Live, Love, Thrive Inspiring Stories to Empower Women By Catherine Gray Copyright © 2016 Catherine Gray All rights reserved. ISBN:13-978-1539375739 ISBN;10-1539375730 DEDICATION LIVE LOVE THRIVE was inspired by my dear friend Barbara Lentini, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2012. After recovering from surgery, Barbara had a great desire to help others by forming healing groups for cancer patients, caregivers, and cancer survivors. She and a few close friends; Annmarie, Linda, Barbara, Ann, Sue and Chrissy- then launched a grassroots group in New York to give people tools to reduce stress and improve the quality of their lives in order to help them heal and thrive from within. Unlike other groups- their approach was one of positivity and hope. They called this group- Live Love Thrive. Today, Barbara continues to live, love, and thrive in her personal life and continues to inspire me, and others, with her own miraculous journey. She is truly a woman who exudes 360 Karma. I am proud to call her my friend and dedicate this book to her, and to all the bold women of our 360 Karma community. Also many thanks to those that help made this book come to fruition. It would not be possible without your help, expertise and belief in this mission- Jennifer Howd, Valerie Madden, Karen Reed, Suzanne Hebert, and my amazing partner Debra Smalley. And tremendous thanks to all the women featured in this book who have been so bold to share their personal stories of fear and triumph that inspire us all. I am grateful to know all of you! You are making a difference to move us forward on the road to empowerment! CATHERINE GRAY IT’S TIME TO EMPOWER WOMEN! “When an Idea Reaches Critical Mass There is No Stopping the Shift Its Presence Will Induce.” – Marianne Williamson iv LIVE, LOVE, THRIVE CONTENTS Dedication iv 1 Introduction- Inspiring Women to Live Love and Thrive 1 2 Holistic Healing to Overcome Multiple Sclerosis- Author Ann 3 Boroch 3 Rebounding from Domestic Violence- Face Forward Founder 19 Deborah Alessi 4 Victory over Racism and Foster Abuse- Entrepreneur/ Inventor 31 Chris Baldwin 5 Conquering Becoming A Woman Born in a Male Body- Corporate 45 Executive Jessica Bair- 5 On Starting Over to Launch Mid Life Music Career- Business Owner 59 Karen Reed- 6 Defeating Gay Prejudices to Create Change- Activist and Advocate 79 Heidi Shink- 7 Prevailing to Make a Difference -Professional Volunteer Annette 99 Shapiro 8 Perseverance Pays Off- Music Artist Pamala Stanley- 109 9 Surviving and Thriving with Cancer- Speaker Author Beverlye 121 Hyman Fead 10 Trailblazing ‘Unisex Style- Fashion Innovator Nik Kacy 133 11 Breaking through in Hollywood as a Woman- Movie Producer 147 Bonnie Bruckheimer 161 12 Closing Thoughts v 1 INTRODUCTION- INSPIRING WOMEN TO LIVE LOVE AND THRIVE What does it take to overcome hardship, inspire, and thrive amidst the difficulties life can throw your way? Why might some women succumb to depression or fall into some deep dark spiritual malady and others find a way to overcome obstacles that are unforeseen? Many women seem to flourish amidst adversity. What does that look like? How does that energy to overcome take hold? After considering the many stories women have shared with me through my travels, I thought the gathering of women’s experiences from those who have overcome significant life challenges, would be a terrific opportunity to show the light of strength engendered by other women. Rumi said, “Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon; how much it can fill your room depends on its windows.” So, consider this a journey of knocking down walls, clearing out closets and letting the light in of others experiences. You are looking through a window into the lives of women who have been willing to share their experience, strength and hope - - with the opportunity to broaden our perspectives on issues that are close to us. Each story shared is inspiring, insightful, and an opportunity to shed light on the potential of every woman’s journey. What is amazing about the women in this book is that there is no one-way. There are multiple ways to cope, multiple ways to interpret life experiences, and by gathering them in one place, it provides a broader perspective. Sharing and reading these insights expands our own experience through what has been possible for another woman. 1 CATHERINE GRAY There is the experience, based in facts, but then there is the perception of that experience, which many times we respond in a way that is most familiar to us. The amazing thing about women, is we are communal, despite our occasional wish to isolate, we like to share our experiences, we also like to flush things out together in an effort to improve ourselves going forward. There is nothing more powerful than women helping women. Not a single thing. The gratitude I have for what these strong women were willing to share with me, will forever stay with me and reside as a part of my being. 2 2 HOLISTIC HEALING TO OVERCOME MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS Holistic Healing to Overcome Multiple Sclerosis Ann Boroch Author/Nutritionist After curing herself of Multiple Sclerosis, Ann Boroch became a C.N.C, naturopath, author, and inspirational speaker. She has been in private practice for over 17 years, helping thousands of people recapture their health and vibrancy, and she is the author of The Candida Cure: The 90-Day Program to Beat Candida and Restore Vibrant Health, as well as the award- winning, Healing Multiple Sclerosis, and the soon-to-be-released, The Candida Cure Cookbook. Ann is passionate about helping people realize the body has an innate intelligence that allows itself to heal. For more information, visit http://annboroch.com. Live Love Thrive is about women overcoming challenges and being triumphant. Your biggest challenges have been health related. Tell me about those. 3 CATHERINE GRAY As a child, I was a sugar addict. I literally rotted out every one of my teeth by the time I was fifteen. My immune system was ravaged from all the sugar I ate, and I was constantly taking antibiotics because I was always sick. My first serious health crises came at eighteen when I had Epstein-Barr, which led to mononucleosis. Normally, with mono, you sleep and it works itself out in a few months. But, after months of resting, I wasn’t getting any better. I’d seen about eight different specialists, tried more than twenty different medications—none of which helped—and then, on top of being sick, my body started becoming debilitated from all the drugs. Unexpectedly, my mom came across a medical intuitive, who said, “Your daughter has a condition called candida,” which is a yeast fungal overgrowth. We were like, “What’s that?” Literally a week later, Dr. William Crook’s book The Yeast Connection fell into my lap. It had a questionnaire in it that I took that listed every symptom I’d been experiencing. I immediately started crying, feeling relieved that I had an answer. It totally confirmed what the intuitive had said. Then, once we’d figured out what was going on, I started following an anti-candida diet, which meant no sugar, alcohol, dairy, gluten, or corn. I also took an antifungal medication, Nilstat. And, after about a year of following that protocol, I finally got better. Does everyone who eats a lot of sugar end up getting candida from it, or does it depend on your body type? What are the variables? Well, first of all, everybody has candida (yeast) in the body. It mainly lives in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but it’s everywhere. Men, women, children—we all have it. We’re born with it, and the good bacteria in our system normally keeps it in check. 4 LIVE, LOVE, THRIVE Unfortunately, there are things that can throw our systems out of balance, like antibiotics, steroids, birth control pills, hormone replacements, chemo, radiation, heavy metals, etcetera. And, when you ingest sugar on top of these things—and that doesn’t just include white sugar, but anything that turns into sugar rapidly, such as alcohol, cheese, breads, etcetera—you continually feed yeast. Eventually, single-celled yeast can turn into a fungus. Candida overgrowth is a silent epidemic. It started off that maybe one out of three people who came to see me had yeast overgrowth. Today, everybody who comes into my office has it; it’s just a matter of whether it’s mild, moderate, or severe. Severe would be in the form of autoimmune disease or cancer. Unfortunately, there still isn’t an accurate test to diagnose it. What has changed since when you started? Good question. I’d say we have way more environmental toxicity, largely due to the genetically modified foods we’re eating. These foods disrupt the intestinal lining and cause leaky gut along with fungal overgrowth, which both weaken the immune system. For some, chemicals and mycotoxins (fungal byproducts) cross the blood–brain barrier and lead to MS, mental illness, or Parkinson’s. For others, these toxins cause eczema, allergies, or arthritis—you name it. And it’s not only genetically modified food organisms that have this effect. Gluten does, too. Gluten is a combination of proteins that’s found in wheat, barley, and rye. It’s put in everything these days: foods, cosmetics, body care products. It’s everywhere, and it’s compromising our immune systems. Gluten didn’t used to be in everything, but now it is? Yes, it’s been hybridized. They changed the potency of the proteins, and it’s become more irritating to the GI tract.