My Human Story

I’m Adrienne. My most important role is as a mother. My oldest son, Junie, has significant special needs. He’s nonverbal, wears hearing aids, and has been diagnosed with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and Global Developmental Delay. Junie is now 9, and although there are still significant challenges — he is a reminder of unconditional love, purity, and the inherent worth of every human being. I have two other children, a vibrant and dynamic 4-year-old daughter and a spunky and sensitive 3-year-old son.

Growing up, I was the “too sensitive” girl who felt deeply and saw/felt things others didn’t seem to. Despite having parents who were both PhDs and mental health professionals, there wasn’t much support or understanding for neurodivergent girls like me at the time. I was diagnosed with ADHD, put on meds, and spent many years feeling misunderstood. I experienced bullying, exclusion, and self-harm, and put myself into dangerous situations. These experiences are why I’m passionate about working with struggling teens today—I want to be the person I needed back then.

My twenties were marked by grief when my deeply loved father was diagnosed with cancer and passed away two years later, followed by the loss of my younger brother to suicide. These devastating losses left me shattered, questioning the meaning of life, and plunged me into a profound period of grief.

Now, I feel “relatively healed” through a combination of life experience, education, and personal growth. Physical health has been crucial— sleep, nutrition, exercise, gratitude, nature, and practicing somatic techniques like simply learning to breathe/breathwork have all been game changers. I’ve learned the importance of authentic connections of people who make you feel seen, pursuing mastery and personal growth, and prioritizing self-regulation and nervous system health.

I’ve done some pretty cool things in my life, including competitively and professionally downhill skiing, waterskiing, and coaching both sports. I’ve pushed my body and mind to the limit and learned how impactful mindset is in performance — which applies to many aspects of life.

I’ve worked in our family’s mental health treatment center as the Director of Operations (and psychometrician before that) for about 10 years, and gotten the opportunity to work with hundreds of incredible Veterans and First Responders with PTSD and watch many of them shed their diagnoses and reclaim their lives after becoming empowered with the skills and tools we teach in our program.

Last year, I was invited to testify in Ottawa, in the House of Commons in front of a panel of politicians, after making some noise about the treatment of women Veterans. It was terrifying and empowering — I learned I can do hard things and exposure therapy is real.

We recently bought a 39’ motor yacht named Freedom (hello dream life it’s finally here), and had the best summer ever, cruising Okanagan Lake and hitting our favourite kid-friendly wineries. Life is good, and I am so grateful. I lead with being human because not one of us is perfect, with me as no exception. We do the best we can with the given capacity, resources, and ability we have at that moment, and when we know better, we try our best to do better. We’re all learning to be human.

I’m passionate about sharing what I’ve learned because I deeply needed someone to guide me through my dark times, and I try to be that person today. I believe in the inherent goodness and worth of humans, and I love helping them connect with their inner resources. We live in a society that often feels unnatural and unhealthy, and I love finding innovative ways to create environments where we can all thrive.

Stay human.

Xo,

Adrienne