I thought I’d share where my passion for supporting women and for writing all began…..
I grew up in rural Louisiana, in Belle Chasse, with fifty acres surrounding our home and no neighbors nearby. With no siblings or neighborhood children in the area–I turned to my imagination for fun.
I’d often lie outside on the grass and envision what the cloud shapes were. Then I’d either traipse around our backyard looking for cow bones or haul my library books up into my tree house. The magical words transported me like a nomad traveler to so many worlds. Sprawled out on the wooden planks in my tree house clutching another book, I felt my inner muse awakening.
In the third grade I began writing stories about my make-believe friends and their adventures on the backs of my Dad’s business accounting ledgers. I’d call my Aunt Myrtle who lived in New Orleans to read her my stories. I’m not sure if she really listened to them. Yet I remember when I finished she’d say, “Suzan, you have such a gift for writing. You must write some more.” So I did…
Not long afterward my Mom had a new baby and since she needed more time for my little sister, I spent after school hours at my grandparent’s home.
My Aunt Birdie Mae lived with my grandparents because she had polio and couldn’t walk. They hadn’t seen it as appropriate for her to go to school. She spent her adult life on the couch watching television and looking at pictures in magazines.
One day I turned Birdie Mae’s television off, determined to teach her everything I had learned in school. At first she shouted and flailed her arms around whenever I walked in the door. Yet I’d just get right into the day’s lesson and talk over her until she quieted down and reached for her books (or rather my school books which I shared with her).
I’d say, “Aunt Birdie Mae, I know you can learn this. Come on. Don’t you want to read your magazines? Maybe you can even get a job. Wouldn’t you like that?”
When she tired of learning, I would read her my stories.
Years later Birdie Mae had learned to read and master basic math. My Dad hired her to help him with a stock market game he invented. I’ll never forget how her face lit up when she told me ,“Suzan, you’ve opened up a whole new world for me” with a smile that reached across her face.
Her life still held the struggle of maneuvering around on crutches; yet she had a new slice of life she could call her own.
In the third grade Birdie Mae served as my first coaching client. In my coaching practice I’ve helped hundreds of women take charge of their lives and create astounding results through individual sessions and my group P.L.A.Y!Shops.
Guiding women through life transitions by empowering them to transform their relationships with themselves is my specialty. I coach women to adapt life balance, extreme self-care, and being positive as a way of life by making their health and well-being their first priority.
My joy for writing and my strong desire to make a difference in women’s lives are the basis for my new eBook ,Women at P.L.A.Y! Peace, Love, and Acceptance of Yourself after 40. My intention is for women over 40 to deepen their relationships by celebrating who they are and learning to put themselves FIRST. My vision is the rich personal stories, creative ideas, helpful resources, and revealing exercises will be a source of renewal and inspiration for you!
