKita experienced periods of homelessness from fifth grade through her first year of college. At just 12 years old, she was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend’s teenage son. She became pregnant, and her mother made the decision for her to terminate the pregnancy. These were experiences involving trauma, loss, and circumstances that were completely beyond her control. I can’t imagine navigating those things as a child, but NaKita is clear that those chapters did not become the end of her story.

As a first-generation college student, NaKita worked toward building a different future. Following September 11, she joined the Florida Army National Guard and became a combat medic. During her deployment in 2005, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory illness that challenged her both physically and emotionally. Military service helped shape her perseverance, adaptability, leadership, and commitment to helping others, but leaving the military brought challenges she hadn’t expected.

NaKita shared that one of the hardest parts of separating from the military was losing the sense of belonging, camaraderie, and shared purpose that came with being a Soldier. The military wasn’t simply something she did. It had become part of who she was. Although she remained connected to military life as a military spouse, being part of that community wasn’t the same as serving alongside her fellow Soldiers. She struggled with figuring out who she was without the uniform and where she belonged.

I think a lot of veterans can relate to that part of her story. We spend years being part of something bigger than ourselves, surrounded by people who understand a way of life that isn’t always easy to explain. When that changes, it can take time to figure out where we fit. NaKita eventually found her way into a career where she could use what she’d experienced to help others facing some of those same struggles.

After reclassifying as a behavioral health specialist, NaKita pursued social work. During graduate school, she interned with HUD-VASH, assisting veterans experiencing homelessness. Her first position after graduate school was as a school social worker supporting children and families experiencing homelessness. Having experienced homelessness herself, she understood some of the challenges those families were facing in a way that went beyond her education and professional training.

NaKita eventually established her own mental health practice, Grace Hope Counseling of Florida, where she supports veterans and civilians navigating reproductive mental health challenges, complex trauma, PTSD, chronic illness, and pain. Her work brings together her professional training and an understanding of experiences that have also been part of her own life.

One of the most meaningful parts of NaKita’s story is how she describes the connections between her past and the work she does today. The child who experienced homelessness became a social worker helping homeless children and veterans. The young girl who experienced sexual and reproductive trauma became a therapist helping others navigate similar challenges. The Soldier diagnosed with a chronic illness became a clinician supporting others living with chronic health conditions. The veteran who struggled to find belonging after leaving the military discovered that she could still find purpose and meaning in helping others.

I think that is what I want people to understand about NaKita. She isn’t saying that everything she experienced happened for a reason or that those experiences somehow became less painful with time. She is saying that they affected her, shaped her understanding of others, and influenced the work she chose to pursue.

One of my favorite things about participating in Ms. Veteran America has been getting to know the women behind the titles. Every one of us came into that competition with our own experiences, challenges, accomplishments, and reasons for being there. I knew I would meet some amazing women, but I don’t think I fully understood how much I would learn from hearing their stories.

NaKita said something in closing that I want to share in her own words:

“My story is not about leaving adversity behind. It is about transforming lived experiences into compassion, advocacy, and meaningful service. Resilience is not just what I have survived. It is what I have chosen to do with my survival.”

Thank you, NaKita, for trusting me with your story. I appreciate your willingness to share experiences that are deeply personal, and I hope someone reading this finds a little encouragement in knowing that the things they’ve experienced don’t have to determine everything that comes next.

To learn more about NaKita and her work through Grace Hope Counseling of Florida, visit https://gracehopecounselingfl.com/.

Different stories. Same mission. Stronger together.

://gracehopecounselingfl.com/