Origin Story
I was twelve years old in grade six when I pulled my mother into my room and told her that I no longer wanted to live. That I wanted to die. That I didn't love myself. How could I love myself when everything in society told me I shouldn't? On top of that, my home didn't feel like a safe place for me. A lot was going on and I spent the majority of my teenage years being silenced. After that conversation, we both cried and hugged one another and as she left my room I felt a weight lifted off my heart and a sense of hope that things would change. They didn't. Things went right back to the way they were the next day. Lonely and silenced.
There were no books that talked about self-love. No characters that looked like me in the ones that did exist. And as a budding reader and writer, somehow at that age, I felt that seeing myself in one of these books would empower me. It would make me feel seen and heard. Included. I can remember making a promise to myself that I would write stories that represented me. Who I am. That if no one else saw me - that I would see myself. I've been blessed to tour all across Nova Scotia, Ontario, and parts of the US, and every encounter with the people there was so different - yet very much the same. Everybody is looking for a sense of hope and belonging. Externally looking for a love that can only be found internally.
I made it my life's mission to feed into the next generation. To give them an opportunity that I've never had. To see themselves. To learn practical steps towards loving themselves. All kids from different backgrounds and circumstances. To give them the gift of self-love as their foundation. It is my life’s work.