TheAntiHeroine | Allison Riney | Substack

Healing After Trauma: Self-care as a Coping Mechanism

After the shooting, daily routines and self-care regimens equipped me to battle PTSD, heal old wounds and rebuild my life.

Jan 28, 2025 • Allison Riney

Asking Why: A Survivor's S.O.S. to America

Announcing the release of Shots in the Dark: A Mass Shooting Survivor's S.O.S. to America, now available on Amazon. A plea to stop political violence.

Published on Lighthouse • Dec 8, 2025

The Women Who Lift Me: On Fear, Faith and Finding Strength in Each Other

It began with an act of gratitude and grew to something much greater. A story about fear, faith and the women who lift us when we can't stand alone.

Oct 16, 2025 • Allison Riney

Making Peace: St. Rita, The Impossible Saint & Kendrick, a Possible Saint

Saint Rita of Cascia, the Peacemaker and Kendrick Castillo, saint-hopeful, provide a bold yet peaceful roadmap out of today's darkness and turmoil.

Published on Lighthouse • Sep 24, 2025

The Devil's Kaleidoscope

America's favorite vice is hatred. We keep blaming the symptoms. We ignore the disease - and the human cost.

Sep 17, 2025 • Allison Riney

Most Popular

BOOK LAUNCH | Beyond Stories 2 Lands: 20+ Horror, Sci-fi & Thrillers to Haunt

Jul 10, 2025 • Allison Riney, Kathy Enriquez, and Brie-Anna Willey

An American Mass Shooting: The Bloody Freaking Details

Oct 1, 2024 • Allison Riney

Resiliency Training 101 | 15 Basic but Hard-Learned Truths

Jun 17, 2025 • Allison Riney

Q1 2025: TheAntiHeroine Rises... and Brings Surprises

Jan 9, 2025 • Allison Riney

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🕊️ Healing + Self-care 🕊️

An Introvert's Social Survival Kit: 12 Ways to Maintain Grace & Manage Stress

An introvert's guide to managing and surviving social events: 12 methods to manage parties with poise, dignity and grace.

Dec 25, 2024 • Allison Riney

Angel in the Airport: Centenarian Spreads True Spirit of Holidays

How a 105-year-old angel inspires hope, embodies kindness and spreads love in the least like place during the holiday travel rush: the Philadelphia…

Dec 19, 2024 • Allison Riney

Go To Hell, PTSD: Celebrating to Help TheAntiHeroine Reclaim Halloween

Support my quest to conquer PTSD by celebrating Halloween extra hard this year. 20 years ago, a man or demon, stole far too much. Let's take it back.

Oct 21, 2024 • Allison Riney

5 Easy, Quick and Cheap Coping Mechanisms to Manage Stress

Mental Health should be accessible to all. Discover 5 cheap, easy and quick strategies to better manage and cope with family stress - especially during…

Oct 10, 2024 • Allison Riney

Getting by with a Little Help from My Substack Friends

A gratitude journal isn't big enough to express my appreciation for so many Substack writers and friends. Introducing an exciting new series, featuring…

Sep 26, 2024 • Allison Riney

Recent posts

An American Assassination | Charlie Kirk 09.10.2025

The Assassination of Charlie Kirk: Sticks and stones break bones, but political rhetoric leads to violence.

Sep 11, 2025 • Allison Riney

How to Pray for Annunciation Victims, Survivors & Family

Time to pull my “mass shooting survivor card” and ask you to pray for those impacted by the Annunciation school shooting. Here's how.

Published on Lighthouse • Aug 29, 2025

BOOK LAUNCH | Beyond Stories 2 Lands: 20+ Horror, Sci-fi & Thrillers to Haunt

Substack's best horror, sci-fi & thriller writers launch a sequel anthology: Beyond Stories 2. Step into the dark. Enter the carnival of shadows. Go…

Jul 10, 2025 • Allison Riney, Kathy Enriquez, and Brie-Anna Willey

Lessons from a Mass Shooting

9 years ago today, I survived a mass shooting in Dallas - but 5 police officers did not. What I've learned about faith, hope and God - even in despair.

Published on Lighthouse • Jul 9, 2025

Where I Find God Now: On Resilience, Faith and the Women Who Guide Me

How Saint Hildegard, Mary Madgalene and Maya Angelou help me reclaim faith and find strength in spiritual resilience - especially during hard times.

Published on Lighthouse • Jun 25, 2025

Resiliency Training 101 | 15 Basic but Hard-Learned Truths

15 things I’ve learned about resiliency from lived experience, years of reflection and helping others survive the unthinkable.

Jun 17, 2025 • Allison Riney

Recommendations

Short fiction

Nevena Pascaleva

The KATacombs

Kathy Enriquez

Ignite With Hege

Ignite With Hege

Hege Kristoffersen

Quietly Becoming

Quietly Becoming

Salwa

MY UNFRAMED LIFE

MY UNFRAMED LIFE

Deborah T. Hewitt

Books

Books & Other Writing

Beyond Stories: An Anthology of Sci-fi & Horror

Beyond Stories 2

Horror, Sci-fi & Thriller Short Stories

Shots in the Dark

A Mass Shooting Survivor’s S.O.S. To America

Shots in the Dark: A Mass Shooting Survivor’s S.O.S to America

Allison Riney Official

Socials

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✨ Survival Stories ✨

An American Mass Shooting: The Bloody Freaking Details

Previously on TheAntiHeroine, I survived a bloody mass shooting when Micah Xavier Johnson murdered five police officers. This is how a mass shooting…

Oct 1, 2024 • Allison Riney

6. Surviving an American Mass Shooting: Trauma Descends in the Aftermath

In the hours after escaping a mass shooting, initial trauma envelops me as I struggle to help first responders and detectives.

Sep 9, 2024 • Allison Riney

5. Surviving an American Mass Shooting: Fight, Flight or Freeze

After evacuating the foxhole, the door slammed shut, leaving me alone with my thoughts while preparing for one final run to freedom.

Aug 21, 2024 • Allison Riney

4. Surviving an American Mass Shooting: Stairwell to Purgatory

Fleeing a mass shooting, Athena and I escape into a parking garage's stairwell, only to find women and innocent children awaiting rescue.

Aug 6, 2024 • Allison Riney

3. Surviving an American Mass Shooting: Dodging Bullets and Death

After a Black Lives Matter protest, a mass shooting breaks out. As bullets fly and death abounds, our heroine, Athena arises.

Jul 31, 2024 • Allison Riney

📚 Reading & Writing 📚

The Most Beautiful & Transformative Writing Challenge of My Life

Substack is full of advice on writing with purpose or intent - but what happens when you fulfill your goal too soon? What do we write now? A brave new…

Dec 9, 2024 • Allison Riney

The 4 C's of Content Creation: How to Use 5 Senses to Take Better Notes & Create More

Write better by using your 5 senses and an index card to track and transform random notes into captivating content.

Oct 16, 2024 • Allison Riney and Michael Serrur

STOP COUNTING, WRITE BETTER: 8 Ways to Stop Playing the Numbers Game (plus 2 to help you bounce back tomorrow)

Stressing about the number of subscribers, followers and Substack likes? Here's a free guide on how I stop counting the numbers to write better.

Sep 12, 2024 • Allison Riney

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