Poetry & Strength

A young woman turns to poetry and boxing to help heal from childhood trauma 

By Jennifer Mellace

“Mental health? There are a lot of signs but no one wants to take them seriously until something drastic happens,” says 18-year-old Aspen Marie Griffith. “Mental health is talked about a lot more, but there still isn’t much help. And going through therapy doesn’t always help. People worry that what they say might get them institutionalized. That’s scary.”

Griffith talks about the struggles with mental health with first-hand knowledge after losing a good friend to suicide in 2022 and as a survivor of years of mental and physical abuse. Today, she talks freely about her struggles because she has learned to cope with her past through the unusual mix of poetry and boxing, and the unwavering support of her father and stepmother. But the ability and strength to talk and help others took time.  

A Childhood Lost 

Griffith’s parents divorced when she was 3. “It wasn’t a good break up and my biological mom kept me from my father,” she says. “I didn’t see him often, and she put in my head that he didn’t want me and didn’t care about me.”  

Aspen lived with her mother and grandmother but says she wasn’t happy. 

When Aspen was 13, she started boxing to cope with the feelings she couldn’t talk about.  

“When I was allowed to spend time with my dad we would bond over boxing,” she says. “This was my outlet, but my mom hated that this was something I shared with my dad and hated that we were bonding.” 

Mike Griffith, Aspen’s father would spend every other weekend with his daughter.  

“I tried to get her more, but her biological mother wouldn’t let me,” he says. He recalls Aspen being quiet when she visited with him and his wife, Stephanie. They thought she just didn’t want to be with them. 

“We found out afterward that Aspen’s biological mother was telling her that we didn’t want her. Her mother was very manipulating and ruled Aspen out of fear,” says Mike Griffith. 

The turning point came when Aspen’s mother kicked her out at the age of 14. “She told me she was tired of me and had no use for me anymore and dropped me at my dad’s house,” Aspen says. Three days later, she began receiving texts, emails, and Snapchat threats from her mother.  

“She wanted me to come home and threatened to turn my father against me. I told my dad that I wanted to transfer schools. I wanted a new start,” she says.  

At the time, Aspen’s mother still had full custody, so Aspen had to agree to therapy before anything could happen. By October 2019, a judge granted full custody of Aspen to her father.  

“In the beginning, I visited my mother a couple times, but she tried to manipulate me, and I became severely depressed and anxious. By Christmas of 2021 I completely cut contact with her and that’s when things started to get better.” 

Aspen Griffith with the two books of poetry she wrote, You Too Can Rise from the Ashes and With Love. 

A Poet Found

Life was better living with her father and stepmom, Stephanie Griffith, who has since adopted Aspen, but she still had a difficult time talking about things. In fact, it wasn’t until the death of her friend that she started to open up.  

“It was hard to process my emotions after my friend’s suicide,” she says. “I struggled with expressing myself because I wasn’t allowed to as a child. Therapy didn’t help, but boxing and writing did. I wrote poetry and decided that I would write a book about mental health and my struggles. I wanted to share my story to help people understand that we all struggle and go through things.” 

Aspen has published two books of poetry—You Too Can Rise from the Ashes and With Love, released earlier this year. In her first book, Aspen shares how beautiful life can be despite the difficulties and challenges we all face, while the second book touches upon other people’s trauma.  

“I’ve had people open up to me and so this book was less about me and more about other people’s loss, relationships, sexual assault, and suicide,” she says. “I never had a plan for my writing. I just want to help one person and, if that happens, then I’ve done all I need to do. I want to help people and relate to them and let them know they aren’t alone.” 

Kristin Keelan, Aspen’s ninth grade English teacher is the one who helped Aspen find her voice through poetry.  

“When I first met Aspen, she was friendly but quiet,” Keelan says. “She was an excellent writer, a good student, and boxing was such a big part of her life, and she was very humble about it all.” 

One thing that always stood out to Keelan, was Aspen’s ability to connect with others. 

“I’ll always remember when Aspen helped a fellow student who had low motivation and didn’t like school. She tried to help him, invited him to boxing. She was always trying to help others even with what she was going through. She still had room to give,”
Keelan says. 

Aspen’s stepmom has also experienced Aspen’s generous heart firsthand.  

“My first marriage was an emotionally abusive one that I was able to get out of,” says Stephanie. “We both had trauma, and we were able to connect on a level that was more than I could have imagined. I couldn’t live without her. She has been a complete blessing from God.” 

Aspen feels the same. “My stepmom is such a huge person in my life. She’s such a strong woman who has had struggles, too, and we both dealt with it. We saved each other.” 

A Fighter Through and Through 

Aspen’s courage to speak up and connect with others happened through her poetry and her boxing. 

“Once I was living with my dad full-time, I boxed every day. I loved it and wanted to pursue it as a career. Both my parents are so supportive. They’re always fighting and sparring with me. They’re a huge part of my career.”  

Aspen trains at the Hagerstown Boxing Club and with a coach in Washington, D.C. Fighting under the name Team Phoenix, which represents renewal, she started competitive boxing in March 2022, has competed in four Junior Olympic matches, and plans to go professional by the end of 2024.  

When asked if she would consider teaching boxing, she recalls a little girl who reached out to her. 

“This girl was struggling in school and wanted to learn to box,” she says. “I started training her one-on-one and could just see her confidence grow. I could see how much of an impact boxing has on other people’s lives. Eventually, whenever my boxing career ends, I would love to open up a gym for anyone of any age to come and have a safe place.” 

When not boxing or writing, Aspen and her parents make up for lost time. 

“We are making memories that will last a lifetime,” says Mike. “As mature as Aspen is, she still enjoys the little things in life, such as Easter baskets, acting funny, laughing, and just cherishing every little moment together and enjoying all the things about life.” 

She’s also using her time to inspire those around her, including her parents. 

“I’m supposed to be the one motivating her and inspiring her, and she’s the one motivating me to be a better father, husband, and person. Aspen is pure hearted, caring, kind, and truly loves helping people. That’s her number one goal in life, to help people in any way she can so they don’t have to go through what she did.” 

Aspen would agree that her goal is to simply help others. She currently works as a substitute teacher and thrives on seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when she comes around. 

“Most of them have opened up to me tremendously, and it makes me feel as if I’m making a difference in their lives,” she says. “This has always been my life goal. I’ve always wanted to help people, whether it was through my writing, boxing, or teaching. As long as I can make a difference in even just a few people’s lives I think I would have done what I was called to do.”  

Signifying renewal, Aspen Griffith boxes under the name Team Phoenix.