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Andrea McKenna Brankin's remarkable journey from a suicide attempt to becoming a powerful mental health advocate offers hope to anyone struggling with mental illness. Following her bipolar disorder diagnosis in her early thirties, Andrea chose a path of resilience rather than victimhood, transforming her eight-year recovery process into a roadmap for others.
The moment of diagnosis proved surprisingly liberating for Andrea. After years of extreme mood swings, reckless behavior, and deep depressions, she finally had an explanation for her experiences. "It was an absolute relief," she shares, "because I realized there's hope for change, treatment, normalcy, happiness, and joy." This perspective shift—viewing her diagnosis as the beginning of recovery rather than the end of normalcy—became the foundation for her healing journey.
As a seasoned journalist who worked across Boston, New York, London, and now Singapore, Andrea applied her professional drive to her mental health recovery. Her book "Bipolar Phoenix" outlines ten essential strategies that rebuilt her life, including establishing a treatment plan with medication as her cornerstone, finding supportive communities (her "rugby family"), seeking professional help, maintaining accountability through volunteering, practicing meditation as a yoga teacher, and learning self-love through daily practices.
Beyond her personal journey, Andrea addresses the cultural dimensions of mental health stigma through her volunteer work with Writing Through in Singapore and Vietnam and at Day Spring Treatment Center for traumatized teen girls. She speaks candidly about once-taboo topics like suicidal ideation, describing it not as a character flaw but as a symptom of illness that can be overcome with proper treatment. "I never thought I'd make it to 50," she reveals, explaining why each birthday now represents a tremendous victory over her former reality of constant suicidal thoughts.
Discover how acceptance becomes the first step toward healing in Andrea's powerful story of transformation from patient to advocate.
Reach out...
Website: https://www.bipolarphoenix.com/
Email: [email protected]
Suicide Crisis Helpline (Canada & US) 988
Join the Movement - Women Like Me Community
Who Is Julie Fairhurst?
Speaker • Author • Business Strategist • Founder of Women Like Me
Julie Fairhurst is a force of nature disguised as a woman with a pen and a business brain built for impact. As the founder of the Women Like Me Book Program, she has opened the door for women around the world to share their truth, heal their past, and rise into their power. Since 2019, she has published more than 30 books and over 350 true-life stories — without charging a single writer a dime! Why? Because women’s stories deserve daylight, not gatekeeping.
With 34 years in sales, marketing, and successful business leadership, Julie knows how to turn storytelling into influence and influence into income.
Her mission is clear and unapologetic: break generational trauma one story at a time and help women elevate both emotionally and financially. She doesn’t just publish books, she builds brands, confidence, and possibility, giving women the tools to rewrite their futures, grow their businesses, and lift their families with them.
Julie's Website
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By Julie FairhurstSend us a text
Andrea McKenna Brankin's remarkable journey from a suicide attempt to becoming a powerful mental health advocate offers hope to anyone struggling with mental illness. Following her bipolar disorder diagnosis in her early thirties, Andrea chose a path of resilience rather than victimhood, transforming her eight-year recovery process into a roadmap for others.
The moment of diagnosis proved surprisingly liberating for Andrea. After years of extreme mood swings, reckless behavior, and deep depressions, she finally had an explanation for her experiences. "It was an absolute relief," she shares, "because I realized there's hope for change, treatment, normalcy, happiness, and joy." This perspective shift—viewing her diagnosis as the beginning of recovery rather than the end of normalcy—became the foundation for her healing journey.
As a seasoned journalist who worked across Boston, New York, London, and now Singapore, Andrea applied her professional drive to her mental health recovery. Her book "Bipolar Phoenix" outlines ten essential strategies that rebuilt her life, including establishing a treatment plan with medication as her cornerstone, finding supportive communities (her "rugby family"), seeking professional help, maintaining accountability through volunteering, practicing meditation as a yoga teacher, and learning self-love through daily practices.
Beyond her personal journey, Andrea addresses the cultural dimensions of mental health stigma through her volunteer work with Writing Through in Singapore and Vietnam and at Day Spring Treatment Center for traumatized teen girls. She speaks candidly about once-taboo topics like suicidal ideation, describing it not as a character flaw but as a symptom of illness that can be overcome with proper treatment. "I never thought I'd make it to 50," she reveals, explaining why each birthday now represents a tremendous victory over her former reality of constant suicidal thoughts.
Discover how acceptance becomes the first step toward healing in Andrea's powerful story of transformation from patient to advocate.
Reach out...
Website: https://www.bipolarphoenix.com/
Email: [email protected]
Suicide Crisis Helpline (Canada & US) 988
Join the Movement - Women Like Me Community
Who Is Julie Fairhurst?
Speaker • Author • Business Strategist • Founder of Women Like Me
Julie Fairhurst is a force of nature disguised as a woman with a pen and a business brain built for impact. As the founder of the Women Like Me Book Program, she has opened the door for women around the world to share their truth, heal their past, and rise into their power. Since 2019, she has published more than 30 books and over 350 true-life stories — without charging a single writer a dime! Why? Because women’s stories deserve daylight, not gatekeeping.
With 34 years in sales, marketing, and successful business leadership, Julie knows how to turn storytelling into influence and influence into income.
Her mission is clear and unapologetic: break generational trauma one story at a time and help women elevate both emotionally and financially. She doesn’t just publish books, she builds brands, confidence, and possibility, giving women the tools to rewrite their futures, grow their businesses, and lift their families with them.
Julie's Website