Cream Rises

Part memoir and part poetry collection, this intimate debut is an exploration of womanhood, resilience, and the lifelong journey of coming home to yourself. Through deeply personal essays and evocative poetry, Stephani Duff reflects on the family who raised her, the friendships that sustained her, the grief that reshaped her, and the relationships that taught her what love is—and what it is not. From small-town Ohio roots to hard-earned independence, these pages examine body image, belonging, faith, heartbreak, caregiving, loss, and the quiet, everyday acts of courage that make healing possible. At once vulnerable and unflinchingly honest, this collection celebrates the women who hold us up, the lessons inherited from those who came before us, and the strength found in finally claiming our own voice. With warmth, humor, and hard-won wisdom, Duff invites readers to embrace every version of themselves—the tender, the grieving, the fierce, and the becoming. For anyone who has ever felt too much, not enough, or somewhere in between, this book serves as both companion and call to action: take up space, tell the truth, and remember who you were before the world told you otherwise.