CATCHING BUTTERFLIES
MARY ANNE LIM
Notes from a life still in progress
I’m not writing from the other side of any of it.
I’m Anne . I’ve been writing here since 2008 – through typhoon, a relationship that ended, years of raising my children mostly on my own, and a long stretch where I wasn’t okay and didn’t say so.
I’m writing from inside it, which is the only place I’ve ever been able to write from honestly. If you’re carrying something you haven’t named yet, you’re in the right place.
MORE ABOUT ME
LATEST
What Simplifying Really Meant for Me, and What It Could Mean for You
Every August, the world remembers to tell us to simplify. It has a whole week for it now, and I understand the appeal. There is real tenderness in any invitation to put things down. But I've come to be wary of the kind of simplifying that arrives with a shopping list....
What Nobody Tells You About Therapy When You’re the Strong One
I was the strong one. The helper. The last person anyone expected to need a therapist — including me.
A short letter: where these begin
Dear you, I don't know your name. But I think I might know your evening. The one where everyone finally sleeps, and the house goes quiet, and for the first time all day there's no one needing anything from you — and instead of resting, you just sit there in the dark...
The Day I Finally Said ‘I’m Not Okay’ Out Loud
The specific moment I stopped performing okayness — and what happened when I finally let the truth out.
ALL BLOG POST
The archive · 2008–2025
216 posts across seventeen years. 2013 and 2014 were the loud ones. Two years are empty and I’ve left them that way.
Select a year above.
BOOKS
The Quiet Powers
The Quiet Powers is a reflective memoir for women rebuilding after separation — especially mothers rediscovering who they are beyond the roles they once held.
In seasons marked by uncertainty, emotional exhaustion, and quiet grief, strength does not always arrive loudly. Sometimes it steadies. Sometimes it softens. Sometimes it simply helps you breathe again.
Through deeply personal reflection, Mary Anne T. Lim explores the inner shifts that carried her through life’s hardest chapters — stillness, acceptance, surrender, forgiveness, gratitude, love, and authenticity. This is not a dramatic story of triumph. It is a calm and honest journey toward peace within.
If you are rebuilding your life quietly — choosing steadiness over chaos and peace over performance — this book is a companion for your becoming.
— Anne
I also write for women rebuilding on their own, at She Thrives Solo.
© Catching Butterflies 2008 & Beyond| Mary Anne Lim
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