When I was fourteen, my friend Aprile died suddenly from a congenital heart condition; I was devastated. My world was turned upside down – life would never be the same. I had no choice but to face my grief head on, and learn to cope with loss. It was awful.

After years of reflection, I realized her death was my defining moment. I became the person my friends turned to because I was compassionate and empathetic. I decided I wanted to help people work through life’s challenges and tailored my post-secondary education towards the health and social sciences field.

In college, I studied and graduated with two diplomas: Social Service Worker and Practical Nursing. I loved connecting with people and was genuinely interested in the care and well-being of others. It’s who I was and still am.

The shifts and long hours of my nursing schedule did not work for my family. I made the tough decision to resign so I could focus on the needs of my two daughters and spouse. My family trumped my career. However, my passion for serving others was still there.
During that period, I invested in more learning and completed an internship as an Emotional Health Practitioner. I worked with clients to identify their specific needs and goals, offer support and taught additional skills from communication to healthy ways of coping.

In February 2020, I was invited to participate in an overnight weekend course to learn the Emotional Wellness Technique. It is a combination of emotional kinesiology and mindset strategies used to identify possible barriers holding people back from achieving their desired goals. This awareness helps them to work on personal growth strategies to develop a healthier, sustainable mindset.

Buried deep within my soul was my purpose which I had chosen to hide for years. During that weekend, I shifted. After dinner, we were sharing stories while sitting around the gas fireplace. At one point, my friend mentioned something about my friend Aprile who had passed away. She asked me to tell my story to the group. When I finished, a couple of the women told me that other people needed to hear my message. I thought, maybe it was time to stop making excuses to avoid writing my story and get out of my own way.

A few weeks later, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The world shut down and in my town, businesses and schools were closed and people were told to stay home. I had to pivot and focus on my family. At that point, I re-evaluated my life goals and decided to open up and share what my best friend’s death taught me about hope and grief.

I knew if I had the courage to be vulnerable, others could benefit from my lived experience. I created a writing schedule and woke up at 5 a.m. every day to write. Now, my book is completed and will be released later in the Fall of 2022!

My book is entitled, Siren, On Repeat: What My Best Friend’s Death Taught Me About Hope and Grief. It’s a resource that helps people to dig deep within themselves to explore their own situations, grieve without judgment, cry without shame and just be. At the same time, it offers understanding, hope and inspiration. This was by far the most important project I have ever worked on.

Writing brings me great joy. I love to write blogs that lift people up and maybe even make them smile!

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