Blog

Who Inspires Me

I have always been curious and passionate about the human experience. This is what drove me to become a therapist. I wanted to understand the human condition in a way that made sense to me. As a psychology major in college, it wasn’t the statistics or empirical data that answered my questions. Rather, it was in listening to how people responded emotionally to events in their lives. I found that storytelling, with its variety and power, most effectively conveys the infinite complexity of our humanity.

We all tend to recreate in our adulthoods what we knew in our childhoods. For me, an influential part of growing up was listening to stories. My mother raised me on them. Her stories covered all aspects of her life: her ancestors, her childhood, and the family dynamics in which her mother died of cancer when she and her brother were just babies. She could use language and articulate herself unlike anyone else. Drawing upon her vast learning of history and literature, she could bring characters to life. An English professor by trade, she helped me shape insights and lessons from stories I wouldn’t have otherwise paid attention to. She made me a great listener.

This vivid imagination she had—one of her greatest strengths—also lent itself to vivid, irrational fears of everything going wrong. Despite struggling with anxiety throughout her life, my mother pursued and fulfilled all of her potential as a mother and career woman. She didn’t just create goals, she pursued an identity for herself as a person of strength. If you were in her way, you knew it. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Her stories gave a larger relevance and meaning to our mother/daughter relationship. I knew that she was imparting her wisdom for the days when she would no longer be here; a time we thought would be much further away than it turned out to be.

Her diagnosis of cancer was counter intuitive to her love of life. She fought it at every turn, grappling with it for twelve years, nine of which were years she won. A long, happy remission that when the cancer came back, she took comfort in how she had chosen to spend that time—traveling, writing books, and with her family.

When she died, I found myself seeking to fill her void and cope with her loss by cultivating and embodying her. I found her in wisdom, comfort, and strength. These were the characteristics that pushed her beyond her struggles and into self-actualization.

Now with my company inspired by her, I intend to bring a community of people together around these three forces. Wisdom, comfort, and strength are aspects of life that can be integrated to promote both wellness and perseverance through adversity. At Elle, our community believes in a holistic philosophy of wellness and a commitment to oneself in order to find it. We are a collective of professionals that learn from one another and pass these forces down to you.

Forces that can redirect the course of your life.