On the 15th episode of The Matters Of The Heart podcast, I have the honour of having the beautiful, goal getter and resilient Lanre Lasisi  in our midst. 

She's an entrepreneur and the founder of TLB (Totally Liberated), a non-profit organisation which she set up as a result of her own health journey. She holds two Bachelor’s degrees with honours – a degree in English from Lagos State University (1988) and a Business Degree at the University of Luton now University of Bedfordshire UK (1998).  She's a breast cancer survivor, she also coaches and raises awareness on grief and trauma.  Her journey and survival centres on her faith in God.

Lanre is a mother and single parent to three awesome daughters aged 30,  27 and 21years old. Her passion is to continue to raise awareness on both breast and prostate cancer, and to let the African society know that with the right treatment and support they can survive cancer. She loves sharing her journey at any given opportunity with others to build a community of ‘Totally Liberated’ minds.

We covered areas like:  

- 2:10 Introduction

-  4:16  What growing up was like. She shared that her late Dad was a teacher who believed that a the first born a lot of responsibilities rested on her shoulders. Though he was a disciplined person he thought her how to cook and be prudent with money even at a very tender age. She also had a cordial relationship with her Mum and siblings.  

- 10:25 She also took us through her marriage journey of 23 years. After having a close nit registry ceremony in the UK which she said she was very present in and enjoyed every moment of,  her parents wanted her to have the traditional ceremony in Nigeria which they obliged. She shared that she was there but not present because the parents had it specifically for themselves and so took the credit for it.

She also shared her not so smooth pregnancy journeys with us with the miracle of her first 2 daughters being sickle cell carriers (AS genotype) just as their both parents. The most amazing miracle is the fact that her last daughter has an (AA genotype) which is beyond a miracle. 

She also shared that the 3rd party involvement in her marriage played role in the breakdown of her marriage as well as communication issues. 

She shared her ugly story of sacrificing her career for her partner to get established in his career which he turned round to hunt her with with comments like her brain is no longer up to his standard. This obviously dealt a blow on her self esteem over the years.

- 25:30 How life has been as a divorced person. She stressed that this has made her more determined and intentional about life. She has been able to pick herself back up and not wallow in self pity. She's giving back to the society, impacting lives and adding value.

- 28:15 How the situation has affected her daughters. She shared that it has caused them a lot of trauma and grieve over the years which they're still dealing with and having therapy for.  She shared what it was like to have a tremendous support system from her daughters, church family, family members and friends who rose up to support her through her treatment process which helped quicken her recovery process as well. This she said was priceless knowing that she wasn't alone.

- 32:46 Her advice for women in toxic relationships. 

You can connect with me on Olanrewaju Temitayo Lasisi:

Instagram - @lanre.bl7

Facebook -  Lanre Temitayo Lasisi

Tiktok - Lanre Lasisi278

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