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Emily Alexander is an artist, film maker, mom, daughter and now more than every committed to helping others to do more of what they love.
Emily starts her story describing her clear calling to be an artist from a very young age. Although she grew up in what she called “the Conservative South,” she describes a huge amount of support from her family and great cultural appreciation. The Arts were nurtured from a young age and an integral part of her upbringing. She, not surprisingly, found herself in art school…followed by film school in New York. After film school she had a job offer in Los Angeles that she felt was to great to refuse. Venice Beach, CA was a wonderfully supportive lifestyle. She led a juicy, and vibrant lifestyle as a film maker and she felt very at home. That was, until she encountered a difficult break-up…which led her back to North Carolina.
Upon her return to North Carolina, she found herself quickly falling back into familial roles and found it difficult to accomplish her initial plan of taking a break at home and then returning to California. She decided to study to be a Massage Therapist and stay close to the home front. Her practice as a massage therapist continued for several years…as she was not only married, but also had a daughter. She said that in spite of her decisions regarding how to make her massage practice resonate with her personal style, she still felt empty. She was making great money, but on some level she felt that she had “sold out on her dream” to be an artist for the security she wanted to provide for her husband and daughter.
Not long after coming to that realization tragedy struck from several angles. She surprisingly lost her mother from a brain aneurysm…followed by losing her daughter’s best friend in a drowning incident. The grief caused Emily to spiral into a deep depression that she was unable to pull herself out of, even with medical intervention.
Emily shows great honesty and vulnerability as she describes the intensity of her personal struggle. She really opens up and allows us to comprehend the mental thought process that led her to checking herself into a mental institution. As a last resort, to help her, she and her doctors decided it would be best for her to go through electroshock therapy. She outlines her trepidation and her grand relief to see that this was in fact a very helpful method/treatment for her. Emily tells a story of finding a box of broken crayons in the ward that re-opened her eyes to exciting and healing art can be to everyone, but especially to those suffering with depression. From that moment she realized that she needed to do whatever was possible to bring art supplies to psychiatric wards everywhere. She used her personal struggle as a launch pad for helping others.
She’s doing a lot within her community with her own art work, and helping others to learn about how art can help them find their souls and purpose in life.
One simple change that Emily recommends is: Emily describes a priority/value shift wherein she stopped the process of coveting things…that were just objects…and rather using extra funds to towards meaningful experiences, whether they be solo or shared with others.
To learn more about Emily Alexander and how you can contribute to her vision of bringing art supplies to those suffering with mental illness, please contact her via email ladyalexander@gmail.com.
Sources Mentioned in the Podcast
Charles and Linda Gupton’s “One of a Million Project” featuring Emily
David Foster Wallace- Burning Building Analogy
Connect and Follow Emily
*Disclaimer-Neither Sarah Mastriani-Levi, nor anyone associated with Mannafest Living either endorse/support or discredit any medical decisions regarding treatments or methods described here. This episode is shared solely to enable to Emily to share her experiences as a process to rediscovering her life calling/vision.
Simple Change Theme Music by Hani’el Mastriani-Levi
Simple Change Logo by Eden Mastriani-Levi
This episode was edited by Mannafest Living
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