Welcome to Julie-Anne’s Journey! This website is just one of the ways I work to “pay it forward,” as I have been blessed with SO MUCH! Although I have been through many hardships, I can now see how all of them have served me. If not for those challenges, I would not have become the person I am now. I would not be as happy or at peace, and I would not be here helping others find their own way back to the light.

I believe that there are no coincidences in life. You found this page for a reason. It may be a reason known only to you, or you may not understand it yourself just yet. I believe in a Higher Power or “Source.” I call It God because that’s how I was raised. I encourage you to call It whatever you believe in – God, Source, The Universe, Creator, Allah, Buddha, or anything else that resonates with you. I also believe that this Source has a “master plan” for all of us, and that everything happens for a reason. The fact that you’ve landed here on this page, means that there is something for you to take away from it.

My first book “Nothing but Respect – A True Victim To Victory Story,” was written because life had taken me through some major setbacks and changes from 2008 to 2012. I’ve moved from a suicide attempt on December 7, 2008, to living my best life in 2012. You’ll see that I made a lot of bad choices that showed no respect for myself before I finally started to “get it.” Before I could begin living my best life, I had to learn that who you are is not what you have done or what you do for a living, but who you are inside, and what you are doing in each and every moment to be the kind of person you love.

I first had to forgive my past. That began with releasing my own guilt through the awareness that I made the choices I did with the filters, perspectives, and information I had learned up to that point. I now understand why I made those choices, and have forgiven my “damaged self.” She was just surviving in the best way she knew how at the time. Once I was able to forgive myself, I moved on to forgiving the people and circumstances that had hurt or “wronged” me in some way. This forgiveness was not for their benefit: it was for mine. Every moment spent holding on to anger or hatred over the things other people did, was a moment I was giving my own power away to them; a moment not enjoyed when it should be.

Eventually, I began to see how every single thing that has happened in my life now serves me and others. I’ve begun to truly heal myself both physically and emotionally. I now reach out hoping to help others avoid some of the pitfalls I’ve encountered. My main goal is to inspire others through my own story. I am reaching my hand back into the darkness to help you step into your own light.

I want you to know that it is absolutely possible to change your life. Your past is just that – the past. Your current circumstances are the accumulation of every choice you’ve made up to this moment, and how you choose to view those choices. If you are not happy with your life, make different choices. (I know: “easier said than done.” Just start one choice at a time.) This is not to say bad things will never happen; It is to say you must choose how you react to those things.

I have Fibromyalgia and a number of other illnesses that accompany Fibromyalgia. For the first couple of years I fought hard against these illnesses. Eventually I realized that there is currently no definitive cure. (Note: There are many people out there who state they have “cured” Fibromyalgia with thoughts, diets, supplements, etc. I hope to be able to say the same one day soon.) Until I’ve discovered my cure, I have to share my body with Fibromyalgia and its buddies. With this realization, I stopped “fighting” and started “negotiating” with my body. I will never give up on finding a cure, but I now “advocate” for a cure as opposed to “fighting” for one. Why? Because the word “fight” is a negative. I now avoid negatives in my life to the highest extent possible. I’ve come from that suicide attempt, through the darkness of diagnosis and depression, being almost completely home-bound for a year and a half, to living an amazing, blessed, and productive life!