Rebekah Slack O’Neal - Overcoming Domestic Violence and Discovering Passions.
Rebekah Slack O’Neal - 2026 - Portrait by Lorynn Hunt
There are people we meet daily whose story has been changed by seemingly insurmountable breaking points, proverbial fork in the road that demands an answer. Which path will they take? Stay, the path mistakably cloaked with acceptance by societal expectations, widely provoked yet enveloped by ignorance to the untold, hidden reality of the walker. For it is themselves to which closes the door and has to face what is deemed an “unwanted knowledge.” To leave, though led by a beacon of hope, still is not painless. The walker’s path is undefined with fear of the unknown and auspicious possibility, and marred by the awareness that they themselves must accept un-acceptance all while healing. Rebekah Slack O’Neal has stood in the face of this exact decision and has been a testament to the resilience of hope.
Describing O’Neal is like visiting the Louvre and sitting in front of the Mona Lisa, there is a captive radiance to her presence that surpasses her natural beauty and withstands time, at first its her outward grace that pulls you in, but as one gets closer, the brush strokes of fortitude becomes clear. Of course, she is not a painting, but one can not diminish the fact that, like a painting, she has seen life as one, allowing the moulding of shadow, light, color, and layers to enhance and tell her story, a masterpiece.
In this conversation with Rebekah, I had chance to sit down and deconstruct the brush strokes to get a better understanding of her love for life and inspiring ability to be courageous, both in everyday life and her creativity. When asked about her childhood, it may come as a surprise to the listener that she is one of twelve children.
“Yes, they're all from the same parents.” O’Neal jokes, “I remember as far as some of the memories, just mom cooking a lot. I've, I started helping her in the kitchen when I was probably, probably five, and I would say 'helping' is kind of a generous term because when you're five, helping it's not really much fun for the mom or the dad, whoever is the adult there in that situation. But I do remember spending a lot of my time in the kitchen at that age and trying to copy mom. I do remember quite a bit of fun just playing outside.”
There are many privileges to getting to know someone, one being that when you hear them sing, there is a special feeling that comes over you, and for anyone who knows Rebekah, that feeling is always overwhelming when she begins to sing. I asked her about her love for music and, more specifically, if there was a song that took her back home.
“When I hear Handel's Messiah, that's one thing that does. It's a piece that has been in my memory for as long as I can remember. Also, music was a big part of our lives. I remember mom sitting down and playing the piano once she put everyone to bed. She would sit down and play whatever she wanted to play on the piano. And so we would go to sleep to piano music. My dad learned to play banjo. He started when he was 39, just decided this is what he wanted to learn, that is one thing that I've admired about him, that he didn't let an age stop him from becoming more.”
This idea of becoming something more was a strong, overarching theme in our conversation, being courageous. Rebekah graciously opened up about her story of an abusive marriage and how the decision to leave began to unfold a journey that was far more than she could imagine. Her ability to bring encouragement through it all was utterly inspirational.
“Writing helped me. I will say something else, I don't know how to tell someone to do this, but I generally have a pretty positive outlook on life. It's not, at times in my life, I think it was the Pollyanna positive outlook that was unrealistic. But as I've grown older and realized where there's a will, there's a way. It has helped me through so many situations that, looking back, I don't know quite how I did it. “
As a mother, O’Neal gets to the grit of motherhood and how, after deciding to pour back into herself after years of pouring from an empty cup, she was able to once again step into something she always wanted to learn, ballroom dancing at age 43.
“You never know what tomorrow will bring. You don't know how much time you have left. I know that's a morbid thought, and I always think pretty positively, but reality is none of us know what time we're given here on earth. And I think if I get to the end of my life and look back and realize I still have a whole list of things I wanted to do and never did, or people to connect with, (experiences, people, skills, all the things), that I wanna do than I'd have to live to be 500 years old to do all my list. I'm doing my best to get to the end of my life and be able to look back and see that I've had those experiences, I've connected with those people, and family and friends specifically are extremely important to me. I don't want 10 years to go by and me to look back and realize I haven't made any progress toward the things that develop me more as a person and just make me a better human being.”
I could never truly summarize this wonderful episode without writing a book. I’ve always been long winded, so make sure you are ready with a cup of coffee and a notebook because you will want to write down some amazing points. If you are looking for encouragement to be courageous, learn something new, and be led by that beacon of hope, well, this episode is for you!
Thank you, Rebekah, for being so incredibly courageous and raw. You're such an inspiration to more people than you will ever know. I am honored and blessed to call you a friend! Thank you for trusting me to tell your story and allowing others to listen.
Episode:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1oH4CG2NZ7LXxPZNoTIs5e?si=Uz79Bf_vSmu4gIUAdPpsiw
https://youtu.be/rut-EbJMJTg
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/here-in-my-time/id1858774701
Domestic Violence Resources:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7wuRXZmQGJuuCulONIAf7s?si=Q08qP7vBSbeE39rJuWznwg
https://open.spotify.com/show/2CQqKTCCHVMAxVnDbSYzLK?si=OQxignSeTXq2hBm_-WvIQA
https://a.co/d/06REurso
Local Domestic Violence Resources:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1KvLQXVDYE/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Hands Of Hope 24 hour hotline (260) 563 4407
Contact me:
www.Hereinmytime.com
Rebekah Slack O’Neal - 2026 - Portrait by Lorynn Hunt
