Featured Story

 Julianne Williams

I thought that a life-threatening open-heart surgery at the age of five would be the greatest challenge of my life.

After surviving multiple procedures, I was then diagnosed with Scoliosis and now living a childhood lacking normalcy but filled with doctor visits and more worries about my health – all by the age 11.

In middle school, I fell in love with the neighborhood boy of my dreams. Dating on-again-off-again through high school and then college, we eventually married and had two beautiful children.

The love of my life had a perpetual struggle with anxiety that stemmed from early childhood. His seasonal breakdowns ripped at every seam of emotional balance for our family. After multiple stints with in-patient psychiatry, the unthinkable happened. I was left alone with a suicide note. Let to raise our children who were 7 and 3 years old at the time, I had to dig deep to find solutions to help us heal and support my family. While raising my children, my career grew and I eventually became the President of the second largest skilled nursing care company in the US. I was also elected to and served on both State and National Boards, representing my profession. I wrote my book “Head Above Water” to share a story of how faith, family, and friends prove the power of connection. Strategies for finding emotional balance are vital to choosing happiness in the face of adversity. Developing resiliency isn’t a choice; it’s a must for overcoming life’s harshest lessons. I also have a passion for sharing the need for mental health awareness and the absence of mental health care available in the US.

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