A Bit More of My Story, and how we might be alike 

Based on what I had been taught about what it meant to be a "good woman," I pushed myself to be productive and highly effective in every area of my life while taking care of everyone else—

Until my body literally stopped.

Life changed me.

My body forced me to change the way I lived.

That's why I created Find Your Groove.

Don't wait until your body makes the decision for you.

And if you already feel broken...

You're not too late.

We're here to help you find your way back.

In 2002, from the outside, my life looked successful. I was a former Miss Iowa representing top-selling products on QVC, married to a business executive, and the mom of a healthy toddler.

Behind the scenes, life was unraveling.

My husband was struggling with what I understood to be a substance use disorder. Over time, our relationship became increasingly controlling and unpredictable. After an incident that made me fear for our daughter's safety, I asked him to seek professional help. He declined, left our home, and I suddenly found myself raising our daughter alone. My attorney described the situation as legal abandonment, a term I had never heard before. Looking back, I realized how powerful language can be. Sometimes having words for our experiences helps us make sense of them and reminds us that we are not alone.

During our separation, I moved to Nashville, where I hosted a national cooking show while trying to rebuild our lives. Then, in June 2004, my ex-husband died in an accident just four months after our divorce was finalized. His affairs were not in order, and it took nearly two more years to settle the estate. Shortly after the estate was settled, the shopping network where I worked closed, and I unexpectedly found myself unemployed. I was left to care for my four-year-old daughter with just $25,000 in life insurance, court costs, and a series of complex circumstances that took years to untangle. The experience had a lasting impact on my health, finances, and career. The stress, grief, and financial uncertainty shaped the next two decades of both my life and my daughter's. At the time, grief support was difficult to find, and I remained in survival mode for years. It wasn't until much later that I began studying grief, trauma, and coercive control in an effort to understand what we had lived through.

Like so many women, I became a high-functioning survivor.

I kept performing. I kept producing. I kept saying I was fine while my body was telling a different story. The people who benefited from my resilience often encouraged me to push harder. I repeatedly found myself in workplaces, educational environments, and relationships where my willingness to keep going came at a significant personal, financial, and emotional cost. Looking back, I can see that some people benefited from the fact that my circumstances as a single mom left me with few options. While I worked in "results-driven, fast-paced environments", my daughter missed out on the dependable care of a healthy and present mom. Eventually, I burned out and became ill. I pulled myself out of it, changed jobs, and it happened again. I crashed even harder, to the point of not being able to function at all. 

That experience changed the direction of my life.

I was forced to find REAL ways to heal. I realized there was another way of thinking and moving through the world. My history of being adopted as a child and growing up in a religious environment where I internalized messages about obedience, self-sacrifice, and being a "good girl" led to my people pleasing, over-functioning, and my fawn response. I needed to learn to protect and care for myself. Today, I'm a Certified Grief Educator, Certified Personal Trainer, and Certified Health Coach. I help women reconnect with themselves - ideally before stress, burnout, grief, or constant caregiving become a full-blown crisis.

I can't know your exact story, but I do know what it's like to rebuild after life changes everything. I know what it's like to be in a situation where your choices are limited. You don't need another impossible wellness plan. You need practical tools, compassionate guidance, and someone who understands that healing isn't about becoming someone new—it's about finding your way back to yourself.

My approach combines evidence-based health coaching, movement, grief education, and behavior change because I know that lasting wellness isn't just about what you eat or how you exercise—it's about understanding what your body has been carrying.

Because life will change all of us. My hope is that you don't have to lose yourself before you find your groove again.

That's what Find Your Groove is all about.