18 Mar Creating a Sisterhood
Lisa and I have always been there for each other. We support and encourage each other’s successes, pick each other up when we fall and send one another texts comprised entirely of strings of emojis that somehow capture exactly what we’re trying to say. Lisa’s who I call when I’m not sure of the answer to the million dollar question, or when I’m just out of dinner ideas.
26 Jun Living the Music: How Songs Become the Soundtrack of Our Lives
Do you remember your real first concert? Possibly the one you had to go to accompanied by an adult. Mine was Elton John and my friend and I got to go with her adult cousin, which was super cool at the time.Do you remember your first unaccompanied concert? The time you got dropped off at the Forum or went with an older friend who was able to drive? It’s crystal clear I’m sure.
The Tragically Hip was becoming my new bible and I got to go. We sat last row and it was the best night ever (more about the Hip later).
13 Jun Measuring Time in Love and Friendship
Looking back at 2007, I remember a year fraught with physical and emotional pain. My agenda was replete with doctors’ appointments and visits to acupuncturists and nutritionists. I spent most days immobilized on my sofa, willing the excruciating burning in my gut to subside. On other days, I would be gripped by nausea so intense it would make me shake. My face was gaunt, my belly concave, and I dropped fifteen pounds.
26 May Unconditional Love
I am a 38-year old woman, married with two beautiful daughters, and a house in the suburbs. I am certain that we share some common interests and hobbies. I might be your neighbour, best friend, acquaintance, relative, or a complete stranger. I am also a victim of domestic abuse.
11 May My Mother’s Day Self Reflection.
Since I was young, I fantasized about what it would mean to be a mom. Not just any mom, but an amazing mom. This dream was always so important to me and despite any detours my life has taken over the years- being a great mom was always at the top of my bucket list.
24 Oct EVERYONE DESERVES TO FEEL CONFIDENT IN THEIR OWN SKIN
Have you ever looked in the mirror and not recognized the person staring back at you (either from weight gain, loss or aging skin? You feel like it happened overnight and wonder why no one told you to “get your act together.” This was my...
10 May Dodging Bullets: On being your own advocate
I am a five time cancer survivor. I have been dodging bullets since 1999. I carry the BRCA1 "Anjelina Jolie” gene. I have had three ovarian cancers and two breast cancers. I attribute my survival to great medicine and doctors who listen, a loving and...
01 May WHY I SING, TALK AND WALK FOR MENTAL HEALTH
I lost my best friend to a mental illness. He was charismatic, bright, kind, adventurous, funny, so talented and loved by so so many. He suffered, he fought, and despite every effort and by no fault of his own, he didn't get the right support, combination of medical help and resources to help him win his battle.
26 Apr Igniting Possibilities on May 3rd
Igniting Possibilities : JOIN US ON MAY 3, 2017 for an evening of inspiring speakers highlighting the power and potential of women and what they bring to the world. This event will provide motivating insights into the world of the everyday woman, and how she can create positive...
24 Apr What I learned from my week on the psychiatry ward
In retrospect, of course, I should have seen it coming. I hadn’t been feeling well for months; my appetite and sleep on a steady decline. A persistent feeling of impending doom. Frequent outbursts of panic-fueled crying. The night of March 29th, lying in my bed, inconsolable, wanting to not be here anymore. Waking up the next morning feeling worse. I couldn’t bear to be on this planet for one more second feeling this way. Fantasizing about the narcotics in my night table drawer, left over from surgery. A Google search: how many would I need to just make it all stop?
09 Apr Montreal Women’s Empowerment Conference
Women's Growth & Wellness Conference On April 7th, 2017, get ready to feel inspired, empowered, and armed with the tools to rock your life. Combining their passion and dedication to empowering women, Erica Diamond (WomenOnTheFence.com), Lisa Brookman and Liz Wiener (WiseWomenCanada.com) are excited to announce the launch of OFF THE FENCE and WISE - Montreal's first Women’s Wellness and Growth Conference aimed at helping women renew, regenerate and evolve to become their best selves.
13 Mar Coming out of isolation – Raising a child with special needs
Looking back, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when THE moment was. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention and I missed it. Maybe it was gradual. Maybe it was slowly sneaking up on me without a warning, making its transition mimic any other regular day. But there wasn’t...
10 Feb You can’t live a positive life with a negative mind
Everybody wants to be happy; to have a life filled with love, health and good fortune. We all know that having a positive attitude feels better than a negative one. We know that positivity fuels success and makes life brighter.
10 Feb This is how to help a friend struggling with depression
Have you heard of Blue Monday? It’s a phenomenon coined by a Welsh university professor, Dr. Will Arnall, who came up with a mathematical formula, factoring in, among other things, weather, post-holiday debt, pressure to live up to New Year’s resolutions, feelings of demotivation and the fact that most people regard Monday as the most depressing day of the week - to prove that the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year.
10 Feb Something You Should Never Say
Last week, I went for a massage. I’d booked it in advance, at a spa I frequent often and with a male massage therapist I’ve seen many times over the years.
18 Jan Post Concussion Syndrome: The Invisible Injury
While there is more media attention and awareness about concussion, particularly in sport, there is little focus on the non athlete who becomes concussed. There is even less widespread knowledge about the 15% who experience post concussion syndrome, symptoms that persist beyond one year and that...
27 Dec Single All The Way! 5 Ways to Combat Holiday Blues
’Tis the season to love… yourself! The Holiday blues gets to the best of us. But I am here to remind you that there is no better time to indulge, both selflessly and selfishly, than during the Holidays. Singles can (and should!) revel in the fact...
24 Nov Stronger Together: Intimacy & Infertility
It’s a fight, a struggle and one that often leaves us feeling alone and desperate. When I first entered the world of infertility seven years ago, it seemed like a solvable puzzle. It was a problem that, if we followed the rules and were dedicated enough, could solve. But anyone who’s been on this journey knows that’s not always the case.
04 Nov Inspired
Last weekend, Lisa and I had the opportunity to speak at, and participate in, the Maddy K Inspires Retreat in St. Sauveur, Québec. As big believers in communication and authenticity, we were excited to let it all out; to share the stories of our pasts...
31 Oct THANKSGIVING 2006 AND THE FIRE DRILL I’LL NEVER FORGET
I was sitting at my desk staring at my phone as my colleagues started walking by my office doing as the voice on the PA system was instructing - heading toward the emergency exit and evacuating the building, when a friend of mine stopped and...
27 Oct Imagine
Imagine...
26 Oct Life Takes Guts
For many people living with Crohn’s disease, life can involve urgent trips to the bathroom as well as pain. For some, Crohn’s can even be deadly. Living with a chronic disease like this can be difficult and isolating. In severe cases, the disease can lead...
10 Oct Fit Vs. Fiction
“Alone I lived inside my head, never wanting to leave my bed On the outside so strong and tough, but inside never good enough I spent each moment wrapped in fear, afraid of looking in the mirror What power it had over me, it’s reflection was my enemy My bones were not distinct...
29 Sep Breast cancer from diagnosis and beyond
Breast cancer. We hear about it, see campaigns for awareness and prevention and know someone who knows someone who had it. We never think it can be our reality. As some of you read in a previous blog of mine back in May, I had done...
28 Sep An Interview With Michael Landsberg: #SickNotWeak
Michael Landsberg has been entertaining Canadian sports fans for over 18 years on TSN’s Off the Record. What his fans never knew, was that behind his no-holds-barred brash debating style, Michael was silently suffering with a long history of depression & anxiety. He started to...
27 Sep Toxic Friendships
Friendships...
27 Sep World Mental Health Day: #RaiseYourWiseHand
October 10th is World Mental Health Day-- an international day devoted to raising awareness and promoting education around mental illness. In solidarity with this very important day, we want to make our own contribution by launching an initiative--one that we hope will make a dent in the...
26 Sep Take it to the mat – The Great Yoga & Wellness Revolution
I am thankful. Yes, thankful. In retrospect, not just about the everyday things for which we are conditioned to be thankful; but for something perhaps a little less obvious, yet certainly no less essential to living a fuller and more invigorating life. Of course, a day does...
18 Sep Back to school blessings
Now that the new school year is upon us, my Facebook newsfeed is full of first day of school pictures. Many of them are with adorable kids holding signs that let us know what grade they are going into or what they want to be...