Kelly Justus

Kelly Justus is a memoirist whose work explores the quiet, complicated terrain between harm and healing. Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, she grew up surrounded by the beauty of the Blue Ridge foothills and the unspoken stories that shaped her family and community. Her debut memoir, Like Water, I Rise: From Greenville, SC to the Surface, traces her journey through trauma, silence, and the systems that protect predators while punishing survivors.

With a voice both lyrical and unflinching, Kelly writes to illuminate the truths many are taught to bury. Her work blends personal narrative with cultural critique, revealing how resilience is not a single moment of triumph but a lifelong practice of choosing oneself again and again.

Kelly is passionate about creating space for others to speak their own truths. She believes stories—especially the ones we’re told not to tell—have the power to shift culture, restore dignity, and spark collective change. When she isn’t writing, she’s building community with other survivors, crafting imagery that mirrors her themes of emergence, and returning to the water whenever she needs to remember how far she has risen.