Big man on campus
Jesse James
Chief of Security · Bullpei
if you can't reach anyone right now
You don't have to wait. Pick up the phone — someone is on the other end.
Crisis lines and warm lines are free, confidential, and open right now. If today is hard, start here before scrolling any further.
Chapter OneFrom Survival Mode
From Survival Mode
to Stability
Real life. Real stories. Real hope.
Welcome to a little storybook world of porches, chickens, rescued cats, sunflowers, soul cloth, and the slow, stubborn practice of coming back to life. Make yourself at home.
three soft doors
What brought you here today?
pick the door that fits — nobody's keeping score
grief
I'm grieving someone who's still living.
Estrangement. Addiction. Dementia. Distance. Ambiguous grief is real, even when no one names it. Come read the stories. Tell yours if you want.
Enter the porch →recoveryI'm walking the long road of recovery.
Not the cinematic version — the quieter, slower, more honest one. Substance use, mental health, the long work of coming back to life. Honey Badger honest.
Sit at the table →soft placeI just need a soft place to land.
Free printables, gentle worksheets, the smallest possible next step. Wander the Resource Barn. Take what you need. Leave the rest.
Open the barn doors →Start here
If the people you love won't pick up the phone — start with this.
When the Living Won't Pick Up — a free, plain-spoken primer on ambiguous grief. Twelve pages. Honey Badger honest, Sage gentle. Yours the minute you confirm your email.
Written for the silence after a falling-out, an estrangement, an addiction, a diagnosis, a no-contact wall. No fixing. No script. Just a porch to sit on while you figure out the next small thing.
Not ready for email? Visit Uncle David's porch first →
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Add your email and we'll send a one-click confirmation. Confirm and the 12-page PDF is yours — plus a gentle note now and then when a new guide is ready.
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Featured Workbook
Soft Landings
a coping skills workbook for the hardest weeks
60 printable pages: grounding practices, grief prompts, sensory tools, and a "what now?" page for the moments you can't think straight. Written by a peer, for peers. No clinical voice. No script.
$18$24
from the porch
"Briana names the grief nobody else will name. I finally feel less alone."
— a reader, on When the Living Won't Pick Up
Got a note like this you'd let me share? Send it to HeartOfCareFSCTS@gmail.com.
✿ Coping Skills·Grief Support·Recovery Resources·Art & Soul Cloth·Cats, Chickens & Sunflowers·Stubborn Hope ✿
our foundation
The ground underneath all of this.
why Heart of Care exists — in one place.
Every workbook, blog, class, and resource here rests on two foundations woven together: the Word of God and the Eight Dimensions of Wellness. If you've ever wondered where any of this comes from — start here.
our guiding belief
The way you do anything is the way you do everything.
healing is not instant — and it isn't meant to be
At Heart of Care, we believe the way you do anything is the way you do everything. Healing is not instant. Recovery is not rushed. Stability is built one choice, one habit, one resource, and one dimension at a time.
We help people start at the beginning — identify where they are in survival mode, and begin building discipline across all eight dimensions of wellness. Like eating an elephant one bite at a time, we take the process step by step.
Through trauma-informed care, peer support, education, advocacy, and practical resources, we walk alongside people as they move:
- from survival to stability
- from stability to recovery
- from recovery into successful living
Chapter Two — The Storyteller
Hi, I'm Briana.
founder · artist · peer specialist · cat staff
I'm a Certified Peer Specialist — Mental Health (CPS-MH) and a Phlebotomy Technician (PBT). I've walked the long road out of survival mode — through grief, recovery, and the kind of rebuilding that takes seasons, not weekends. I write the workbooks. I stitch the soul cloth. I feed the chickens and lose arguments with a very fat orange cat.
Heart of Care is the storybook I wish I'd had — practical tools, gentle company, and proof that real, ordinary lives can hold real, ordinary hope.
Read Briana's storyChapter Three — The Mascot
Meet the Honey Badger
chief resilience officer
Funny. Determined. Stubborn in the best way. She hunts Oreos, survives anyway, and reminds us that resilience doesn't have to look graceful — it just has to keep going. The shop is named in her honor. So is most of our self-respect.
Read Honey's Story
Now on wheels
The Red Bullet is a mobile shop.
Find us at a pop-up near you — or shop online.
The Red Bullet isn't just a car anymore. She's loaded up with handmade goods, pre-loved treasures, and Honey Badger spirit — and she's rolling out to a pop-up near you.
Can't catch us in person? Everything in the mobile shop is also right here on the website. Fairy Treasure Books, Honey Badger's Closet finds, and more.
the storybook cast
Meet the Residents
Everyone here has a job, an opinion, and at least one nickname. Read the whole roster, or just admire the badges.
Wisdom dispensed in slow blinks
Mr. Whiskers
Senior Porch Advisor
Eggs, opinions, more eggs
Betty, Lucy & Heather
Cluck Shack Operations
Tiny press secretaries
Frank & Doreen
Communications Department
Quiet helper, steady mower
Papa James
Grounds Maintenance Supervisor
Owns the riding mower
Mr. Pete
Heavy Equipment Division
Storytelling guides
Meet Sage & Sire
another aspect of me — and my grandson, Weston
Sage is me, drawn as a grandmother goat — the gentle, wisdom-keeper side of the Honey Badger. Sire is my grandson, Weston, drawn as her grandson goat. Together they carry the wisdom, courage, reflection, and resilience that thread through coping skills, family connection, recovery, and legacy here.
Healing isn't only about surviving the past — it's about learning, growing, connecting, and passing wisdom forward.
three little worlds
The Places
Three real settings that shape everything Heart of Care makes.
The Cat Nap Inn
A welcoming porch, mason-jar wildflowers, coffee talks, recovery conversations, and a whole lot of cats.
The 99 Retreat
A small farm and wellness property — gardens, sunflowers, chickens, and slow healing in the open air.
Soul Cloth Sanctuary
An art studio of handmade work — grief containers, reliquaries, mixed-media, and stitched stories.
Honey Badger Shop
Workbooks, Stickers, Art & Merch
Digital downloads, printable workbooks, art prints, stickers, mugs, tees, and small comforts. Funds the kibble budget.
Heart of Care Academy
Courses & Community
Peer-led courses, a growing library of resources, and a soft circle for the long walk out of survival mode.
Become a MemberBrowse by category
Shop the Heart of Care
The Community
Pull up a chair on Facebook
Daily check-ins, peer support, story shares, and the Honey Badger's nonsense. Join the free community group, or support the work by becoming a Facebook Subscriber.
from the porch
Stories & Field Notes
May 28, 2026
The Honey Badger and the Last Oreo
On stubbornness as a survival skill — with crumbs.
Read →May 14, 2026
Letters from the Cluck Shack
Betty has opinions. Lucy keeps the books. Heather supervises.
Read →April 30, 2026
What Jesse James Taught Me About Boundaries
A boundary is not a fight. Sometimes it's just my bullpei getting up and leaving the room.
Read →Two soft places to start
Not sure where to begin? Start here.
Two short, gentle quizzes that point you to the right story, workbook, and class for where you are right now.
5 minutes · 8 questions
The Wellness Compass
A gentle check-in across the Eight Dimensions of Wellness. Find your brightest spot, your tender one, and one real next step.
Begin →3 minutes · for funWhich Heart of Care Character Are You?
Honey Badger? Miss Edna? Farm Cat? A playful quiz with a personality read, your strengths, and a few resources made for you.
Find out →The whole map
The Eight Dimensions of Wellness
Eight soft shelves. Take what you need.
Wellness is bigger than one feeling or one day. Each dimension has its own shelf in the Resource Barn — free printables, gentle workbooks, and the smallest possible next step.
Emotional
Naming feelings on purpose — and sitting with the ones that show up.
Open the shelf →Physical
Sleep, food, water, gentle movement. The body, listened to.
Open the shelf →Social
One safe person, one honest text. Connection as medicine.
Open the shelf →Spiritual
Something bigger — God, the porch, the chickens, the trees — felt close.
Open the shelf →Occupational
Days that mean something, even when they're small or unpaid.
Open the shelf →Intellectual
Curiosity on purpose. Reading three pages, just for joy.
Open the shelf →Environmental
One soft square foot. The space around you, on your side.
Open the shelf →Financial
Looking at money without your chest locking up. The inch before the plan.
Open the shelf →Support the Sanctuary
Keep the porch lit, the chickens fed, and the art table stocked.
Heart of Care runs on stubborn hope, kibble, hen scratch, and glue sticks. If a story landed for you, a small tip helps keep the Cat Nap Inn, the 99 Retreat, and the Soul Cloth Sanctuary going. Every dollar lands directly on the porch.
Tips are gifts of support, not tax-deductible donations.
Letters from the Front Porch
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A gentle note now and then — new workbooks, art drops, free printables, and the latest chicken gossip.