MY JOURNEY

I was born in a small college town in Northern California, the youngest of ten children. I had a mother who suffered from histrionic personality disorder and an alcoholic father who suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, having served in but not psychologically survived the Korean War.

Quite a bit of chaos, trauma, neglect, and confusion permeated my home. I spent most of my time drawing, fantasizing, and trying to tag along with my older brothers. My brothers were attractive, charismatic, and extroverted. I saw them as the opposite of myself, and although I had a very large family, I was quite often isolated. I was incredibly lucky to be born with a resilience that would later lead me away from my family and into recovering my sense of self.

At the age of 13, I left my home and petitioned the state of California to take me into protective custody. This was an arduous process that took over a year. I went from being an introverted, shy child to speaking to others in a way that made them listen. This was clearly born out of necessity. At that time, I felt as though if I couldn’t speak in a way that made people listen to me, I wasn’t going to be able to acquire the practical things I needed: a home, school, job and so on.

Fuelled by a deep need to understand my parents’ illnesses, myself and others, I vigorously studied psychology throughout high school and college. Looking back, I now realize that this period of my life set the foundation for developing my abilities as an actress, and later as a public speaking coach. At the age of 21 I began studying acting and fell in love with voice and speech training. The process of developing a rich voice that resonated far beyond the back row of a packed theatre was fascinating to me.

Eventually, my love of acting faded and was replaced with a desire to teach and help others find the power in their own voices. I spent several years in teacher-training programs, and I continue to refine my pedagogy today.