Anna Astwood ’04 ’07MA

 Tell us a little about yourself! 

I am a UCF Alumni ’04 and ’07. I earned my Bachelor of Psychology and then a Masters Degree in School Counseling. I was a School Counselor in the Central Florida area for over 11 years. 6 years ago I co-founded Love Doesn’t Hurt Inc-a nonprofit dedicated to ending teenage dating violence. I go into schools and talk to teens, teachers, counselors and parents about healthy relationships, types of dating violence, how to implement boundaries, etc. In August 2025, I decided to rewrite the book that I started 22 years before. After about 9 months I published my memoir, But He Said He Loved Me, which tells the story of being in an abusive relationship in high school. 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 

When I was 22 years old I decided to write down my story because it was too difficult to speak about. I am not sure I ever thought of myself as a writer but instead someone who had a story that needed to be told in hopes of helping others in similar situations. 

What’s your writing process? What inspires your writing? 

My writing is inspired by my life, the experiences I have had and being completely honest and vulnerable. I believe that my ability to be vulnerable will help my story connect to others and in turn bring them healing. Since my memoir is discussing difficult and traumatic events I had to be mindful to take care of myself while writing. I would write in short chunks and take a lot of breaks when I feel like it was becoming too much. There were times that I had to take weeks off because reliving the memories was too difficult. 

What was the biggest thing you learned during your time as a Knight that you apply to your life today? 

During my time as a Knight I started the journey of accepting myself for who I am. It would still take me many more years to fully accept and appreciate myself for who Anna is but UCF is where that journey began. 

What was a class or club at UCF that helped you grow as a writer? 

There were several classes in my Counselor Education coursework that helped me understand abuse which in turn led to me writing about the abuse. 

Who are some of your favorite authors or books? 

I love reading psychology books, self-help books and thrillers. 

If UCF had a time machine, what moment on campus would you go back to? 

I would go back to the day I interviewed for admission to the Counselor Education program. I knew it was a big day by the butterflies in my stomach but that day was life changing for me and the life I have now is because of UCF accepting me into the Counselor Education program. 

What are you currently working on right now? 

At this time, I am not currently writing but there is a possibility that a second book could become a reality. 

Anything else you want to share? 

I met my husband while at UCF. We have 3 kids ages 14, 12 and 9. We are a sports family and love attending UCF sporting events