I met Monique at a gathering in the house of a mutual friend, and we became fast friends. We clicked from the start. Monique loved my strong and independent spirit, admired my dreams and goals for my life, and fell in love with my vision of creating a world where women embrace themselves with self-love. I was in awe of her glamour, dazzled by her talent, and absolutely enamored with her big and kind heart. We met at a time when we were both growing our careers; I was a student at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and was working there as a teacher, coach and mentor, and she was a wedding singer trying to break into showbiz.
Monique used to come to my apartment in New York City's West Village, we’d hang out, sing (she tried to convince me that there s a singing career in my future), and eat delicious, whole food meals that I cooked in my tiny kitchen. We both participated in a brilliant play written by a dancer friend, Ling, who was recovering from an eating disorder; about women breaking out of limitation, healing their hurts and living life on their own terms. Ling danced, Monique sang and I acted (they both tried to tell me there is an acting career in my future). We all shared a deep understanding of how women are manipulated to feel bad about themselves and need to heal through self-love.
Monique became my client when she got a dream job as a backup singer to a big star and went on tour. As New Yorkers we were very fortunate to have access to healthy eating, New York is full of health food stores, farmers markets and health food restaurants. We would often meet with mutual friends at Angelica’s Kitchen, an East Village vegan restaurant and share organic meals. Monique enrolled in my consultation program so she could learn to stay healthy on the road. We spoke often, I loved hearing the behind the scene stories of her celebrity lifestyle, and I was thrilled to support her in her pursuit of a healthy life.
Monique’s career kept growing, she was going on tours often, singing backup for the world’s top musicians and living a glamorous life, but that was not her biggest dream. Monique dreamed of having her own solo career and signing her own record deal. After a lot of years of hard work it finally happened. Monique got a call from a big record company who wanted to sign her up. The night before her meeting with the producers we went out to celebrate with a bunch of our friends, we were all thrilled for her!
The next day Monique called me sobbing hysterically, as she was told by the producers from the record company who wanted to sign her that although her talent was huge, that
One Woman’s Story
of Healing:
Career Choices
By Rachel Kieffer
In the 35 years that I have been working as a health coach I have met some incredible women. I am happy to share their stories with you. May they inspire you and help you realize that healing is possible, that you have all the resources you need inside you and that every step forward you take is significant. All the stories are true but names and some details are changed to protect the privacy of my clients.
16 | ElementsForAHealthierLife.com | September 2016