Being told - aged 16 - by my school headmistress in 1988 that I was a failure and the girl going nowhere, was not an ideal start to my young life. Nor was being told I was a juvenile delinquent by a junior psychiatrist I was forced to spend time with - or face being expelled. Over time, I found a way to use the name calling & labels as an important education, one which eventually impacted & powered my entire world. The truth is, I was a victim of child sexual abuse and abandonment. I was without doubt very troubled, but I was being abused - there is a huge difference. Through many of my troubling younger years I had near death experiences and dodged the law on many occasions. There were people in my life who believed I would be dead or in prison by the time I was 20; although for many, the resultant mental trauma from child sexual abuse is prison enough. I began intense therapy aged 23, and together with my own in-depth research on the subject of child abuse, I understand the importance of a well-rounded approach toward a child’s learning & development in the 21st Century on these conversations. Especially when you consider brain development. Much of my own therapy was to assist my recovery from addictions & disorders -> aka my coping mechanisms. I now use my childhood education to power my business & personal life, because I truly understand what it feels like to be strong - and I mean in the sense of feeling mentally, emotionally, physically strong. In 2000 I launched a series of Lifestyle Businesses created because of my passions; performing, dance & fitness. My brand expanded over 25 years & now sits under the umbrella of "emmanation".My debut book Don’t Hold Back, was published in 2018. Writing was cathartic, helping me discover the power of public speaking, an authenticity I had never appreciated the power of as a child. - it is important for me to say I haven’t achieved what I have to date without a lot of therapy & support. I don’t advise anyone to speak up/share anything about their personal story in public, until they have a greater understanding of their why & also of what they are facing if they do speak out.In 2019 I coined the quotes “…too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, too determined to be defeated”- words that have centred themselves on my entire life, and now my merchandise - all focused on positivity and strength, created by self-worth and because of my passion for fitness and "sanity not vanity".In 2020 I began circling around the #notmyshame message & in 2023 I founded Project 90-10 Charity.