Following Sunshine shares your story of personal growth and dealing with life’s challenges through the lens of your travels and how they helped you on your journey. Why was this an important book for you to write?

While the individual chapters of my life are unique to me — leaving home at age seventeen to study French language and literature in Paris, France, volunteering on remote islands in Belize, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Palau, and reinventing myself professionally across five different industries: TV, scuba diving, hospitality, finance & insurance, and ultimately as an author, my journey is universal.

Many of us suffer loss, heartache, and to varying degrees trauma. We reach for joy and happiness, mental and physical well-being. But the one desire we share absolutely is to love and be loved. That we are enough. My purpose in laying bare my soul in this memoir is to light a path for anyone fighting the dark, to show that anything is possible, that you just need to keep breathing and take the next step. My travels across the world, often as a volunteer, serve as a backdrop to the butterfly effect: we are one human race and how we behave in one area of the world can affect another many oceans away. Our lives become the sum of our thoughts and our experiences the result of our choices.

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

Quite a few:

Anything is possible, never give up.

Setbacks don’t need to define us; they provide opportunities for growth.

Material possessions are not an indication of success.

Embracing minimalism enables you to travel lightly in the world and life.

Listen to your instincts, trust your intuition.

We are all here to serve each other.

Staying open-minded helps reveal our commonalities rather than what separates us.

Living in the “now” repels anxiety and fear of the unknown.

Practicing gratitude is the only way to soar.

In addition, I wanted to share a subject very dear to me: our oceans.

I’m passionate about marine conservation, protecting our coral reefs and in particular, dolphins. In Chapter 13 you’ll read: “The single most determined activist, who has made it his life’s mission to free dolphins in captivity, has got to be the man who believes he created the problem in the first place: Ric O’Barry. As the trainer on the TV show, he was not only responsible for capturing the five dolphins that played Flipper, but for teaching them to jump, twirl and tail-walk on cue. In the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, Ric explains how he spent ten years contributing to the building of this industry and the rest of his life trying to tear it down. Most of the dolphins you see in what O Barry calls the “Abusement Parks” are “are captured during an annual hunt in Taiji, Japan. Those not chosen to be shipped to seaquariums are slaughtered, out of sight. Once you watch the movie, the blood red water of the scenic cove is a sight you can never un-see.”

My dad had a favorite life quote that resonated with me: When you know something, you can’t not know it anymore. As much as I love dolphins, I have never been near a dolphinarium since. Instead, I chose to volunteer with the Watamu Marine Association in Kenya, working with them on their project to educate boat captains and the community in the safe practices of bringing tourists out to observe dolphins in the wild.

You traveled to so many beautiful places along the way. What location did you find the most healing and why?

Water soothes my soul. If it’s warm and azure, set against green mountains and a deep blue sky the combination makes my spirit soar. So, naturally, finding a way to do Bora Bora on a budget as a single woman, and overcoming the loneliness of dining alone in the honeymoon capital of the world, brought me incredible joy. While it would have been wonderful to share this exotic and romantic destination with a lover I was at peace knowing I am my own best friend, and I am enough.

But the greatest healing was yet to come. Fulfilling a dream to work at sea I volunteered to crew for a solo sailor. From Florida to the Bahamas. It was only supposed to last a month. But when you live 24/7 in a 40ft space, with no wi-fi or cell service, and have to rely on your fellow mariner for your safety you get to know each other from the inside out. Gary and I talked; nothing was off limits. Drawing from his master’s degree in spiritual psychology he coached me in processing some issues from my past and showed me the art of self-forgiveness and self-love. While neither of us set out on the voyage looking for love, love found us. A month turned into four, a year into six, sailing the turquoise waters of the Bahamas and Caribbean islands. With toes in the sand in Antigua captain and crew became husband and wife. We are forever grateful for the universe conspiring in our favor and for the profound love we have for each other. Together, we have become greater than the sum of our two selves.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?

Living a fulfilled, meaningful life is a choice. It starts with seeking clarity, not continuing in the role your parents, siblings or colleagues think is best for you. Past traumas do not define you. Believe anything is possible. Once you discard the noise, the life you really want to live becomes clear and it is never too late to take steps to create that existence. Be the driver, not the passenger. Visualize that life, take the necessary action to achieve it, be open to the all the possibilities it offers, and then live in quiet expectation and gratitude. It will come.

And remember you only have today, and it could be your last. Whatever you have been dreaming of, or putting off, do it now.

Enjoy this gift called life!

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