Like many of you, I’ve come across challenges in life. But having come out on the other side, I also know that these challenges can truly be overcome.

When I was thirty years old, I had just lost my mother to cancer. She joined my father who had passed years before. I was depressed and honestly felt like it was the end of the world. I started gaining weight, eating from my emotions to fill my sadness. My health spiraled downward.

One day, I saw a photo and I couldn’t even recognize myself. I’d always been tall and thin but I’d gained nearly 70 pounds. I knew something had to change. I had to change.

I’d been steeped in traditional Western medicine, as most people in our culture are, but I began devouring books on natural ways to heal, on food as medicine, and herbal remedies. I committed myself to plant-based eating and started to lose weight — and after a few road bumps, I started to feel better. If only I’d known then what I know now, I wonder if I could have helped my mother with healthy lifestyle practices.

It was around then that I committed to using my newfound knowledge to help others change their lives by transforming their relationship with their health. Global Healing was born.