From Prison to Purpose: Surrender, Motherhood, and Finding Inner Authority with Misty McCray
What does it take to truly surrender?
Not the kind of surrender that means giving up. The kind that means letting go of the wheel when you finally admit you have no idea where you're going. The kind that opens a door you didn't know existed.
In this episode, I sat down with Misty McCray, and her story absolutely stopped me in my tracks. It's a story of resilience, rebirth, and radical trust. It's a story that will make you rethink everything you know about freedom, healing, and what it means to live unapologetically.
Misty and I met through a women's cohort, and from the moment I heard her speak, I knew her story needed to be shared. She's one of those rare humans who has walked through fire and come out the other side not just intact, but luminous.
Misty McCray is a storyteller, mother, and embodied movement guide who believes healing happens through presence, not pressure. After walking through deep personal healing and rebirth, her work now supports women in listening to their bodies, honoring their emotions, and trusting their own rhythm of becoming. Through She Became The Way, she offers movement, writing, raw and sacred expression, and spaces shaped by lived experience, inviting women to reconnect with their body wisdom and speak their truth out loud. When she's not creating or guiding, she's mothering her son and herself, soaking up sunlight, walking barefoot on the earth, journaling, dancing, singing, practicing yoga, and gathering with friends to celebrate life as it unfolds.
“I’m doing what’s right for me, even when nobody else understands that. And it’s okay.”
In this episode, we talk about:
Misty's arrest at 24 and the moment she felt relief, knowing this was her reset
The 10 years she spent in federal prison and how she showed up with purpose inside
The women she met behind bars who became her teachers and soul sisters
Reentering society, becoming a mother, and navigating survival mode for nearly two decades
Why motherhood stripped her in ways prison never could
The spiral of healing and how growth is never linear
Finding her inner authority after society tried to cage her freedom
How your higher self has always been holding you, even in your darkest moments
What it means to live unapologetically when the world doesn't understand
My Key Takeaways from Misty:
1. Surrender is not defeat, it's an invitation.
At 24, Misty was in over her head. She'd gotten into trouble, and she didn't know how to get out. So she prayed. Hands up, full surrender. "God, if you know something better than me, take the wheel." A few months later, US Marshals surrounded her house. Most people would call that punishment - Misty calls it an answer. Sometimes the thing that breaks you is the thing that births you.
2. Motherhood is its own kind of rebirth.
Even after prison, motherhood stripped Misty in ways she'd never experienced. It forced her to face everything she hadn't yet processed. It cracked her open in the most vulnerable, terrifying, beautiful way. And it gave her the safety, finally, to let her body release the grief she'd been carrying since 2005.
3. Healing is a spiral, not a straight line.
Growth doesn't happen once. You circle back to old wounds at new depths. You think you've healed something, and then life brings it back around so you can meet it at a deeper level. Misty has walked that spiral with more grace than most of us ever will.
4. Your higher self has always been there.
One of the most powerful moments in our conversation was when I said, "What would it be like for Misty in 2005 to have Misty in 2025 holding her?" And Misty said, "She's always been there." The version of you that knows the way? She's been holding you all along. She was there in 2005. She's here now. She'll be there when you're 80. You've never been alone.
“People thought I was confident when I was shaking in my boots, but it was when I hit motherhood that I was stripped in ways that I’ve never been stripped before. Not even a prison sentence did it.”
This conversation reminded me that freedom isn't a place. It's a practice. It's not something you find once and hold onto forever. It's something you choose, again and again, even when the world doesn't understand. Especially when the world doesn't understand.
Misty's story is proof that your past doesn't define you. Your mistakes don't disqualify you. And the thing that broke you might just be the thing that births you into the truest version of yourself.
If you're walking through something hard right now, if you're in your own kind of prison, whether it's literal or metaphorical, I hope this episode reminds you that your higher self is already holding you. The version of you that made it through? She's here. She's been here all along.
Connect with Misty McCray:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shebecametheway
Facebook: Misty McCray
Email: shebecametheway@gmail.com
Website: https://www.shebecametheway.com (coming soon)
Connect with me:
Resources Mentioned
Human Design
I'm so grateful Misty shared her story with us. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you have a story you'd like to share or a guest you think would be perfect for the show, email me at hello@ashleydlogan.com.
Unapologetically Yours,
