In the devastation of a year when my mental health plummeted and nearly ended my life, I finally began to discover who I really am. It's incredible how what destroys you offers a chance to remake yourself.

I had once found most of my identity in being a wife, mom of two littles, and a 12 Step Recovery leader to dozens of women through my church - I had gone through the program myself because of debilitating self-hate. But in 2022, my church fired me very suddenly, and my best friend became overloaded with my pain the following year, and abandoned me in order to protect herself.

I wanted to take my life because I couldn't imagine holding it together much longer without any hope, but I couldn't do that to my family - especially my kids.

In my desperate need to escape, I rediscovered my love for books, and specifically discovered A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) - I then delved into the all-consuming world of romantasy (romance + fantasy). From there, I found the Bookstagram world, created my own bookish account, and eventually connected with an event planner who wanted to create bookish events, and we became partners launching Mountains and Magic Events.

Now, she handles all the logistics, while I get to dream, write, and even create a mini visual film series for social media - a Throne of Glass spin off of 7-8 episodes around one minute in length (follow along @mountainsandmagicevents!).

My head knew that if I did the work to heal, God would work everything out eventually, but my heart couldn't believe it - and I NEVER would have predicted all of the incredible opportunities that would come to me this year!

Will you come with me on my bookish adventures to find even more hope, healing, and happiness?