Areas of Expertise:

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Cultivating Self-Compassion

 

Grief and Loss

 

Shame Resilience

 

Personal Growth

 

Life Transis

My Story

 

I must have asked my parents to tell me the story of how they met a hundred times when I was little. I never got tired of it, and they told it to me like it was the first time, every time. When they divorced, I was 14, and everything was shattered. Low self-esteem, loneliness, shame, and fear became my new normal, and self-destructive behavior became my coping strategy. I believed if I was hard enough on myself, I could prevent anything that devastating from ever happening to me again. 

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Of course, I was wrong. At that time, I couldn't see that self-hatred never got me the security and happiness I craved -not until my own divorce at age 39. Then I was forced to confront my deepest fear: the fear of being alone. Staring it down and accepting that reality is what set me free. During that difficult time, I came across Brené Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfection. In it, she wrote about self-compassion, and a referenced a researcher named Kristin Neff, who wrote a book called Self-Compassion; The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. I balked at the idea of going easy on myself. Yet it was so appealing - so crazy - I thought it just might work. As I learned to practice the skills of self-compassion, I began teaching it to others in intimate workshop settings. It was inspiring to see women take steps toward self-love like I had, and to witness their transformation.

 

I am here to offer you guidance in your quest for joy, love and belonging while you navigate the twists and turns of your beautiful life. In my blog, I share my stories and offer inspiring words to help you connect to yourself, and experience resilience in response to difficulty, pain, fear, and all the other feels that we try to avoid. I feel more joy now than I did several years ago, before I knew I was worthy of all good things. That is where resilience begins: In finally knowing you are enough. Let's start there.