Like most children who grew up in the Midwest on a subsistence farm, Caroline Allen was taught to be kind to animals and love them on the one hand, and to butcher them for food on the other hand. Hunting and fishing were all part of life on the farm and one Caroline prided herself in being very skilled at.

Caroline describes her upbringing as very loving, yet very poor… dirt poor.

Eager to leave the rural life behind, Caroline jumped at the chance to get a four year degree in journalism when she was awarded a scholarship.

University was light years from where her mother and father were with their education. Neither had graduated high school opting to get their GED in their sixties and seventies.

Knowing what it was like to be dirt poor, without an education, Caroline was determined to make something of herself. With a definition of success that included travel, money, a fast paced life and "being somebody" Caroline had no clue what was in store.

After obtaining her degree, she set off to see the world, using her writing skills as the ticket out of the rural life.

Her impressive resume includes being a newsroom journalist in Tokyo and London, travels to exotic places and living a bona-fide jet setting lifestyle.

After working as a journalist in Tokyo, after working in a newsroom during the death of Emperor Hirohito and the cultural sea change that wrought, Caroline spent a year traveling Southeast Asia — India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia.

Yet, life as she knew it came to a screeching halt at a point where most people would say she made it.

Feeling a strong call to give up the life she had grown accustomed to, Caroline knew there was a bigger purpose to her life, but she had no idea what that was.

Although she loved the crazy, jet-setting life that was world's away from her impoverished, rural Missouri upbringing, something was calling her. That something was art, book coaching and most importantly, a commitment to complete compassion to animals and the planet through a vegan lifestyle.

What followed were many years of self-exploration, Wretched, painful years of confusion, despair, and heart-break. Not sure if she was having a break-through or a break-down, everything that defined her was taken away.

Thus, began the journey of rebuilding her life from the ground up.

Today, as a novelist, visual artist and book coach, Caroline Allen lives by the core values of creativity, authenticity, purpose, and contribution.

Join in on our conversation where we dig deep into what veganism means to Caroline, how she was able to align her purpose by spending extended periods of time in nature, when the flood gates of her visual art work opened up, and the confusion she sees from people who continue to eat factory farmed animals.

A 100% committed vegan for eight years, Caroline sees her journey as one that allows her to raise awareness about sentient beings and our relationship to all living things.

Setting up her art studio in a yurt, filled with over 600 drawings, in a very private area in Oregon, Caroline spends her days painting, coaching clients and allowing life to unfold in a most natural way.

One of her greatest joys is spending time with animals at one of several sanctuaries, painting everything from horses, goals, pigs, and cows. A portion of proceeds from the sale of her artwork is donated back to the sanctuaries.

To see some of her artwork, visit https://www.carolineallen.com/vegan-art-sale or catch the YouTube video https://youtu.be/Txabn1XcH60