About Me
My Quick Story
This isn’t a site about how to survive the politics of communal living (although I DO have a tip or two) it’s to introduce me—a daughter, sister, burn survivor, therapist, perennial optimist, candybar junkie, food lover, book nerd, and shopaholic—to you.
My unique story begins in the throes of a signature New Mexico summer lightning storm with my brother, father, and very pregnant (with me) mother, who went into labor after a lightning strike knocked out the power to our commune home. I arrived a few hours later, bright-eyed and blinking, received into my loving parents’ arms, and ready to take on the world.My older brother and I had a fun-filled childhood. We were always covered in dirt from daily adventures, and after our dreaded nightly baths, we would fall into bed exhausted, contented, loved.
This carefree existence changed drastically when I was five years old. My dad took my brother and I on a camping trip, and I was severely burned when the camping trailer I was sleeping in caught fire. I sustained third-and fourth-degree burns to over 70% of my body, and doctors at the time asked my parents to say their last goodbyes as they had little hope for my survival. In the slim chance that I made it, they said, I would never lead a normal life and would certainly never walk again.After 78 major operations, years of excruciating occupational and physical therapy, and that blessedly triumphant moment when I took my first steps without help, I have happily proven those doctors’ initial diagnoses incorrect.
I returned to school, earned both my undergraduate and master’s degrees, and now practice as a licensed therapist specializing in trauma PTSD, addiction, anxiety, and depression. As a therapist who helps struggling patients manage their personal crises, I cultivate and build upon strengths they already possess to help them achieve the positive future they’ve visualized for themselves.My life is no cakewalk, but I don’t consider myself a victim. I’m a survivor. I meet my life’s challenges with spunk! Not only have I weathered significant storms, but thrived beyond them. I want to share my story and positive outlook with you, knowing firsthand that hope exists in the most dire of circumstances, and that there are ways to truly achieve happiness.
I currently live and work in Utah, but make it a priority to spend time visiting my family (no longer hippies, but really milking that organic food movement) and make speaking engagements all over the world. And, oddly enough, I love lightning storms.