In this episode, join me as I sit down with Janell Borrero, the courageous author behind "Loving a Bipolar Bear." We delve deep into the powerful narrative she shares in her memoir, exploring the often unspoken challenges of loving someone grappling with mental illness. Janell's journey, marked by heartbreak and healing, offers a poignant look at the complexities of relationships affected by bipolar disorder.
Throughout our conversation, Janell's candid storytelling invites us into her world, navigating the intricate landscapes of mental health struggles and relationships. We explore her introspective journey, guided by insights from life coaches, uncovering profound connections between her past experiences and her present reality.
"Loving a Bipolar Bear" isn't just a memoir; it's a beacon of understanding for those navigating the waters of mental illness within their families or relationships. Janell's narrative fosters empathy and provides invaluable insights into the emotional dimensions that accompany these conditions. Moreover, it fearlessly challenges misconceptions and stigma, fostering a more compassionate approach to mental health.
What truly sets this book apart is its universal appeal. It offers a fresh perspective, particularly for individuals seeking a deeper understanding of loved ones coping with mental illness. Janell's narrative, steeped in the context of Latina experiences, breaks barriers by addressing a topic often veiled in silence within certain communities.
Join us as we explore the captivating pages of "Loving a Bipolar Bear," a book that encourages empathy, understanding, and self-care. Janell's bravery in sharing her journey serves as an inspiration and a guiding light for anyone navigating the complexities of loving someone with a mental illness. This episode is a must-listen, offering a rare and much-needed voice in the vital conversation surrounding mental health in today's world.
More on Janell:
IG : @bossladynel
TT: @bossladynell
SHE who Thrives Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@shewhothrivespodcast
Book: https://a.co/d/5IZ82Xq
In this episode, join me as I sit down with Janell Borrero, the courageous author behind "Loving a Bipolar Bear." We delve deep into the powerful narrative she shares in her memoir, exploring the often unspoken challenges of loving someone grappling with mental illness. Janell's journey, marked by heartbreak and healing, offers a poignant look at the complexities of relationships affected by bipolar disorder.
Throughout our conversation, Janell's candid storytelling invites us into her world, navigating the intricate landscapes of mental health struggles and relationships. We explore her introspective journey, guided by insights from life coaches, uncovering profound connections between her past experiences and her present reality.
"Loving a Bipolar Bear" isn't just a memoir; it's a beacon of understanding for those navigating the waters of mental illness within their families or relationships. Janell's narrative fosters empathy and provides invaluable insights into the emotional dimensions that accompany these conditions. Moreover, it fearlessly challenges misconceptions and stigma, fostering a more compassionate approach to mental health.
What truly sets this book apart is its universal appeal. It offers a fresh perspective, particularly for individuals seeking a deeper understanding of loved ones coping with mental illness. Janell's narrative, steeped in the context of Latina experiences, breaks barriers by addressing a topic often veiled in silence within certain communities.
Join us as we explore the captivating pages of "Loving a Bipolar Bear," a book that encourages empathy, understanding, and self-care. Janell's bravery in sharing her journey serves as an inspiration and a guiding light for anyone navigating the complexities of loving someone with a mental illness. This episode is a must-listen, offering a rare and much-needed voice in the vital conversation surrounding mental health in today's world.
More on Janell:
IG : @bossladynel
TT: @bossladynell
SHE who Thrives Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@shewhothrivespodcast
Book: https://a.co/d/5IZ82Xq
Hello, hello and welcome to the Mommy on a Mission podcast, where empowerment meets inspiration. I'm your host, mariana, a life coach and author, on a mission to help Latina women, and all women, to reach their impossible goals, one dream at a time. Join me on this incredible adventure as we dive into compelling subjects that will uplift, motivate and ignite your passion. Get ready to be inspired, empowered and never give up on your dreams. This is the podcast where we turn dreams into unstoppable missions. Are you ready? Let's go. Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Mommy on a Mission podcast, the podcast that empowers Latina women and all women to reach their impossible goals.
Speaker 1:Y'all, it is December. I cannot believe we're in the middle of December and it's like New Year's is coming around the block and I'm like, oh, my God. So, but anyways, I hope you all saw the promotion. I'm doing a vision board workshop. I hope you all can join me because it's time now to go ahead and start developing your goals for 2024. I don't like to use the word resolution because I'm not trying to resolve anything. I'm trying to level up. So the whole purpose of the vision board is so that we can do exactly that is, to go ahead and start marking the goals and the dreams that we have, so that we can go ahead and start leveling up exactly what it is that we want to accomplish. And so, mind you, some things will be able to be short term, others are going to take a little bit longer, but it's all doable. You can do this, and I hope to be a support for you with this.
Speaker 1:So, listen, I want to say thank you all for a great 2024. It's, I mean 2024. Look, I'm already envisioning it for 2023. I'm so excited because 2023, like I mentioned last week, came with so many great things and I've been able to meet so many wonderful people authors and entrepreneurs and exact. That is exactly why I'm so excited about today, because today I have a fellow Latina who is making things happen y'all, and so I want to introduce to you my guest, janelle Borreiro. She has a story to share and we're going to go ahead and dive right on in. Janelle. Welcome to the Mommy on a Mission podcast. How are you today? I?
Speaker 2:am good. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. I think this is actually my first time on somebody else's podcast as a guest, so I'm excited about this.
Speaker 1:This is exciting too, so tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2:I am originally from Chicago, illinois, from Humboldt Park, and I'm currently residing in Orlando, florida. So I got tired of this cold, the snow, and I was over it and I wanted the warmth and the heat and I moved down here. But it's also an experience for me because, you know, being in a Latina, Latino household, it's you know, your family's all on you and everybody has their opinions. So I needed to break away from that. Not that I don't love my family, because I love them dearly, but I needed to get away and be my own person for a long time and figure things out. And that's where I'm at now, like I've been doing this for a while and I'm excited for the new journey.
Speaker 1:Listen. Janelle is being a little modest right now because she is an entrepreneur. She has her own accounting firm. She also has her very own podcast, she who Thrives, which is awesome. I've been listening to her podcast Now. You just launched out what in September.
Speaker 2:In September. Yes, september 14th was when I launched it, and there's I do have reasoning behind my craziness. So September 14th is a date for me that I would never, ever forget. My little cousin was born that day who, if you read, you did read the book. So in the book I did talk about one of my cousins that committed suicide. So I don't talk much about her, but I do things for other people to know that I still remember her, and this is one thing was to pay homage to her. She always said that I was going to be something of all of us that was going to be me, so I had to put it out on her birthday. So, yes, september 14th was when it launched, so I'm excited about that.
Speaker 1:And I think that the month of September is like a good month to launch a podcast, because in September made it here that I launched my podcast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm a stats girl, so I was looking back at your. You had like 60 something episodes.
Speaker 1:I was like I gotta catch up. So you've got plenty of time. But no, like I said, I really love that. And you've got a fur baby because I have, I'm a fur mom to baby girl is Daisy, my English bulldog, and when I was reading a little bit and y'all I'm going to get into why we're talking about her book here in a second, but I just wanted to share that we both have bulldogs, we're bulldog mamas.
Speaker 2:I'm a fur baby, a fur baby mama. Reason behind that is like I have complications of having human babies. I have PCOS, so it's been a challenge for many years. So all these years I've had for babies I had two for a long time and one passed away in 2001. So now I just have my one and he is a spoiled little brat, so you guys might hear him huffing and puffing in the background. So he's just, he wants to be in the podcast too.
Speaker 1:And that's all right. He's welcome to join Diving on in, so Reese. Well, it's been what a year. So this coming January is going to be one year that you actually launched out your book, y'all. Let me just say this I read her book in like two days. I woke up at it was, I guess, last Sunday, about two, three o'clock in the morning and I woke up just to finish the book, like I couldn't sleep.
Speaker 1:I said, no, you know what, let me go and I want to read her book. I mean, that's how I'm engaging, it was. But you know, could you share with us a brief overview of your memoir loving a bipolar bear and what inspired you to share your story?
Speaker 2:Oh my God, I might get emotional, but loving a bipolar bear is basically the other side of what mental illness can do to a caregiver. And growing up I dealt with a mom that had mental illness so this day she won't admit to it and, of course, it's a Latino household that we something you don't talk about and what I went through with her basically trained me to be the woman that I was and I fell into a relationship that was. That was something to deal with mental illness as well, and I didn't realize it, or I didn't correlate it, until we were going through the divorce and when you'll hear, you'll hear, you'll read about, you know, the divorce in there. But my biggest, biggest thing that I wanted to do once the divorce was dropped on me, I wanted to heal. I didn't want to feel any resentments or hurts or anything towards towards him, because I wanted him to be great in his life and I also wanted to be great in mine.
Speaker 2:I did grow up very Catholic, so guilt is in there a lot, so, but I I, although I don't go to church faithfully, I still have a lot of faith and I wanted to you know God to bless me and bless him. So I didn't want to hold on to any resentment, because he who angers you controls you. So I didn't want that to happen and I really went on a journey of trying to heal myself. And that's where this book came about. And while I was writing this book, through all of the the hurt, the pain, the crying, I started to see the correlation between me as a little girl to where I was at, where I was at in adulthood. So you'll see where I'm trying to put the pieces that this book gave me, those aha moments.
Speaker 1:I saw all of that and actually I resonated with a lot with your story, although my ex-husband and you know to this day we don't know if he suffered from any type of depression, but I want to say he did, because he was addicted to cocaine. It first started off with marijuana, then it led to cocaine and then it ended up with meth, and so it was a slow progression, right of all of that. So it doesn't happen overnight and that was something that I could relate to in your book, because it didn't happen overnight. When we first meet these individuals, you know everything is beautiful, everything is, you know, sunshine and roses, just like any other love story, right. But it's overtime and it takes a crisis that will make them like change in a second. And that's what I saw with your story, just like I saw in my own journey and my own story and I was reading a lot about how you were handling things and I could just see myself also in that picture of doing almost very similar things in that. And, just like you, I too came.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it was both my parents, but I know because my dad passed away when I was 10, but my mom I know that she suffered from depression, but she has admitted to it. She just really doesn't go and get help for it and, like you were saying, that's very typical in the Latino household, because they don't really know, I guess, what that really means. That's not something. Mental health is not something that has been spoken about up until recently, and it's until recently that we've been able to even vocalize mental health. It's not something that we've been able to freely talk about.
Speaker 2:Sorry to interrupt With my mom. Her younger brother was a year younger than her. He was diagnosed schizophrenic and I'm not too sure if he was schizophrenic by polar, but I know he was schizophrenia and he suffered that since they were really young. So my mom was very aware of mental illness. She was very active with him. They were only a year apart, like literally a year apart. She was born the beginning of November. He was born the ending of November the year later. So they were very close and she dealt with him a lot.
Speaker 2:So she knows I think she just didn't want to admit that something for herself, correct? So she's gone through a lot and she was the oldest of six kids that came from Puerto Rico to the States and having parents that didn't speak any English and her being the oldest one, she had to learn English very quickly. So they were very hard on her. So I know there was a lot of things and I don't want to go into her story because it's her story, but because of what she had to go through and what she lived through, I think I was that escape for her and I was that punching bag for her. I was that excuse for her. Everything was me, me, me. And then it didn't help that I was born a day after her birthday, so that's just. I remember her birthday, so it was. I seen the strength that she had at times, although she put me through a lot of stuff. I also seen the strength that she had with my uncle for so many years, so I think I was conditioned to deal with it.
Speaker 2:So while I was going through it with my ex husband, a lot of people thought I was very cold hearted and sometimes I would question myself like, am I being cold hearted? But in order for me to survive that, I had to basically shut down and shut that out and be like, okay, what can we do to fix this? What can we do to move on? What can we? I couldn't leave emotion come into play, because if emotion came into play I would have just been all over the place. I would have been completely broke down and I would have never been able to sustain a lifestyle for him and I.
Speaker 2:It was something very difficult. Sometimes I think about. You know to this day that maybe I should have showed him more love, maybe I should have did things differently, but I couldn't. So when I was going through the divorce, my sister-in-law told me, janelle, you were just numb and that was just like you know what. It's true, I was just numb to everything and it's sad because you know as much as you love a person, you have to give that tough love at times, especially when it comes to mental illness, because it's not them. But then, when they're back to being normal, being them, it's hard to just forgive from one day to the next and act like nothing happened. And that was very it was a very hard transition when things would happen and me have to pretend like everything was okay. It's not an easy thing to ever go through and I think that built me to be that person, that very strong person.
Speaker 2:So now that I'm out of that and I wrote this book and it was a form of me healing and me putting it out there this helps me break out of my own shell and start doing the things that I would never have thought I would be doing, especially right now talking on podcasts, doing my own podcast. I'm out more in social media Like I would have. I would never have done this. I would have never even thought that I would be doing any of this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so although and I suffer from because of my PCOS I suffer from anxiety and depression myself, but I've learned how to do it the holistic way. I didn't want those chemicals in my body, so I try to do things naturally. So now I stay away from any toxicity, anything that's going to trigger me to have a lot of stress. Of course I can't avoid stress because I'm an entrepreneur, so stress is going to come along, but I try to learn how to balance myself so that way I wouldn't. I don't have that type of anxiety anymore because stress triggers my symptoms for PCOS. So I try to be as healthy as possible in that aspect. So I don't go on pharmaceuticals.
Speaker 1:And going back to the book, what was the turning point or catalyst that led you to start documenting your experiences and embark on this new, healthy healing journey for you?
Speaker 2:So there is okay. So when the divorce was dropped on me, it was on January 20th and the biggest thing and I don't talk about this and I don't think I said it in the book because I kind of like put it in the back of my brain and that's the other day I was like, oh my God, he did do that. So because of my PCOS, we're going to go through fertility clinics and stuff like that to see if we're going to be able to have a child, and all that. He stood me up at the fertility clinic on January 19th. I sat there and I'm like what the hell is going on? I cried. I'm like what's happening?
Speaker 2:The next day is when he kind of I guess it was just too much for him, he just wanted out, blah, blah, blah. So when he told me this, everything was just ripped and again we were separated. We were living in separate households and stuff, but we were trying to figure out, see what we're going to do with each other and he just is like I want to move on and I can't take you on to the next chapter of my life. And he felt that I held him back, that I didn't want to see him grow and things like that, which was very confusing for me because I was the one that was always pushing him to do better. But I sat there and I cried my ass off. I cried my ass off for quite a few days. I couldn't eat. I wasn't eating, it was just I was going through a really bad depression and I just didn't. I didn't want to admit that to anybody. I was like, okay, what can I do? I was talking to my counselor and it was like for me, no one was going to understand what I was going through. Like I didn't want to hear it. So I told myself all right, janelle, you could either feel sorry for yourself For the rest of your life or you can work at it to get over this. I had to really pray really hard and I went to counselors, I went to yoga, I went to sound baths, I went to a tarot card reader Like, help me get over this, like I don't want to feel this anymore.
Speaker 2:And it was a book by I always butcher his name Stefan love something. He's on Instagram as Stefan speaks, but he has a book about healing your heartbreak and in that book it says you know to write down the names of people who have hurt you. No explanation, no anything. Just write a list of people that hurt you. And I did that. And then the next one was write a letter to each person who have hurt you.
Speaker 2:And I started writing and a lot of it was towards my mom and I was like, wait a minute. Like I have so much anger and hurt towards my ex-husband, but everything was my mom, and I realized the correlation between that and it's like okay, so I'm writing this letter to them. I'm never going to give it to them, but there's so many people that have gone through this. What can I do to help other people? Because whenever I go through something as a business owner, I'm always saying, okay, what's the lesson behind this? So that's when I started to think okay, what is this lesson? Right, lord, what is my lesson? Is this my purpose? Because for a long time I was lost. I didn't know what my purpose was, because I started asking, like, is this my purpose? Did I have to go through all of this so I could give my story out there, so I could help other people? So I was like you know what, let me go ahead and do this. And that's when I started writing.
Speaker 2:Well, the publishing company had contacted me and asked if I wanted to write a book. I had entered into something like the year prior. And then they contacted me like a week or two after the divorce bomb. So I was like, okay, God, you're giving me a lesson, are you giving me a lesson? So I'm like you know what? Why not? And they told me how the academy was and blah, blah, blah, whatever. You know what I was like okay, I'm going to do it, because if I didn't have someone on me and holding me accountable, probably wouldn't have ever been able to do this book, because this book was the hardest thing that I think I could ever experience.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I can totally relate to that. When I wrote my book it was like ugh and I was really. I think it was on your podcast that I saw that you said there were many times you wanted to just throw the book you know, I said I know what she means.
Speaker 1:I went through that too, but it was so helpful, just like for me, to have that accountability, somebody saying, no, you can do this, you've got this, you know. You know, go ahead and just pause, walk away from it, go do something completely different and then come back. And I think, like for you, as I was reading your book, I could see where you were just really pouring your heart out, where you were being very vulnerable and transparent, which is one of the reasons why I was able to really connect with that with your book, you know, because I was like, yes, this is exactly what we need. Is we need more, especially Latina, and I talk a lot about Latina because that's primarily who I talk to, because that's who we are right. We're Latinas, right.
Speaker 2:We naturally attract.
Speaker 1:Latinas, right and so. But at the same time, it's because we need that representation, you know, we need to show other Latinas that you're not alone on this journey. You're not the only one. I know that everybody's story is unique for themselves, but it's just those feelings that we have right, that we can go out there and share. And so I was really excited to read your book. When I got it, I was like, yeah, let me, you know I want to. And so I was like I said it was a page turner and I was just reading and I was like, oh my gosh, yes, I get. I was highlighting, because I'm a highlighter, highlighting the book. I was like, yes, so in your memoir. Well, first of all, how did you navigate the complexities of a relationship with someone managing bipolar disorder and what were some of the biggest challenges you faced?
Speaker 2:Well, he wasn't. He wasn't diagnosed with just bipolar disorder, he was also diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. So those are two different things battling at one time. So a lot of people when you have a bad day or someone's like, from one second they're happy, the one second they're mad and then they're normal. A lot of people like, oh, he's being bipolar, but a lot of that's a lot of the times, that's the traits of a borderline personality disorder. So a lot of people get it confused and it was very confusing for me to understand it.
Speaker 2:But there is when, when he got diagnosed, it was after he was hurt on the job. So we were dealing a lot of surgeries and things like that. And one day he called me. He said did you know, I was diagnosed with blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, no, what is that? So me, naturally I go searching to see what it is and stuff. I'm like, no, whatever. But I started to see like, okay, I see that, I see that correlation, I see those symptoms, I see that. And he was already with the addictive personality Prior to him getting hurt.
Speaker 2:It was always shopping, shopping, shopping. And then once he got hurt he didn't have the funds to shop, so it was just medications. So how I navigate it because again, I tell people I don't want to talk so much about him per se, but it was when I had to navigate how I navigated through it was me actually sitting down with his counselors and his doctors and trying to figure out how can I help, how can I do this? How can? I'm the one that sees all of this on a daily basis.
Speaker 2:The doctors only know or see what they hear or see when he's in the office, and for people who have mental illnesses, they're very equipped with making people believe something that it's not. So people go in and be like completely a normal person, he's all fine or whatever, but they didn't see the other side. So I was drowning. I was literally drowning, and I was to a point that I didn't care anymore. Not that I didn't care, but I was just I couldn't care anymore. I didn't have the energy to care anymore. So I wanted the doctors to see that side of him. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I read that in the book.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I need help. I literally would call them and tell them I need help. None of this is helping me. None of this is working. I can go to counseling all I want, but the root of the source is there, like I need him to get help, I need him to get better, and it's like he's dragging me down along with everything.
Speaker 2:So there were so many things that happened, like so many car accidents, so many overdoses, so many a lot of stuff that happened, that it was very hard for me to navigate and I just didn't know how. So one of the biggest things that I had to do was choose myself, and that's when I decided and there was other things that came to play and I think, too, I chose myself. But I did it at the time where his dad came back from Central America, because his dad was living out there for a while and moved into the home and he made it very clear I had to just deal with it. So I dealt with it by giving him an apartment, right. But then it was like, ok, I'm in my own apartment, he's not by himself.
Speaker 2:He said he has somebody there, now I don't have to worry so much about him anymore, I can just worry about myself, and that's how I was able to navigate, because it was a very long time that, no matter what I did, I would reach out to his family members or whatever it was that I was calling out for help and no one was really helping me. Some people would think they were, but it was just. I want to say I forgot the word and I know I was guilty of it too. I can't think of the word, but enabling him, yeah, so some people were enabling him and I was guilty of it too. For a long time I was a neighbor as well, but it got to that point that I just I couldn't take it. I was, I was drained, I was completely drained.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And so when were the moments that you realized that changed your perspective on how you approached an understood mental illness within the context of a relationship?
Speaker 2:Honestly, I think I didn't figure that out until I was outside of the relationship for a while, where I had to give him that tough love and be on the outskirts where we lived apart but we were still very much involved with each other. So if he had any demons he was battling, he went and battled it on his own at his own apartment and I came home to my own piece and that's when I was able to really see and really understand, like, ok, it's not him, it's his mental illness, and I can't. And it's very hard to separate one from the other, because it's this one individual that's actually doing all of this and you can love this person so much but you're only human to have to deal with. You know, thankfully I didn't have to deal with him hitting me or anything like that. I never had to deal with that part. I never had to deal with him, you know, verbally abusing me or anything like that, because he would never. That's one thing we always tell. We would never call each other outside of our name.
Speaker 2:We were very strict with how we treated each other when it came to that, but it was everything else that was just draining, but not until I was actually out of it that I was living in my own home. That when I started getting my own home outside of him and coming to my piece was like OK, this is what's happening. And honestly, he would listen too. He would come over, we would talk, we would have our conversations and he will listen to it. And it led up to us having a divorce and stuff. But in those years him and I were very good friends. So he understood, he listened, he didn't want to be on meds, he stopped abusing his medication, so he wanted to be better as well. So he wasn't a bad person. He just did bad things when he was going through a manic stage or whatever stages he was going through with that mental illness and unfortunately, I got the brunt of it.
Speaker 1:Right, and I used to. I remember hearing that backlash too because I was saying my assessment was addicted to drugs and stuff. And of course, while I was reading your book on mental illness and in some aspects, yes, people will say well, it's an illness, you know it's a disease, just like the addiction. You know it's a disease, but it's so different than, let's say, for instance, somebody who's got diabetes and they just need an insulin shot and then once they get that insulin, you know they perk up right, they're better. Or someone who's got high blood pressure or high cholesterol. You know you can treat it and that the person is the same person. But with this it's completely different. The dynamics is completely different and it doesn't just affect the person, it affects whoever's around, everything, everyone, or even just life in general. Like you know how you handle finances, how you do this and how you do that and who's going to provide and who's going to do it.
Speaker 1:Because and I see it so much in the field that I work in, because I see how it really debilitates them to work right yes, you've got someone diabetes. They get on an exercise regimen, they can start losing weight and they start feeling better, but someone with mental illness. It's not like, yes, they say, go exercise and, you know, build up the endorphins and stuff like that. But it's so much more complex than that, than what the professionals make it seem like. Oh yeah, you're not living with it, you're not the one that's living with it.
Speaker 1:You're telling me, yes, I see the problem, I see what's going on, and you're telling me, oh, it's OK, they need to eat better, they need to go get exercise, but how the hell can they go exercise and how the hell can they go do the things that they need to do if they're not feeling good? You know and I too, you know, like I can tell you this I suffer from depression as well, and there were times that it was hard for me to get out of bed. You know, there were times that it was. It was not easy for me to just say, OK, yeah, I'm going to go for a walk, or I mean, it was like those times that I just wanted to shut the shades and just not even go anywhere, so for doctors to say, oh, that's as easy as doing this. No, no, it's not.
Speaker 2:It is not easy. Very hard, because, since I do suffer from anxiety and depression, it was hard for me, but I couldn't afford to be depressed. I had to get up and go to work. I still had to be the sole breadwinner, I still had to do all of this, but there was times that I would have to call in sick because something happened, whether you know, not to put so much of his business out, but there were certain situations that forbid me to go to work, basically, and I had to call in sick. And, of course, employers are not going to be happy that you call in sick twice in a week, you know. So. You know, fortunately, one of my jobs was in a performing arts theater, so they were very happy, go lucky a lot of times. So, but they they kind of like, seen something was wrong and they, you know they come into the office and not to scold me. They really were concerned to see what was happening and what was what was going on and they wanted to help me because they know the type of work I did. But for me to call in sick several times, they're just like OK, this is not normal, what's going on, right? Well, I was fortunate enough to come across that type of employer where I was able to explain to them and, like I just couldn't take it anymore, I just cried and I just sat there and just explains everything. So they, they, it came from a loving place and fortunately, when I was there they knew they couldn't pay me the type of salary that I was worth. So I told them I wanted to. You know, I was going to open up my business and I was going to be doing it from the side, because having a business and and bringing in the money differently as opposed to hourly, I was able to afford a lot more having him and I and all that stuff. I was a soap breadwinner, so being an entrepreneur afforded me that and this employer was like all for it too. So they worked with me very good hands in hand with when I was doing, when I was first building my business.
Speaker 2:Now, prior to that, I was working for the state of Florida I don't know if I should say that, but I was working for the government and it was so depressing. It was so depressing and it gave me anxiety every day. And one of my bosses just lashed out at me one day and I just broke out in a complete hives and I told myself I can't be going through this at home and coming to my workplace and going through this here too, like once I see this physically coming out of my body, that I broke out in hives. I said I can't do this. This is not an environment for me. So lucky I found that performing arts theater and arts, I have to say, was one of the things that brought joy to me.
Speaker 2:Where, you know, there was times that I would just go and sit in one of the theaters and watch one of the plays that were going on, and it was while I should be working with my working hours. But my boss knew it was like go ahead, and he would do the same thing, Like I'm going to go watch a play or whatever. Like all right, cool, I mean, we're on our facility, so we'll just sneak, sneak in and go watch it and come right back out and do do my job. So I have to say that that's one place that really saved me from a lot, because I was able to sit there and just watch the performances and just really escape from reality. Yeah, so not a lot of people knew that, like my boss knew, but you know my other, you know my other coworkers had no clue. They had no clue.
Speaker 1:Wow, and you remember our highlights of the journey of self discovery and healing. Elaborate a little bit on how introspection and revisiting your childhood memories contributed also to your healing process.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, looking back and seeing what I went through with my mom and growing up in the environment that I grew up in, I had to say, really really taught me something about myself, where the person that I was, I started to question am I really that person or was I just trained to be that person? So once I started to really think about an account so I really had asked me that question before too and when you're not really ready to heal back, then you're just like you don't care what people tell you, you're just like whatever you know, you get really defensive. You know you're really defensive with them. I even got into an argument with her. Like I was. It was I was that strong of a character. So now, when I was going through it myself that I was really like was I really conditioned to be that type of person? Was I really trained to be that person? Like, was I supposed to just follow the rules and what everybody else told me to do? And that's what I'm like. I need to really figure out who I am as an individual, what I really wanted to do. Like I left my home at the age of 16. So I've been really struggling to to put a roof over my head, or ever since I was 16 and I'm 43 now. So you take jobs just to make sure they sustain a roof over your head, not because it's your passion. So now in my 40s you know my 40, now that I'm 43, that I'm able to have the financial means to be able to explore that other side of me, who I really am Now is when I'm like OK, I've always been to do things for the very first time, but I was really reserved as a person because I was very afraid of what other people were going to say about me.
Speaker 2:And that came from what I went through with my mom, like if I would try something, she will always, you know, bash it, like oh, you're not good enough for that, or there's other people that can do that better, or someone else is prettier for that, or whatever it was, it wasn't. I was never good enough. So I always felt like, anytime I did anything, why am I wasting my time? Someone else can do it better than me, you know. So once I started to heal and forgive whatever happened, it's like now I'm like all right. Now is where I'm starting to put myself in the public eye. I'm starting to really fix myself up and really look girly and play with makeup and stuff like that, so I don't pay attention to what was said back then anymore. So I'm really happy as a person to try to discover who I am.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I read in your book and it kind of it made me laugh because I'm a life coach and it was that you were going for counseling and that you had tried different counselors. You had gone to therapists, you had gone and then you finally got to this one who's a life coach and she started asking you questions that I left because you were like I'm not going back to her. You found yourself going back. I said you're life coaches, so how do you, working with life coaches in or a life coach, influence your journey and understanding of yourself? Because it's so much different.
Speaker 1:So I tell people all the time I'm not a therapist, I'm a life coach, and so what we as life coaches like to do is we like to ask powerful questions. We like to ask questions that are going to get you to start thinking about you, getting you to start thinking outside of the box also. So it's not like, oh, tell me what's wrong and tell me what happened. No, it's, we're asking questions and you're like I don't want to answer that question. I'm like, well, okay, well, we don't have to talk about it now. But then we circle back around it and like, okay, so remember, we were talking about this. So how did that, like I said, how did that influence your journey and understanding of yourself and the dynamics of relationships, relationships affected by mental illness, like, how did that help me?
Speaker 2:Well, going to a life coach, I have to say the difference between the life coach and counselors or therapists, or psychiatrists or psychologists you know whatever terminology is out there, because there's so many, depending on the degree One of the biggest things and this is me I don't, you know, there's a lot of people can probably say something different, but a life coach isn't monotone and that was the biggest thing like give me your personality because I could sit in the room and if you're giving me monotone, I'm going to give you a monotone right back. So when she and a life coach to the degree status, it's not, you know, the typical therapist or anything, because it's a different type of certification and degrees and whatever. But a lot of the life coaches have experienced things themselves in their life, so they're coaching you on something that they relate to, so they can give you advice on how to work at something because they went through it and I know with her particularly, she has gone through it. She also had PCOS or she has, because it never goes away.
Speaker 1:I've been mentioning PCOS quite a bit real. Quickly explain to our audience what PCOS is PCOS is.
Speaker 2:you know the medical term is palocystic ovarian syndrome and what it is is, they say in quotations is just cyst in your ovaries. But what that is it's more than just cyst in your ovaries is a hormonal imbalance in your inner woman's body. That now the medical world, they have deemed it a lifelong challenge. And it does challenge us with our insulin resistance, thyroid issues. It has. Basically, we have more testosterone than we do estrogen in our system, if we want to put it very short. So I deal with excessive facial hair. If I let it grow, I'm going to walk around looking like a man or you know. A lot of the times people tell me oh, you're stronger than most of the females. And I joke around yeah, because I have a lot of testosterone in my system. You know things like that.
Speaker 2:But it's a struggle because it's you know it comes with anxiety and depression and you know stress, you know it triggers our cortisol levels. That makes, you know, our cortisol levels go really high. So our body struggles with bringing back those cortisol levels to normal quickly, as everybody else does. We don't have that. Our insulin issues as well that comes into play. That's something like a diabetic where if they have the insulin issues at the moment, which they usually have. We have them temporarily. If we get hurt, we get cut. You know that the healing of that is prolonged. So we have a lot of challenges and battles in our body that we get misdiagnosed a lot. So it's just now that PCOS is being in the forefront, because not a lot of people understand it or know it. I wasn't diagnosed till I was 36. Wow, so yeah. So one of the biggest things is that, for the fertility issues, that I'm 43, and I still haven't had a child. So it's going to be something that they say it's not that I may never have one, but I'm going to need help having one. So, yeah, it's a battle. So, yeah, she had PCOS too. So I was able, we were able to relate at that point, and she's also gone through a lot of things in her life that had her become a life coach because of what she's gone through. So because of that I was able to relate to her.
Speaker 2:But, like I told you before, I wasn't like 100% ready to heal. And the reason why I was not 100% ready to heal? Because I was still in a marriage that was still breaking me. So how can I heal from something if I'm still in something breaking me Exactly so I know the divorce needed to happen. I know we, him and I, needed to break apart because there was I always had a very soft spot for him and Catholic very guilty for a lot of things. I felt very responsible. Of course, as his wife I was very responsible for a lot, but in that situation I couldn't heal from anything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, and absolutely I agree with you and that's one of the reasons why I myself became a life coach and I tell my clients very. I tell them look, I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. You're coming to me because you want to be held accountable. These are your goals, not mine. It's like when you go to the gym and you hire a physical trainer fitness trainer rather and they're going to give you the tools, they're going to give you the things right, but they're not going to do the exercises, they're not going to do the work. That's your job. Your job is here to coach you. Hey, we're going to go along, and I do.
Speaker 1:I want to be able to show my personality, because I think that's what people need, that people need real authentic people that are not just sitting behind. Like you said, very monotone, and I'm very. It used to be for a long time, so for a while I thought I was just an extrovert, but I'm also an introvert Actually they call it ambioverts where you're both, and that's because I can be very. I love engaging with people, right, all of the time, but at the same time, I need that's my space by myself, and so I tell people that all the time I'm like I can be both. It just depends on what day you talk to me. Well, I was reading that.
Speaker 2:I read it. I was reading more on that because I was like, okay, am I an introvert or am I an extrovert? They said the introvert is not necessarily a shy person. How you can be discriminated introvert from an extrovert is how you recharge. And introvert recharges by themselves, by themselves. Extrovert recharges when they're in a room with other people. Yes, so when I'm, I could, I could socialize and I could be an extrovert in the moment, but I do get drained so I have to retreat and then the next day I don't want to talk to anybody because I'm still recharging.
Speaker 1:I did you.
Speaker 1:I'm like that. So I'm the type of person that, if you, I'll be making plans, especially if it's at the beginning of the week. People say, oh yeah, we're going to do this by Friday. Honey. I'm like, nevermind, I'm going to go ahead and just stay at home. Let me drink my glass of wine and I'm fine. I'm happy. Yeah, girl, what happened? We were supposed to go out. I'm like, girl, it's been a week, I need some time. Let me, let me recoup. Maybe Saturday Catch me on Saturday, right In your experience, what role does actually this? What essential insights or lessons did you learn about yourself while navigating the challenges presented by mental illness and a loved one? What did you learn about you?
Speaker 2:I learned that I have a lot of compassion, I am. A lot of people say if you are a self-proclaimed empath, you're really not an empath. But I think I had to really dive into that definition and see am I truly an empathic person? I think I am truly empathic. I can feel when other people are going through something. Now, even with my mom, I learned at a young age I can tell someone's mannerism, someone's tone of voice, someone's the way they look, they're the blink of that, their whole body language.
Speaker 2:I learned I can read all of that. I can read all of everything that I can tell okay, something's wrong with this person, or this person's mad, or something's going on, or we're not going to have a good day, this person's not having a good day. I can read all of that and by having that, I say I have a strength. I have this little superpower that not everyone has, so that way I can navigate and relate to that person. And if they are having a bad day, how can I turn it around? Or if they're having a depressive day, I don't want to laugh in that moment. So maybe I need to show some compassion. So that's where I'm able to adapt and that's what I've learned.
Speaker 2:It's okay, although I learned it in bad situations, but it has helped me now become or help other people with their business. And right now, because I'm a chief financial officer, I have my accounting business and I love doing it in person, where I'm dealing with a lot of women that I'm really focused on as the women industry. So I'm able to sit there and really read them as a person Like, do they really want to do this? Are they really going to listen to me? Are they going to? Just by their body language, the way they're looking, how intrigued they are, whatever, how they're retreating, whatever it is, I'm able to read them. I'm able to use what I've learned into my business to help me grow my business, but also help me help them grow theirs.
Speaker 1:Wow yeah, and I think that's important to when you come to that realization, right, because I think, for a business owner, I always say this everything that we learn in life is going to help us improve, not only in our personal lives, but it's going to help us improve in our professional life. And then, when we're starting to deal and work with other people, you'll learn different people's way of learning or how they challenge or how to challenge them, rather, all of those things right. And I say that because once you start to realize your strengths, once you start to realize those valuable lessons that you've learned, you start to incorporate them, and then you get to where you're going to have people. Either they're going to be on board with you because they're like, wait, like this person knows exactly what she's talking about, or you're going to be a little too much for that person because they're not ready, not because you don't have the service to provide them, it's because they're not yet where they need to be in order to accept the things that you're having to offer them. And that's one of the things that I have been able to learn as well is that not everybody is going to be on board right away, just like, not everybody is going to be ready to, let's say, read our books or read your book and really hone in, because they're just not ready yet.
Speaker 1:I remember a lot of times I think it was one of your guests that was talking I was listening to one of the episodes where she was in a very, I guess, abusive relationship or what have you, and I could relate a lot to that. But it's like people will ask why don't you get out of that situation? Why don't you remove yourself? Why do you have to stick with it? And it's like y'all just don't understand. It's not that easy. It's not that easy to walk away from something because it doesn't happen overnight. We said that's in the beginning. It doesn't happen overnight, it takes. It's a progression that leads to that, and so it's not easy to just walk away from something because, as an entrepreneur, our thing is we're going to put everything of ourselves into this, because this is what we're building.
Speaker 1:I say when you're in a relationship, it's like a business. It is a business because we're investing our time, our energy, even our funds, our money. We're investing a lot in this other person, and this other person too, in whatever manner they're investing also. So there's an investment going on here. So when you split up a business, it's like you've got to go through all these things first in order to split up those assets that you retain. Same thing in a relationship there's a lot that goes with it and not a lot of people understand that. Okay, so your memoir touches upon the importance of self-care. Admit the challenges of supporting someone with mental illness. How did you learn to prioritize your own wellbeing in this context? I heard somewhere or maybe I read it or I heard it on your podcast that you went and learned how to do pole dancing and I was like go, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:I did. I did that was one of many. So one thing that I it was very hard, but in the beginning I didn't have the funds Something to do. Self-care does come with money and, unfortunately, a lot of the times when you're going through certain things and you're so breadwinner you can't afford to do a lot of stuff. So one of the things that I would do a lot, I started running, so I would go in the early in the morning and it helps me to, without me knowing that, the vitamin D, because PCOS, a lot of women lack vitamin D. So being in the sun, living in Florida, so being in the sun and running early in the morning before it really got hot, that I would go out and run 30 minutes every single day and then I will come upstairs and then I will do my sit-ups and whatever else that I needed to do for myself to make me feel good. And then I had.
Speaker 2:I was when I moved down here, it was like 190 pounds. Then I was doing this so much and taking care of myself so much, and at this time I was able to do it because he was sleeping at that time. So I would take advantage, go and do all of this, come upstairs he was still sleeping and do myself upstairs eat, take shower or whatever, and that was my time. And then I dropped all the way down to 130. At this time again, I didn't know that I had PCOS, because PCOS makes you gain a lot of weight and it's hard for you to lose it. And so I was like okay, so I kept down with that. And then, once I started getting the financial means, I hired a personal trainer to help me lift weights, because then I went from 190 to 130. So right now I need to get some muscle, because now I'm just I joke, I was just all head and shoulders so I started gaining the healthy weight back and lifting weights and stuff like that. So at that time, okay, this was making me feel really good about myself and I didn't know that that was helping my PCOS at the same time. So, although I'm like, okay, I'm trying to help myself, because the only way I can help myself, the only way I can help him, is by helping myself, but I really didn't know that it was actually helping me internally and physically and health-wise. So, after years going through our separation again we were so very much involved with each other.
Speaker 2:I would do a lot of firsts. So I would. I loved and I would try to find things that didn't cost a lot of money. And again, I had to financial means, but I wanted to try. I grew up very poor, so everyone says I'm very frugal, but of course, because, although I know how to make money, I didn't want to just give it away just like that. So a lot of the first that I would do is find trails and of course I was scared to do a lot of trails because there's alligators, snakes and all types of stuff out here. But I would go and do walking trails and be out in nature because I just love being outside in nature, going to a beach, visiting a beach or also finding different sightseeing areas. That didn't cost a lot of money. So it was very cost-efficient for a very long time and it was great. It was great.
Speaker 2:And then I'm like, all right, I started gaining weight again. So I'm like, all right, I can't blame him anymore because we don't live together. So what's going on? But again, it's part of PCOS you can fluctuate in weight and it's very. It's so hard. So I started boxing. So I started going in boxing and I was boxing for a long time and it was so hard the coordination between all these jabs and this and that. But I was really good at it too. So my biggest fear was done. Putting me to spar against someone else. It's like, oh my God, no, because I grew up in a hood that you're fighting with normal. So I was like I don't know, not that I'm scared of them, I'm just kind of scared of what's gonna come out of me. Right, I might get that hood come out of me and I'm like, no, I don't know if I want to go there.
Speaker 2:So while I was doing that, I started doing pole dancing, and that came about because I got into a new relationship. He's well off himself, so it was like his birthday was coming up. So I was like what can I do for his birthday? I'm not a big gift giver. Oh gosh, you're there, yeah. So I liked again being frugal, maybe, but my thing is I feel like I like to give memories and create memories. So I was like what can I do? What can I do? What can I do? So that's how pole dancing came about. So I was like, okay, I wanted to give him something. He couldn't just go and buy Grannie. He could go to a strip club or whatever, but he wasn't gonna be able to buy me on a pole somewhere.
Speaker 2:So I started working on creating a dance move. I didn't think it was gonna be anything elaborate, which is gonna be something sexy for his birthday and stuff, but then I started getting really into him. I'm like, okay, I like this, I like that. I'm very competitive. So then I was challenging myself to be able to go up a pole and climb that pole and sit on that pole and do spins on the pole. So I started getting like really, really into it.
Speaker 2:Then I seen that I started helping my body as well. Like I started gaining some kind of confidence because I used to take my glasses off so I wouldn't see myself in the mirror very good, so that way I don't criticize how my body looked and stuff like that. So then I started getting up to that pole and I started helping with my upper body strength and like, okay, now I'm stronger. Yeah, he lifts weights, but my legs are the strongest as opposed to my arms. But then my arms started getting stronger. I'm like, okay, I like this, I like this.
Speaker 2:So I stopped that for a while, because you know business and working and all of that. But then I try to find other, first, to take care of myself. One thing that I always do, and I don't say no to, is my pedicure and manicure. I love my nails. My nails are naturally long, so I have to make sure they're always on point. So, yeah, I try to find things that make me feel good Inside out, not just on the outside, because you can go and paint some nails and still not feel good about yourself.
Speaker 1:Yes, I think all of those things are very important. Yes, yes, talk to us a little bit about so shifting gears a little bit. Talk to us a little bit what inspired you to start your podcast she who Thrives. And who is she who Thrives? Who is that for?
Speaker 2:Okay, so she who Thrives celebrates women who have faced different adversities in life and who have overcome them to become successful in their own right, whatever success means to them, whatever success if it's success in business, it's success in your career, success as a mom, whatever success means to you. So I. One thing people have told me is that I know many people in different walks of life and not everyone can say that Many people stay within their group and I love learning different cultures. I love learning about you know different people, different backgrounds, different everything. I'm fascinated by that and it's something very you know one thing that I was. When I was very young, my mom really instilled our culture into me and then once she one thing my mom always said I can't give you a lot, but I can give you education, and she wanted me to learn and learn as much as I could and learn about the world and learn about other people, learn about all of that. And I still do that to this day.
Speaker 2:And I like to celebrate women, of course, and men too, because I don't, I don't, I don't want to make people on feminists or anything like that, but women, naturally, because you know we relate, because I'm a woman, but I want to see where we look at people. We're at the chapter that we walk in on, that we judge them based off of that chapter and I want to know. Sometimes we look at the people that are successful and but behind that success, I want to know because my brain is very inquisitive what? What did you have to do to get there? What were your challenges? I want to be vulnerable and tell me you went through this. So I did have someone that I grew up with that she had her challenges of going to jail, and that's something that it's for us where we grew up at. Well, it's either you're going to be locked up, you're going to, you're going to die, or a teenage mom those were the statistics for us. So I know many are have struggled to get out of that predicament, to become successful. Many have done many illegal things to get out of that and become successful, and I just want to shine light on women and anyone that you are not defined by your past Right. Many of us had to do a lot of things to get to where we're at, but we don't need to be ashamed of that. That's who you were. That's what the that was the circumstances we were in, but we did everything possible to get out and succeed, and it's it's for the younger generation or even older people that are still lost, to see that you're not the only one going through this Many of us have gone through this and to give them that motivation to like man. She did this, I can do it too, so it's been, it's been.
Speaker 2:The reason why I wanted to do it was because I did grow up in a like I said in that area that it was those statistics and I really didn't want to be that that part of you know, that part of the statistics in a negative way. And why? One of the fuels to my fire was I sat in on a meeting where they were going to judge me about some business plans that I wrote to see if they can use me as a vendor for, you know, to provide for their clientele. And one of the guys that was on the board of directors he was I don't know if he was a retired journalist or he was still a journalist or whatever. His background was journalism and he did not like the word inner city and he and he was a Hispanic male and he refused for me to even use the word inner city because it comes with a negative connotation. And I got so furious Because inner city I told them and I said it you know professionally, inner cities, where I come from, it's nothing negative.
Speaker 2:We have our struggles but we're still a family in that neighborhood, the inner city. So he was ashamed that he said him as a Hispanic. A Hispanic male would never want to be associated with the word inner city and ever since that day was like I'm going to show you where this kid from the inner city is going to be successful and I'm not going to let you or anybody ever, ever, you know come with a negative connotation about where I come from. So that was the fuel, that's the fuel for it and I want other women to be like okay, I got this, so yeah, that's where, that's where it all comes from. I want to motivate people. I want everyone, to anyone that wants to be successful, to know that you can do it.
Speaker 1:Wow, and that's I love that. I love that and that's the reason why I to have mommy on a mission podcast, you know, which stands for Mujeres Alcanzando Metas Imposibles, because for a lot of us, we feel that it's impossible to attain or reach a goal because either a society tells us that or be our family members or friends and so called friends have told us that. Right, and one of the things that you say a lot too, because I've heard, like I said, I've heard your podcast too, and we have a lot of the similarities in the aspect that we say you know, when people come at you negatively or when people tell you you can't do something, all they're doing is projecting their own fears and insecurities on to you, and I've heard you say that a lot of I was like, yes, she gets it. Because that's exactly true. I talk a lot about that, you know, not allowing for other people's insecurities or their feelings or their fear to stop you from doing the things that you aspire to do or want to do. And so to hear you say that a lot too, is like, absolutely, this is what it's all about. It's us women and, like you said, you know I help men too, but it's for us women to know that we don't have to put other women down. We can fix each other's crowns.
Speaker 1:I say that a lot, you know we are here to fix each other's crowns and say you see, what is, whatever it is that you want to accomplish, you can do it. Is it going to be easy? Hell, no. Is it going to be hard? Absolutely, but it's it's. It's through the hardness, it's through the struggle, it's through all of that.
Speaker 1:That's where, where you're going to learn your superpower. It's going to be where you're going to learn what your purpose in life is. You know, no one can tell you what your purpose is. It's you're going to find that out when you wake up and you're passionate about something. That's your purpose. When you wake up and you know exactly in the, in your mind, the first thing that comes in your mind, that is where your purpose is coming from. And so I express that a lot and I'm so you know, glad to hear that you are doing the same thing. That that's the message that we want to get out there. So for those listeners who might be in similar situations where there's children trying to understand a parent's condition or partners supporting their loved ones. What message would you like to convey based on your experiences, based on my?
Speaker 2:experience. Man, there's so many messages, I have to say the biggest, the biggest one is that this is something that I'm going through right now, that, as much as you try to see yourself succeed in something that you are so proud of, you know you're going to be able to do that. The biggest one is that this is something that I'm going through right now, that, as much as you try to see yourself succeed in something that you are so passionate about, there's people that are going to come and try to break you down. People are going to come and try to use your past against you. People are going to want to do everything possible to stop you from spreading this positivity and spreading this greatness, to spreading all of this, but not to give up. Just take that, keep it as fuel and silence them. Silence them as much as possible. Do not let them hold you back. Do not let them win because, like I said, I'm going through this right now and it's the most.
Speaker 2:I think it's one of the hardest situations that I can ever go through that lies are being said about me and because they don't want to see me progress in life, and I refuse to let that happen. I refuse to just and that's just gets so, so, so religious. But for those who have, who do go to church and stuff like that, look at what happened with Jesus. Jesus Christ, you know, he was spreading positivity and greatness in the world and they did everything possible to stop him and he didn't stop there and he, he still lives in all of us. So that's where I'm at, like he's giving me this purpose, he's giving me this reason and I'm not going to allow anyone to stop me.
Speaker 2:Like I was afraid to be myself for a very long time and now, with because I went through all of that healing, I'm no longer afraid and honestly, I went through that divorce. I think that could have been like the biggest heartbreak for me that I'm not afraid of anything anymore, I'm not afraid of feeling those feelings anymore, I'm not afraid of any of that. So it's like All right, I'm head on. So I think that you know, don't let anyone stop you from anything and if you're stopping yourself right now, you may need to look at healing first and really heal 100%, so that way any of those fears can no longer hold you back from being your true self.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Great words of advice. I totally agree with you. I totally, totally agree with you. So, janelle, if anyone wanted to reach out to you or learn more about you, how could they reach you?
Speaker 2:I am on Instagram as boss lady now, with one L, and then I'm also on TikTok right now, which has been a big thing for me as boss lady now, but with two L's. So you can see, you can reach me on both either or. Or you can find me at she who drives podcastcom, and you'll see everything about me on the social media right now.
Speaker 1:I'm just been putting everything out there and your book is also available on Amazon right and Amazon and.
Speaker 2:Barnes and Noble. Yes, anywhere you'll. If you just research Loving a Bipolar Bear, it will come out. You will see Janelle Borreiro Peña. Peña is my married name, so now just been using Janelle Borreiro. So yeah, you'll see me there. The other website I have is JanelleBPcom, but yeah, you'll find me. If you really just Google my name. I will pop up all over the place.
Speaker 1:Awesome, and I will also have your link to the book and your Instagram and TikTok. I'll have those also in the show notes. So for whoever wants to reach out to Janelle, if you were inspired by her story, you will have access to how to reach her. Janelle, thank you so much for being on the podcast with me, and I know that it was through a mutual contact that you were able to find me and stuff, and so I'm so grateful and thankful that you were able to come on the show. Thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2:So to all of you, I want to invite you on to she who Thrives. So I've never done it virtually, so now I did yours, so we got to work on you coming on to mine.
Speaker 1:Okay, awesome, awesome, awesome. I would love, I'd be honored, I'd be honored to be on your podcast as well, and y'all. Her podcast is amazing, also sharing a lot of great stories to get the book loving a bipolar bear. It is amazing. It is awesome. I highly recommend it and for all you beautiful women that continues to listen to Mommy on a Mission podcast, thank you all so much for an awesome year.
Speaker 1:After this episode airs, mommy on a Mission is going to take a break for about two weeks so I can spend some time with family and friends, and then I've got also some amazing things that I have lined up for 2024. So, for anyone who is listening, please share this episode with your Amiga, with your friend, with your kohl madre, whomever it is that you feel will impact from the story, like share rate. Review this podcast. I do read each and everyone's reviews and I'm so thankful that you all made Mommy on a Mission go global. I was so excited to hear about that that I went global, and so that is amazing. Until next year, we will come back and I will see you again on the Mommy on a Mission podcast.
Speaker 1:If you are hearing this message, you've listened to the entire episode and for that I want to say me gracias from the bottom of my heart. If you would like to dive deeper into today's message and would like to connect with me, send me DM on Instagram at olamommyonamission, or Facebook at Mommy on a Mission. You can also find me at Mommyonamissioncom. I hope you've enjoyed this new episode and if you did, it would mean the world to me If you would subscribe, share this podcast and leave me a review on Spotify and Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcast. Tune in next week for some more words of motivation, inspiration and encouragement on Mommy on a Mission podcast.