Today we’d like to introduce you to Allyson Murden.
Hi Allyson, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story has never been one dimensional— it’s been a series of callings that I didn’t always recognize as purpose until much later.
I began my professional life in healthcare working in Pediatrics, labor and delivery, and the mother baby units. I fully expected to become a nurse practitioner but birth work found me long before I realized it was my lane. Supporting families during pregnancy birth and postpartum came naturally to me—.not just as a job but as a part of who I am.
That’s how my first business ~Blessed Beginnings with Allyson~was born.
As I supported more families , I felt drawn to advocacy, education, and changing outcomes for Black birthing people. That inspired Sacred Roots™ the umbrella over my culturally rooted childbirth education curriculum Sacred Starts™ and soon to launch educator training program, Sacred Birth-keeper™. It blends science, culture, ancestral traditions and trauma informed care—the kind of holistic teaching I wish I had when I became a young mother.
At the same time I’ve been building another lane: my creative world. Under my pen name Scarlett Benet I write erotic poetry and sensual storytelling centered around liberation, healing, kink, and the fullness of Black womanhood. My series ~Secrets Behind the Velvet Curtain~ explorers desire, vulnerability, and truth and a way that feels both artistic and deeply personal.
And then there is the part of my story that most people don’t see— The one that shaped everything.
I’ve written a memoir ~Tiny Pieces of Me: From Fractured to Fearless~ which traces my journey through trauma, motherhood, faith, near death experience, healing and rediscovering who I truly am. It’s the story behind all the versions of me the doula, healer, educator, author, and woman learning to live for herself after surviving so much.
Every lane I walk in today is connected by one purpose to create safe spaces whether in birth in community or or on the page or people feel seem supported and free to show up as the whole authentic selves.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth Road? Not at all, but every challenge shaped me
I’m a survivor of childhood trauma, domestic abuse and a life-threatening infection that left me hospitalized for 3 1/2 months and underwent open-heart surgery as a result. I had to learn how to walk, how to care for myself, and how to build a life that honored the woman I wanted to become
I spent years unlearning unhealthy patterns, healing generational wounds, and rebuilding my self-worth. Raising seven children m, navigating divorce, stepping out of toxic relationships, and rediscovering my identity outside of Motherhood— these were the divining parts of my journey.
In business, I had to build everything from the ground up, No investors, no handouts,Just grit, passion and purpose.
But I believe nothing I’ve adored was wasted. Every scar has turned into a collie— in birth Work, in advocacy, in writing, and in every woman I support.
My life is proof that you can be broken, rebuilt, and still be whole..
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in creating safe, transformative spaces— Both in birth work and in art.
In my doula and educator work I specialize in:
•Culturally rooted childbirth education, •Full spectrum birth and postpartum support,
•Trauma informed care,
•Newborn care and sleep coaching,
•Advocacy for Black maternal health, •Creating community centered healing experiences.
My insight, compassion, and lived experience allows me to support families with a depth that goes beyond textbook knowledge. I bring healthcare training, intuition, and cultural understanding into every birth space
In my creative work as Scarlett Benet:
I write erotic poetry and storytelling that essential, unapologetic, emotionally intelligent, and rooted in liberation. My work centers black sensuality, safe king exploration, and the healing power of pleasure.
What sets me apart is the seamless blending of all these lanes. Whether I’m helping a woman bring life into the world…
Or guiding her into her own pleasure and freedom…
I create spaces where people feel seen, safe, and allowed to breathe as their full selves.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that every version of me deserved grace— Even the ones that I outgrew.
I’ve lived through childhood trauma, Domestic Violence, heartbreak, deadly infection, open heart surgery, motherhood at a young age, divorce, reinvention, starting over more than once, and learning who I am outside of survival. Every chapter taught me something different, but the lesson that ties them all together is this:
Healing is a destination— It’s a series of choices to show up for yourself, even when you’re scared, unsure, or still breaking.
I’ve learned that:
I am allowed to evolve.
I am allowed to start again
I am allowed to take up space.
I do not have to shrink to be loved.
My voice matters.
Boundaries are a form of self-respect.
And softness is not a weakness— It’s a strength that has survived.
I’ve also learned that purpose is born from pain, but it doesn’t have to stay rooted there. My work as a doula, an educator, a writer, and even as Scarlet Benet exists because I finally understood that my life was not meant to be lived in pieces. I’m not here to be half of myself. I’m here to be whole.
So the biggest take away is this:
You can rebuild your life at any time. You can reclaim your voice at any time. And you’re allowed to become the woman you needed when you were younger— Without apologizing for who that woman is now.
Contact Info:
- Website: Https://www.scarlettbenet.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ally_natural?igsh=eW9iYmc3dGswZ3Bu&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allyson.murden
- LinkedIn: Https://www.linkedin.com/in/allyson-murden-737565b1
