Whispers & Bricks

Candace Mae is a coach, speaker, author, mother, and grandmother. She has faced many bricks in her life one of them being her family. At the age of 7 she learned her father was a member of the Klu Klux Klan. Her mother on the hand valued education and taught her to love all races and religions. It was hard for her to deal with. She faced other bricks including her daughter getting Menanghitis at 10 months. Her faith helped her through all the bricks that she faced. She reminds us to be true to ourselves and live your life with integrity.

Carolyn is a successful businesswoman, a best-selling author, pursuing a PhD, a wife, and a mother of three. Life was not always great for her she faced many bricks in her childhood and life as a young adult. Her mother suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness making Carolyn's childhood chaotic, They moved every year, her mother was a hoarder so it was messy and Carolyn never felt loved. She was sexually assaulted at a young age. At 16 she attempted suicide but she heard whispers that she was needed. At 17 she left home she took her 8 year old sister with her and took care of her. She had two jobs and was going to school. She would face more bricks as a young adult life. She now works to empower women to live the life they want. She reminds us that you can get through anything if you take life 5 minutes at a time

 in 2014, Joshua was a prominent magazine publisher, award-winning journalist, film festival founder, and politician in central Maine. He had a secret he was suffering from addiction to alcohol and porn. His job and family were suffering he finally admitted he had a problem and went to rehab. At the time he didn't realize he had an addiction to porn and how much it was affecting his life. He looked for literature on porn addiction and could not find a lot written on it and has written a few books about it, has a coaching business, and is a TED speaker. He reminds us that admitting you have a problem is the first step.

Dan Hedgerich has survived many bricks being diagnosed with multiple times, divorce, and thoughts of suicide and what helped him through was his mindset. Dan has a strong faith and also taught himself to change his behaviors that were not serving. He now has a coaching business to not only help people dealing with cancer but other diseases as well. He reminds us how important self-love is and being true to yourself.

Valerie is a very strong woman, wife, mother, and grandmother though she has been through many bricks she doesn't let anything hold her down. She doesn't let her bricks define her. She is a business owns a non-profit and helps people every day. She reminds us to take time to care for ourselves when we go through bricks but to keep going. Don't let anyone else define who you are.

Barbara Legeere faced one of the greatest tragedies any parent can go through the loss of a child. After a long of battle with drug addiction, he ended his life. After falling into the wrong crowd in high school who introduced him to drugs and then he was introduced to harder drugs like heroin. Barbara tried to help him as much as possible through many rehab programs but nothing helped. After he died she had to deal with her grief and the feeling that she could have done more but she did her best. She wrote a book to help other parents going through the same journey. Her story is unfortunately not unique but reminds us even though it never ends we can find purpose through grief and help others.

Jeanne-Mari Retief is very ambitious she is BA, MBA, Ph.D., a law degree, and a very prestigious career. At the age of 35 she felt depressed she realized her painful past was something she had to deal with. From the trauma, she suffered when her family moved to South Africa to being sexually assaulted by her grandfather at a young age she had to deal with her past to overcome it. From her experience, she built an organization for professional women going through the same thing Figgy. Through her podcast and community for women, she has created a place for women where they can talk and ask for help without judgment.

Deborah Driggs career was skyrocketing and she was featured in Playboy, she was in movies and television. All that success was masking her addiction to alcohol, addiction to fame, and trouble with relationships, which hid the trauma and neglect she experienced as a child. Growing up with a father that was addicted to alcohol and a mother that showed her little affection. She started drinking at a young age it wasn't until she hit rock bottom later in life when she lost her money, her children were living with their father, and was in and out of institutions that she knew she needed help. She now helps others suffering from addiction to seek the help they need. No one should feel ashamed about asking for help. Her story reminds us that we must deal with our pain and trauma in order to lead truly happy and healthy lives.

Julie Cober had a successful career in HR but in 2019 she started to feel a shift in the industry more layoffs and more harassment issues. What she had always loved about her job helping other people have a job that they enjoyed she no longer had the time to do. She wanted to make a change. She thought about what she really liked about her job which was mentoring people. She decided to take a leap and start her own coaching business. While rocky at first due to covid. She now has a thriving coaching business mentoring women. She has found a second career she loves. Her story reminds us we are not meant to have a job that we merely tolerate but we are meant to thrive.

Anthony Pierre's life was going well he had a successful real estate business, a beautiful wife and child, and life was good. His business was expanding when he was hit with a brick divorce and then the recession hit and his business started struggling. In the midst of all this, an old childhood friend asked for help he didn't realize he was getting caught in a crime and arrested. He went to jail but he didn't let these setbacks hold him back. While in jail he taught classes to other inmates on real estate. He is best selling author and since he has come home he has rebuilt his real estate business. His story reminds us how important the environments we allow ourselves to be in are and how important are mindset around our setbacks is.