Michelle Lee Walters:
My Story

I cried that day because the book I picked up described the depth of sickness my Mom was in, the chaos-causing addiction of my father, and the deep, entangled, heart-wrenching love I had with my husband.  It also told me that there was a community in which my sadness and madness could be received and that I may find solitude in my life and with those I loved suffering from the family issue of alcoholism.  I entered the program hoping to fix them; instead, over the last twenty-six years, I have learned how to experience my emotions and heard the foreshadowing of things to come on my own road to recovery that others shared within the group.  I heard it said that if and when I was going to leave my marriage, it would be done with calm and peace, not anger, yelling, and madness.  This is how it happened; one day, I knew.  I knew that although I loved him deeply, I had done all I could do, and now the marriage was not what I had committed to, and I had to be brave and leave because I had already seen my future by watching my parents if I stayed.   Not everyone is meant to leave their marriage if they are with someone suffering from a condition because I also have seen in my current marriage how truly committing to the mending, strengthening, making living amends, forgiving, loving, and growing of myself can have a huge impact on positive growth that my partner is inspired to work towards as well.  

Now I work with women to make a safe space where they can share and empty out the experiences they have gone through and find hope.  As women and humans, there are so many experiences we have that are the script to our resilience, self-discovery, and healing.  Having a soft landing with someone who may have experienced what we have to some degree and who can meet us where we are can support us in our growth exponentially.  I have found that gift in community with others, and it would be an honor to give that gift to you.

I have experienced grief with the loss of a loved one, including suicide.  I have had many relational issues in friendships, work, and marriage, which have helped me grow into a healthier person who has grace, understanding, and forgiveness for myself and others.  I know what it is like to support your parents through their last phase of life.  There is important knowledge about dementia and self-care that I found vital to my own well-being and theirs. When it comes to any relationship, I have learned what boundaries are and how they really do not pertain to the other person but are about my own decisions and perceptions changing.  I have come face to face over the years with many of my more unfavorable characteristics and learned how they have helped me and how to work on a commitment to change those characteristics or habits when necessary.  

As a young girl, I also experienced terrible pain from my periods.  As I got older, the pain lasted longer and became increasingly debilitating.  When it became difficult to function and lasted the whole month, I started to seek out a diagnosis.  It took ten years from that point to find a diagnosis because, despite multiple scans and tests, the doctors (and yes, many of them female) could not tell me what was wrong because women’s health issues and diseases are underserved in the world we live in.  The diagnosis was endometriosis, and once I had a hysterectomy, many other under-studied diseases came back in the lab results, including adenomyosis.  The female diseases explained the miscarriages.  It also led me to have multiple laparoscopic surgeries and infertility treatment, including IUI’s & IVF, prior to my hysterectomy.  Unfortunately, due to the doctor's incompetence, the IVF failed. My disease progressed, and I was unable to have children of my own.  In hopes we could still become parents, we went through an adoption that ended up failing as well.   

All the life experiences I have had, which exceed this bio, I have come out the other side with newfound understanding, grace, and acceptance.  It is through this emotional pain, heartache, grief, joy, serenity, accomplishments, and moments of happiness that I found the courage to embark on a profound journey of healing, where the shattered pieces of my soul slowly but resiliently began to mend into a mosaic of strength and grace.  We all have to meet life on life terms, but we were not meant to do it alone.   The science behind our human wellness and our biological makeup tells us that we are meant to do this thing called life in community with others.  If you are looking for a soft and safe space to build your wisdom and gain serenity, especially in times when life comes at you, then reach out. Take some time for yourself with a women's wellness workshop or a complimentary session to strategize your life transitions.