Just over nine years ago, I had a very different
life. At the time, I was separated from my husband
of 14 years and I was learning the ropes as a
single-working-mother, after staying home with my
kids for seven years. I had been fortunate to find a
job that was a reflection of my ten-year's previous
experience in high-tech marketing and it was going
well, although it was intense and challenging to
keep up in a fast moving industry.
My husband and I had an amicable separation and were
heading toward finalizing our divorce when something
happened that rocked my world.
One day, after returning from a weekend in Tahoe
while my kids were staying with their Dad, I
received a phone message from my ten-year old son
that stopped my heart. "Mommy, please come get us!
Daddy didn’t take us to school today because he's
been busy building a machine to make the little man
in his head stop talking."
You should have seen me fly out of my office and
into the car for the longest hour of my life as I
drove from the East Bay to San Francisco to get my
kids out of there. I had no idea what was wrong with
my ex-husband, but I knew he was terribly ill.
In time, I learned he had become addicted to crystal
meth, one of the most brain-frying, life-altering
drugs out there. It was the beginning of a two-year
ordeal of daily drama, trauma and crisis management.
My ex-husband became delusional and dangerous,
culminating in another heart-stopping episode
involving a SWAT team operation. The ordeal took its
toll on me and I became this crumpled mess of fear
and despair feeling helpless and hopeless.
I spiraled into extreme burnout, chronic fatigue and
stress-related illness to the point that one day I
had to stop the world and get off. My doctor ordered
a medical leave of absence for me to rest, relax and
rejuvenate. It was the greatest gift and the
beginning of a healing journey of self-discovery and
a new sense of hope and possibility for my life. My
ex-husband also got the help he needed to start on
his path to full recovery.
Fast forward to the present and I am living the life
of my dreams, making a difference by helping others
to find their wings and make work and life choices
that energize them and reawaken their joy and
passion for life. I am life coach, retreat
facilitator, inspirational speaker and author. How
did I get here from a place of such utter turmoil
and confusion?
It was a journey of Seven Stepping Stones. It took
some time, but I started by following Doctor’s
orders to rest, relax and rejuvenate. I started to
keep a journal and did some inner exploration of my
needs, desires and dreams. And I opened my heart to
find joy in the journey - exactly what you see in The
Wings Movie. But those are only three of the
stepping stones on my journey.
The most exciting stepping stone for me was when I
was guided to create a compelling personal vision
for myself that excited me, energized me and
delighted me. It read:
I am a passionate dreamer, insightful, multifaceted,
vibrant, colorful, courageous and grounded;
following my intuition on golden wings and connected
with jubilance to my spiritual center. My purpose is
to artfully inspire, to see possibilities and to
give wings to dreams.
I created that vision statement about six years ago
and my book, Give Wings to Your Dreams is a
manifestation of that vision! My book just became
available through bookstores and amazon.com on
January 1 and I've been on a book tour ever since!
It's been fun and exhilarating and very emotional
for me. When I saw my book for the first time in a
bookstore window, tears of joy began streaming down
my cheeks! If I can do it, you can do it too!
I wrote Give Wings to Your Dreams to share my own
journey from lost to found and to take you by the
hand and show you the way to create the life you
really want. It is my heartfelt passion to help you
spread your wings and fly!
