photo credit: Alicia Bruce

photo credit: Hernan Santiago

photo credit: Hernan Santiago

photo credit: Alicia Bruce

photo credit: Alicia Bruce

 

About Me

After graduating from James Madison University in 2001 with a degree in Marketing, I fell into the recruiting world and worked my way up over four years as an agency recruiter for creative types. I then spent several years in corporate recruiting. After having my son in 2008 and my daughter two years later, in 2011 I traded in my resume evaluating skills to focus on my family and to pursue my passion - writing - which would eventually lead me to discover my life's purpose.

Today I am a 45-year old wife and mother of two kids who loves the beach, books, fitness (walking the trails in my neighborhood is my favorite) and eating healthy (most of the time). Nineteen years ago I suffered my first of two manic episodes and several months and many doctor’s appointments later, was finally diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder – type 1.

I experienced four psychiatric hospitalizations within five years – two before any diagnosis was reached, and two more because I was trying to protect my newborn son (postpartum psychosis) and my unborn daughter (antenatal psychosis) – and all were because I was unmedicated at the time. After nearly seven and a half years of stability, I had a fifth hospitalization due to a manic episode after the sudden death of my dear friend and partner who helped me launch my nonprofit, Anne Marie Ames. Living in recovery is a daily endeavor, but I am determined to live successfully despite this condition. I'm so fortunate to have loving, supportive family and friends who are there for me when I need them.

I have learned so much from my nearly 20-year journey thus far with bipolar and hope that by sharing my experiences - through the creation of my Mental Health Mindset - I can help other women who may be wondering if they’ll ever be able to make their dreams of a family a reality. You can – I am living proof that it is possible. I take medication and have regular appointments with my psychiatrist and therapist because these are my responsibilities to myself and my family. My self-care routine keeps me on track. And my incredible support system helps me to live fully. I attribute a great deal of my success to their encouragement over the years.

photo credit: Lauren Johnson

photo credit: Lauren Johnson

The Mental Health Mindset is a framework for mental wellness that I’ve been developing over the past ten years which I’ve started to launch on my other writing home - my Substack. During the pandemic I dreamt of launching a podcast geared towards helping parents talk with their kids about mental health from an early age, but only got as far as a pilot episode with my son Owen which I’m very proud of.

Writing openly about living with mental illness inspired me to start a non-profit called This Is My Brave, Inc. which provides a platform for people to share their story live on stage through poetry, original music, comedy and essay. We professionally videotape all our shows and make them available on our YouTube Channel. So far we've produced over 100 unique shows across the US featuring nearly 1,000 individuals who have shared their stories of hope via our stages, and in 2017, with the help of an incredible man by the name of Tim Daly, we expanded internationally, as he created a branch of our nonprofit in Australia, TIMBA. 

In June of 2016, This Is My Brave was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, in a story titled “The Healing in Revealing.” We were also featured on the front page of the Washington Post that same month, with the headline, “Unwell and Unashamed.”

In October of 2016 I gave a TEDx talk where I shared my take on the legacy I hope to leave behind with the organization I’m leading and the mission we’re advancing. To one day live in a world where we don’t have to call it “brave” for talking openly about mental illness; we’ll simply call it talking.

Which leads me to today. I’m currently studying to become a wellness coach, and once certified I’d like to build a business that would use my Mental Health Mindset framework as a guide to building long-term stability. If you’re interested in learning more, please visit my Contact Me page and shoot me a quick note. I’d love to keep you in the loop on my latest developments.