About Me
From the time I was a child, navigating life always felt a bit like I was Alice falling down the rabbit hole; I was making it up as I went along because there was no roadmap.
My life has been incredibly challenging.
I survived childhood trauma, a sexual assault as a teen, divorce, and an unimaginable series of losses: two of my younger brothers died by suicide; my younger sister died at 33 of a pulmonary embolism; and my young niece was killed in an accident. Years later, my son died in a head-on collision. And when my mom died, we brought my dad home and cared for him until his death.
I’m still standing. I live in joy. I am not bitter, angry, or closed off.
I found a way to have faith; to love deeply; to help others - even when life is awful And, I learned that, as we grow, we develop a capacity to hold both love and pain.
I reframed the events in my life & changed my story.
You see, life events aren’t painful; our interpretation of an event is what causes our pain. I was able to let go of the hurt & the losses.
I learned that no one hands us the answers to life’s questions. We are meant to understand some things only through experience; and, through those experiences - we find our answers.
Teaching, mentoring, and healing is what I was born to do. So, I’m devoting this last phase of my life to helping as many people as I can.
Sometimes we just need someone who knows what it feels like…. Someone who won’t take excuses.
Sometimes we need to hear the impossible story – where someone actually prevails – in order to believe that we can heal too.
I want to BE that person for others.
Mary Ann
How I Can Help
I intend to be a lighthouse for others, sharing the tools and wisdom I’ve gained over the years. That’s why I’m using my story and my gifts to:
Support you in your journey to wholeness of body, mind and spirit
Hold space for you as you find Your answers and begin to heal
Be that safe, warm, private space where you are seen, heard and supported
I will sit with you & listen – with no judgement, because I’ve been there. And, I’ll support you and help you gain clarity and balance.
There is Power & Healing & Sanctity in witnessing someone’s pain - in being their “safe place.” When someone talks it out /speaks it out loud, the pain shifts & they have a chance to transmute it, process it, heal it and release it.
That is how you take your power back.
“It is impossible for you to go on as you were before,
so you must go on as you never have.”
Cheryl Strayed
There is something at the core of us that is absolutely indestructible.
Most of us don’t know that until we fall. Then, we meet that light & feel that strength – and we begin to know who we are. As we heal, we learn the difference between showing up for life and living life. And then it begins to feel like life is not happening FOR you - not TO you.
I can help you get clear on the essential questions & support you as you discover the answers you need. That opens you up to be able to reframe events in your life, and rewrite your story.
If I can do this, you can too. I can show you what worked for me.
I had the big career, and I retired early after my son died. Now, I am “semi-retired” and combining my two passions into a mentoring practice that I love. I am:
-Mentoring, teaching and healing
-Supporting causes that matter deeply to me
And, you should know that I do things a bit uniquely:
*I run sessions on 2 days each week.
*My fees are deliberately affordable.
*I have 3 offerings:
Private Mentoring
Crossover – a Group Discussion Series
Remote Healing Sessions for People & Animals
*Clients pay for services by donating to charities I’ve selected
I see this “donation model” as a way to provide you with an opportunity for service - while helping yourself.
My hope is that the idea of doing good for others while helping yourself will motivate you to invest in your own healing.
“All pervasive pain is something that occurs when your focus is
entirely on you. The pain recedes as we shift our focus to others…”
Pema Chodron