CAUTION: Episode contains strong language and adult content.

 A lifetime ago, fresh out of university and armed with my first degree, I worked with Carrie on whaddat.com. Whaddat was a web site dedicated to showcasing Jamaican popular culture that was the brainchild of our very connected friend, Rebecca.  For me, it was the perfect diversion from frequently unsuccessful searches for a 'real job' and was also the catalyst for my love of writing.  

Back then and to this day, Carrie remains an uninhibited, transparent free spirit who lives her life unashamedly. I think at her core, she's an artist but her creativity takes many forms. She is an amazing painter and when we were kids she aspired to be a rapper. Later on, when I moved on from Whaddat and we went our separate ways, the web site served to clear the path for her stint as an entertainment journalist on local cable television, a role I think she embraced with great relish. 

 On her run as an entertainment industry 'insider', doors opened for other opportunities including marketing and advertising consulting as well as event promotion which she did for quite some time. Unfortunately, the convergence of social and professional lives that were always in over drive, aided and abetted an addiction to drinking, one with which she struggled for years. 

Today, in this current season of her life, Carrie is a restaurateur who has chosen sobriety. She has made a conscious decision to work on improving her mental health in order to become the best version of herself for herself. When we sat down to talk about her career and life as a mother (she has three boys), she also shared that she was on the road to recovery after suffering a traumatic and violent experience at the hands of someone she trusted. In spite of the physical and emotional upheaval she has endured as a result of the aforementioned incident and numerous others, she remains optimistic. 

This conversation served to remind me, a former 'Judgmental Judy' and work in progress, to refrain from making assumptions or casting judgement because you never know what battles someone could be fighting.