It started the day I became a mom, 10 years ago.
Night after night, nightmares about my worst fear, watching my infant daughter slip away in front of me. I couldn’t save her. I just stood there helpless, as it happened again and again. I’d wake up gasping, only to fall asleep and right back into the nightmare.
I never told my doctor about it. I didn’t think anyone could fix it.
The second sign came three years later, after my son was born. The nurse placed him on my chest and I felt ... nothing. No joy. No warmth. No love. Just hollow detachment. Over time, it grew into resentment, and I quietly blamed my baby for how broken I felt inside. I didn’t tell a soul, terrified that if I said the truth out loud, people would think I was heartless.
Maybe I was.
After having my third child, the nightmares came back with a vengeance. Night became a maze with no way out.
And the days? Even worse.
Physical touch sent me into a panic. I couldn’t hold my children. Intrusive thoughts whispered inside my mind, urges to run away, to hurt myself. Or worse. I was trapped inside a mind that was no longer mine.
One afternoon, my sister stopped by and saw through the mask I had been wearing. She recognized the signs of a mental health crisis, signs I didn’t even fully understand myself. I had been hiding so much, even from my husband. I felt ashamed, confused, and terrified of what the truth might say about me. But when my sister asked if I was OK, something cracked open. I broke down and told her everything: the nightmares, the panic, the numbness, the unbearable distance I felt from my kids. She held my hand and calmly called a mental health hotline. I got professional help that day.
It didn’t fix everything, but at that moment, I wasn’t alone anymore. And the shame started melting away.
I was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. My doctor gave me three challenges: Go to the gym to exercise. Spend time in the sunshine. Build your support network.
It sounded so simple. But it wasn’t, not for someone still struggling just to get out of bed.
I had an idea: What if I combined all three? What if I invited women to exercise outside with me? I found eight women online willing to meet once a week. That meetup became the one day I got out of bed and felt like myself again.
After a few months, something incredible happened.
I started smiling more. I started getting ready every morning. I gained control of my thoughts. Sunshine, exercise, and friendship were making a difference.
There was one moment when I realized just how much of an impact. It was late at night, and one of my kids crawled into bed to snuggle with me. And for the first time in months, I didn’t panic. I didn’t pull away.
I held my son. I finally felt that love I’d been missing for so long.
That moment was the turning point. I realized getting outside, moving, and connecting wasn’t just a challenge from my doctor: It was a lifeline. And if sunshine, movement, and connection could do all that for me, I knew I needed to help others experience the same healing. I became determined to turn my little club into something bigger, something to help hundreds of women feel better.
So I got to work alongside incredible women like Anne Sevilla, Michele Gratt, Kelly Phillips, and Ana DiStasio, who gave their time, hearts, and energy to build something new and long overdue for the women in our community.
Fast-forward 18 months. We’ve just celebrated the one-year anniversary of The Women’s Adventure Club. We’re a nonprofit that offers countless opportunities to get outside, move your body, and build a support network.
The trifecta of sunshine, movement, and connection is at the heart of every event we host.
Sunshine lifts your mood and helps reset your nervous system.
Movement releases endorphins and eases anxiety.
Connection is the glue: It helps women feel seen, heard, and supported.
That’s why we do what we do. Movement rooted in joy, not judgment, can truly change your life.
In a culture obsessed with exercise as a way to change how you look, we focus on how it makes you feel. For us, getting outside and moving isn’t about speed tests or burning calories. It’s a tool for healing, not a measure of fitness. We are movement for your mental health.
I am so proud of what we’ve created for our community of over 1,300 members! And while my mental health crisis was incredibly difficult, I’m now grateful for it, because it led me here.
Today, I love my life. I love who I am. I’m confident. I’m proud to be a mom. I hold my head high, take up space, and know without a doubt that I can do anything I set my mind to.
And the most rewarding part?
I get to witness that transformation in other women—every single day.
See them rise from self-doubt to boldness, from silence to sisterhood, from barely holding on, to fully becoming.
Because when women choose joy, healing, and strength, it doesn’t just change them, it changes everything. They become the kind of women who lift others just by being who they are.
That’s the real magic:
Not just surviving, but rising. Not just healing, but homecoming.
So if you’ve been wondering where the real you went…
Come find her.
She’s out here, in the sunshine, on the trail, beside women who will hold space for you until you remember your own strength.
We’re already saving you a spot.
The trifecta...sunshine, movement, and connection.
In a culture obsessed with exercise as a way to change how you look, we focus on how it makes you feel.