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EMPOWERED. ENLIGHTENED. EXTRAORDINARY.
The time has come for this groundbreaking book on Emotional Intelligence to arrive. It challenges the status quo, and breaks the stigma that surrounds mental health.
You will step into a personal conversation with these 15 courageous authors who have uncovered their souls to give you hope. Their stories may break your heart and steal the very breath from your lungs, but they will also inspire you to see that triumph over adversity is always possible.
The resilience of the human spirit shines throughout this book. Whether it’s grief, loss, depression, anxiety, illness, abuse, or any stressor affecting you or someone you love, these stories will take you by the hand and show you how to not just survive, but thrive. You are not alone.
Beth Hanishewski -
Master Coach. International Speaker. Igniter.
When it comes to business, relationships, and being truly happy, emotional intelligence is the secret sauce to everything that matters. This book is a game-changer and inside these pages are invitations to witness what ‘doing the work’ looks like. May they inspire you to do the same.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Introduction
“Emotional intelligence is a way of recognizing, understanding and choosing how we think, feel and act. It shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. It defines how and what we learn; it allows us to set priorities; it determines the majority of our daily actions and results.”
~J. Freedman
“Chocolate is a vegetable, because it comes from a bean.”
This is just one of many outrageous statements you’ll hear from Christine Awram (while wearing a pink tiara) as she encourages women to question any of their beliefs that limit an empowered, joyful, and successful life.
She’s the founder of Woman Of Worth WOW Worldwide and is a dynamic speaker, author, visionary, and philanthropist. Christine radiates vitality with her indomitable spirit and humour. Yet her earlier years began as a teenage runaway who experienced addiction, illness and depression.
She inspires others by sharing the specific strategies she used to move from futility to fulfillment, and how she transformed challenges into passion and purpose.
Christine’s commitment to the empowered leadership of women resulted in her being honoured with the Outstanding Leadership Award by the Global Women’s Summit. She has personally inspired over 10,000 women through her WOW events, has published six #1 bestselling books in the last three years, and believes she is just getting warmed up.
“If we give up falling, we give up trying. In every life we will fall at some point… but it is through the act of getting up and going on that we develop resiliency and find our true strength.”
~Alyson Jones/Jacqueline Fowler
Facebook: Alyson Jones & Associates
LinkedIn: Alyson Jones
Twitter: @MOREalysonjones
Instagram: @alysonjonesassociates
Youtube: Master Your Mental Health
Email: alyson@alysonjones.ca
Alyson Jones, MA, RCC is a professional therapist and mental health educator as well as the president of a large private counselling clinic, Alyson Jones & Associates.
She holds a Master’s degree in psychology and has practiced for over twenty-five years, working with all age groups. Alyson is prominent in the psychological community and is often invited by the media to share her extensive knowledge on mental health, parenting, children, and families. She is a regular on CTV Morning Live and a contributing writer to Slica.ca and Huffington Post.
Mental Health IS Health
Overfunctioning
“Help is the sunny side of control. Stop helping so much. Don’t get your help and goodness all over everybody.”
~Anne Lamott, from her 2017 TED Talk “12 Truths I Learned from Life and Writing”
https://clearmind.com
Twitter: @clearmind_intl
Facebook: @ClearmindInternational
Youtube: TheClearmindChannel
Catherine O’Kane MA, RCC, RCS is a counsellor, facilitator, and gifted public speaker with decades of experience. She and her husband Duane O’Kane co-authored the #1 best-selling book REAL: The Power of Authentic Connection, which reveals how to be fully alive through authentic, vulnerable relationships. They own a company called Clearmind International Institute Inc., which offers therapeutic personal development workshops to the public as well as a counsellor training program that runs both locally and online. Together, they have helped thousands of people throughout North America and Europe correct the self-limiting beliefs and feelings that are at the root of our dilemmas.
Catherine is fascinated with the border between psychology and spirituality. A near-death experience in 1994 dramatically impacted her view of her own existence and fundamentally influenced her perspective on love, the human psyche, and relationships. The transformational loving force she powerfully experienced remains the foundation for all her work.
Catherine was recently awarded “Leader of the Year 2019” by the Women of Worth WOW Worldwide for her outstanding contribution as a role model for women in leadership. She practices what she preaches in all her relationships (including her marriage) and shares her struggles and wisdom with vulnerability, passion, and humour.
Reinvent your Life Through Resilience and Tenacity
"How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar"
~Trina Paulus
Cathy is dedicated to improving the lives of the women in her community. She transformed her career from being a lab technologist into a financial planner so she could focus her energy on helping others in a more direct manner. A meeting with Cathy will help you clarify your life goals and find the financial tools to get there, and her approach to financial planning is inspiring and refreshing. She focuses on your relationship with money and how you can shift your perspective and move toward your goals.
Cathy is proud of the successes her children have created in their own lives, and she loves spending time with them and her fur-kids. Cathy enjoys hanging out in nature and connecting with friends.
Stalked by Expectations – It’s Okay to Not be Okay
“Being a good person isn’t enough. We need to continually push ourselves past our personal limits in order to personally level up and also gift the world with the best version of ourselves. The chance of any of us being alive is 1 in 400 Trillion. We were born to share our destinies.”
~Corisa Bell
Facebook: Corisa Bell
Twitter: @corisabell
Instagram: @corisabell
LinkedIn: Corisa Bell
Email: corisabell@gmail.com
Corisa Bell is kind and passionate about everything she undertakes. She loves helping others and is dedicated to improving quality of life for all of us. After partnering in a successful e-commerce software development company, she served two terms in local government and sat twice as president of the Lower Mainland Local Government Association. Now retired from political life, she enjoys public speaking, consultant work, and serving as a director the local Chamber of Commerce. Whether working with clients to find resolutions to the challenges and delays they're experiencing at City Hall, helping businesses advocate to other levels of government as a lobbyist, or helping citizens navigate a bylaw complaint, she cherishes being a part of open dialogue.
Corisa loves the two beautiful souls she proudly calls her daughters, Rhyly and Kaylyn. Kaylyn has her own baking company called Kay’s Cakes, and Rhyly is currently studying English and Journalism. Corisa has raised her girls to think of community as their extended family, and she is in her happy place when with community.
How I Discovered Emotional Intelligence
“Emotional aptitude is a ‘meta-ability,’ determining how well we can use whatever other skills we have,
including raw intellect.”
~Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence:
Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
DeeAnn Lensen is an award-winning, European-trained Advanced Aesthetic Educator, Spa Consultant, Certified Life Coach, NLP Practitioner, keynote speaker and best-selling author. She is the President and CEO of Touché Esthetiqué and also owns Advanced Spa Technologies, a five-star spa consulting company in Canada.
A pioneer in pairing empowerment with spa treatments, and frustrated by the onslaught of fear-based marketing targeted at women, DeeAnn dissected the cosmetic industry with its own fine-tooth comb and created Emotional Freedom Technique tapping exercises for women to use while applying skincare. She also offers many public programs, including the “Empowered Inside Out Support System: Emotional Intelligence and Life Coaching,”
As a successful spa consult, DeeAnn has advised spa properties across North America. She is deeply respected for her ability to support spa businesses through multi-faceted education, creative marketing, staff empowerment and coaching management, as well speaking at Empowered Inside Out Seminars for the clients of the spas she supports.
When a Piece of Your Heart Dies
"Grief will not define me, I will harness its power to drive me forward"
~Ellen Walker Matthews
Ellen Walker-Matthews resides in the heart of the Okanagan Valley in Summerland, BC, having moved there from Calgary in 1992.
Leaving a senior position with Delta Hotels, Ellen initially chose to continue to work in hotels in a less demanding role so she could focus on quality of life and raising her young son, Chris. A few years later she married Tom, father to Krista and Stephen, and together they raised their blended family.
Tourism and hospitality have long been her passion, and for the past ten years Ellen has worked with Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association. Her current role is that of Vice President of Destination and Industry Development, with a focus on working with regional partners to ensure that tourism employs tactics to grow in a sustainable and responsible way.
After losing her son to terminal cancer, she fought to move forward and try to make sense of this profound personal loss. Finding inner strength in the solitude of walking and ultimately making that simple activity into a legacy project, Ellen has seen her grief turn into positive action. She hopes her story will encourage others to appreciate the importance of taking small steps in rebuilding their life and to know that the future can once again hold meaning.
Mental Health IS Health
“If we give up falling, we give up trying. In every life we will fall at some point… but it is through the act of getting up and going on that we develop resiliency and find our true strength.”
~Alyson Jones/Jacqueline Fowler
Youtube: Master Your Mental Health
Jacqueline Fowler, BSN, MD has spent more than thirty years working in the healthcare field, first as a nurse and then as a doctor. She has taken a special interest in assisting those with mental illness and their support systems. She strives to share her expertise and enjoys contributing to a deeper understanding of health, mental health, and resiliency.
Jacqueline is also the mother of two young adults, and she gives special thanks to her daughter Holly Thomson for her bravery in contributing to this chapter through her journal entry and her permission in sharing part of her story.
A State of Mind
“Life is a storm my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst for I shall do mine!”
~Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Montecristo
Jennifer Morgan currently resides in New Westminster, BC, Canada and is serving in her sixteenth year with the Royal Canadian Navy. She has lived and worked on both Naval Coasts, and has also instructed at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint Jean Sur Richelieu, QC. She is a strong advocate against bullying, violence against women, and discrimination, and is determined to maintain her strong values and morals, regardless of the backlash from those who do not share the same.
As someone who is unafraid of asking questions or getting the wrong answer, Jennifer is invested in and speaks out for women’s rights and gender equality. She is the current Vice-President of Soroptimist International of the Surrey/Delta and is excited to be working with such strong, like-minded women with the goal of improving the lives of young girls and women at home and around the world. Jennifer is completing her final year of a criminal justice degree from Athabasca University and hopes to move onto a Master’s program at the University of British Columbia. She has found a home in the Greater Vancouver area and humbly values her partner as well as her family of choice above all else.
Determination Wins
“There is no chance, no destiny and no fate…
That can circumvent, hinder or control…
The firm resolve of a determined soul”
(author unknown)
Instagram: @katthegrape
Twitter: @katthegrape
Facebook: Katherine McEachnie
LinkedIn: Katherine McEachnie
Email: katherinethegrape@gmail.com
Katherine McEachnie is an energetic self-starter who has always remained positive, nurturing, determined, and kind through all the obstacles in her life. She has served on many leadership committees and advisory councils for different charities, and over the last fifteen years she and her husband Bill have helped raise millions of dollars for organizations involved in diabetes research, cancer research, children with disabilities, hospital programs, animal rescue, women’s resource centres, and more.
Katherine is a Master in Champagne, a French Wine Scholar, a Certified Specialist of Wine, a Viticulture technician, and a Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Diploma graduate. She owns Winston Estate Vineyard on the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan, British Columbia, which was voted the best wine region in the world in 2019. For the last ten years, she has served as a champagne specialist judge with the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London, UK. She also judges wine for the Okanagan Wine Festival “Best of Varietal” Competition. She is a wine consultant, wine educator, wine writer, and proud ambassador for BC wine. She is also a Canadian leader with Rodan + Fields, proudly representing the top skin care brand in North America.
The Inner Voice
“I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am.”
~Albert Einstein
Katherine is a highly skilled life coach with over twenty-five years of experience. She is trained in several modalities, including as a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), Public Speaking, Workshop Leader, and Reiki Master. Her clients see improvements in their level of self-trust, self-worth, confidence and health, leading to greater mental and emotional clarity. This allows them to make stronger decisions in all areas of life while experiencing deeper connections with family, friends, and business associates.
Highly intuitive, a strong active listener, and a direct communicator with a great sense of humour, Katherine is extremely skilled at creating and holding a safe space for her clients. Katherine uses her skills to listen, inform, and challenge her clients to be bold and to act, moving their own dreams forward. She truly celebrates the human spirit and the strength and courage that exists within all of us to be curious and discover oneself at a deeper, more authentic level.
The Importance of Support
“Having waited my entire life to get an award for something, I now get awards all the time for being mentally ill… I’m apparently very good at it.”
~Carrie Fisher
Facebook: Kathy Herriot
Email: herriotk@telus.net
Kathy lives with her husband in Langley, BC. She has a mantra to enjoy life to its fullest and does not let anything stop her, taking the ups and downs and using them as learning experiences while always remembering, “You have been through this before, and you will get through it this time.”
One of the things Kathy loves most is animals. Currently she has three furry friends – two cats and one dog. She has trained dogs for a variety of sports, and it brings her great joy to see her rescue dog blossom despite her previous life. She volunteers for the Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) and will do anything to help an animal.
Kathy is an avid gardener, spending hours in her yard, and she loves the feeling of serenity she finds in sitting on her deck and enjoying her efforts. She goes home to Saskatchewan each summer – she avoids winter trips for obvious reasons – in order to visit her brother and her ninety-four-year-old mother, who always tells Kathy she is proud of her. She is Kathy’s best friend and is always there to listen and be supportive.
The Heart Science Solution
“The heart is wiser than the intellect.”
~Josiah Holland
Kim Mowatt is a neuroscience educated Registered Psychiatric Nurse, Certified Professional Counsellor and founder of Wise Women on Horseback. She has drawn on thirty-five years of experience to develop courses and write the innovative book The Wild Horse Within; Seven Essential Skills to Reset From Stress to Happiness. In her book series, Kim uses solution-focused, scientific, and evidence-based techniques to help clients achieve mental wellness and lasting happiness.
A Certified Riding Instructor and Ride Communications Coordinator, Kim raised her family with her husband at Chrome Heart Ranch, their therapeutic riding retreat on Abel Lake in 100 Mile House, British Columbia. Here, Kim also developed the Wise Girls equestrian program in response to the mental health needs of youth. Clients visiting this lakefront sanctuary learn how to reset their hearts and minds to help them navigate through anxiety, depression, loss, and change to find calm and inner peace.
A longstanding member of the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of B.C., Kim is registered with the British Columbia College of Nursing Professionals, specializing in stress, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Verified by Psychology Today, Kim was acclaimed by the 100 Mile Mental Health and Substance Use Clinic for her development of client programs combining Heart Science Biofeedback, Neuroscience, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
Finding a Spark in the Darkness
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”
~Brene Brown
Facebook: Kristy Henkes-Joe
Twitter: @KristyHenkesJoe
Instagram: kristy_henkesjoe
Email: kristyannjoe@hotmail.com
Kristy is a strong, passionate, independent woman from the Dakelh (Carrier) Tribe from the Central Interior of British Columbia. Kristy spent her childhood years in the Tl’azt’en and Nak’azdli Nation with a large family that immersed itself in the harvesting and cultural activities within the family’s Keyoh (territory). Today she calls Merritt, BC home and is married to her husband Lennard Joe, who is from the Shackan Band within the Nlaka’pamux Nation, and together they have raised five children.
Kristy’s healing journey has given her the strength and perspective to live life in a good way and to fulfill her purpose, which is to lead others to reach their full potential so they will find peace, love and happiness within. She has played an integral part in the healing journey of many Indigenous youth, elders, women, men, and organizations throughout British Columbia. Her innovative and dynamic attitude, along with her strong administrative background, has allowed her to excel as an orchestrator and implementor of many programs to create stronger, healthier, and safer communities. She is recognized and acknowledged by many chiefs and leaders throughout the province for her tireless commitment to creating a healthier and happier nation.
Self-Empowerment Through Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.”
~Louise Hay
LinkedIn: Lilly A. Gwilliam
Facebook: Lilly Ann Gwilliam
Instagram: @lillygwilliam
Email: lilly@lillygwilliam.com
Lilly A. Gwilliam has held a variety of positions over the course of her life, including working as a medical legal consultant, a dean of allied health and accreditation officer, a nursing coordinator, a practitioner teacher, and a psychiatric nurse. She is the author of the memoir Generations of Motherhood: A Changing Story and has published several articles and presented seminars on the topics of nursing and law. She also presented a paper on rape to the Fiji Law Society and was able to help change the laws around rape for women in Fiji.
Lilly has been inducted into the nursing honour society Sigma Theta Tau. She was nominated as one of the "Outstanding Young Women in 1979" and is a member of "Who's Who in American Nursing." She was also inducted into the 2014 Massapequa High School Hall of Fame in recognition of her commitment to excellence as she honours her responsibilities to her family and community.
Lilly currently lives in Alamo, California, with her husband Gary. They have five children and eight grandchildren between them, and they enjoy spending time with their families and travelling the world.
Broken and Alone – the Silence of Abuse
“Change your life, change the world.TM”
~Trademark is owned by Evolv Health, LLC used with permission
Instagram: @sammyvan89
Facebook: HempoilHappyhormonesHealthygut
Facebook: Samvanborn.myevolv
Email: sammyvan89@gmail.com
Sam van Born was born and raised in North Vancouver, BC. where she resides with her 10-year-old daughter. Her real name is Synamon, pronounced Cinnamon, but she was nicknamed Sam in grade five and still goes by it to this day. She graduated from high school not knowing exactly what she wanted to do in life, until she had a conversation with her friend's dad who was a captain in the fire service. Inspired to find out more about this amazing career, she soon moved out to Lions Bay to join the volunteer fire department. A year later she got into a firefighting school in Alberta, and eleven weeks after that she was certified. She was then hired by the North Vancouver City Fire Department, and now, nineteen years later, she has worked her way through the ranks to become a full-time captain.
Sam is also actively promoting health and wellness through her home-based business with Evolv Health. She promotes whole food plant-based nutritional products that focus on helping people heal their gut, lower inflammation, and support their hormones, along with an award winning Hemp/CBD Oil. Aloe Vera is the core ingredient in all of the products, and it serves to help the body heal itself. When the immune system is supported, the body is capable of doing amazing things.
Unapologetically YOU
“What you seek is seeking you.”
~Rumi
Email: terriea.harris@gmail.com
Facebook: Terriea Harris
Terriea is a sassy, soulful, witty, fiercely loving, and tender woman. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Terriea Harris descends from some powerful ancestors of mixed heritage, including Dakota, Aborigine, and Columbian. She values authenticity and providing safe spaces for full self-expression – values that she believes were born from her childhood experiences of abandonment and trauma and the guilt and shame placed on her by society. She loves to dance, write, sing, travel, and engage in different spiritual practices, and she is working towards becoming part of a burlesque dance group!
As a healer and transpersonal counsellor, Terriea has had the honour of learning from healers and medicine people from different cultures. She is gifted with being able to hold safe, sacred spaces where people can fully express themselves. Her intuitive ability to channel universal energies to support others in identifying what is blocking them from self-love and self-actualization is one of her greatest talents. Over the years, she has worked with women and girls who have also experienced violence, trauma, and abuse, including in various roles with the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.
It is Terriea’s intention and passion to create spaces where people can unapologetically explore their beliefs and any shame or guilt around sexuality and relationships.