Hey! I’m Alli.
My story is, and always has been, about braving storms, facing hard truths, and carving a path for a life I am proud of.
I have faced a lot of storms.
I have trauma from multiple brain injuries, which resulted in chronic Depression. I have PTSD. I have survived multiple sexual assaults. I tried to commit suicide when I was 15, and again after my son, Finn, died. I still walk with suicidal ideations. I had two abortions while I was in active addiction to alcohol and pharmaceutical medications (including Lithium) in my early 20’s. I went into labor with our third baby, Finn, at 5 months pregnant, one month after our wedding day - before our wedding photos were printed or our thank-you cards were even sent out. I lost our 4th baby to miscarriage after trying to get pregnant for 2 years. My 5th pregnancy with our son, Rowan, was marred with hospitalizations, bed rest from surgeries, and an emergency belly birth after his heart stopped.
Mine almost did too. But we kept on beating. We’re still here and we’re living.
I write all of this to say - we all go through hard things. Sometimes unfathomable things. We all experience loss and storms, and we are not alone in what we have faced.
Though I have seen really dark days throughout my life, I talk about Finn’s death a lot because it was the catalyst for my true unraveling, or ‘rock bottom’ if you will. When I tried to commit suicide for the second time after he died and I woke up on my bathroom floor - that was the true turning point in my life. I was grateful I woke up and I wanted to live, even in the middle of what was my personal hell. He stopped breathing right after he was born, and it felt wrong that I still was. But I want to find out why - why I kept breathing and why I woke up. I have worked hard since that day to create a life that I love, something I thought was impossible.
In order to build a life I wanted to be in, I needed to find a way to love myself and my body. I signed up for a 250hr Yoga Teacher Training, a lifelong dream, and was cracked open. When I started teaching, I stepped into an internal power and confidence I never had before. I started creating space for people to step into their own power around me, and I felt a sense of purpose. This put me on the path to end up where I am now. I went back and finished my master’s degree in Leadership; after fighting my way into a program as an MBA-dropout, I accomplished my goal of earning a 4.0. I showed up big. I earned research grants and presented an original paper at an international ethics conference on intersectional feminism and inclusive animal advocacy. I began working free-lance and landed some major clients for content development and marketing. I was then offered a contract to teach as a university professor at the same school I dropped out from, and I decided to fully commit myself to my healing business and teaching.
My story is nowhere near over; in a lot of ways, this new chapter is just beginning - as a mama, as a healer, as a storyteller. I am a Shipibo-trained plant-medicine practitioner and Reiki Master. I am a trauma-informed certified healer. I am a published editor of The Whole Method by Rhonda Smith, and a published author in The Empath Effect, an International Best Seller on Amazon, and in The Manifest-Station, an online magazine by Jen Pastiloff. I am currently in the process of curating and editing a collaborative book on women’s healing with 15 authors! I am also working on my Ph.D. candidacy studying Visionary Practice and Regenerative Leadership. My research is based in vulnerability, shame, and social constructs. I co-own Wild Warrior Medicine Woman, where we host retreats, medicine intensives, and trainings for healers.
I believe I was put on this earth, and I believe I woke up from trying to leave it, to brave the difficult storms of my life to show other people how to brave theirs. This is the natural progression of healing; first, we heal ourselves. Then, we go out and help to heal other people. What I offer in one-on-one sessions, and for groups, is truly medicine for people who are living medicine themselves. I truly believe healing should be done together, and not alone.
In addition to my healing practice, entrepreneurship, and academic research, I am writing a book about my son’s death and my life after. My husband and I are on the journey of raising our beautiful baby Rowan, who was born deaf. We are learning ASL, and this will be Rowan’s first language! We live with our two rescue pups in my hometown.
I have big dreams and a big heart, and my greatest love is getting vulnerable with people through storytelling and listening. Brenè Brown says, “It’s hard to hate people up close. Move in.” This is how I believe our world will heal - by getting up close and listening to each other. We are all more alike than we are different.
Thank you for listening to my story and for showing up with me. I’m not here to take the rain away for you - I am here to walk through the storm with you. I am here to help you become the expert of your own life, just as I have. You no longer need to do this work alone.
Love you.
Alli