The Story
Behind the Story
Alicia knows what having a severe allergy is like, she is anaphylactic to peppercorn. Not only does she live with food allergies and intolerances herself, so does her husband and three of their four children (in varying degrees of severity). Their oldest child, Logan, lived with multiple, very severe allergies his entire childhood—including anaphylactic allergies to dairy, soy and egg; and moderate to severe allergies to wheat and corn.
Being allergic to such common foods as a child was hard on Logan. Birthday parties? Celebratory class pizza parties? Sitting at a regular lunch table with other kids? Thanksgiving dinner with the extended family? No, no, no, and no.
It made it very hard for Logan to feel like he fit in. Because of the accommodations needed to keep him safe, he often felt like a burden to others and tried to avoid drawing attention to himself. Books were his happy place.
Like any parent, Alicia hated watching her son struggle. Since Logan loved books so much, she went searching for one that would help him feel better about his allergies. She also wanted to take one into his classroom to help the kids understand what it was like for kids with food allergies. She was surprised when she couldn't find one.
Then, one day while the two of them were at an elementary school event, a well-meaning but insensitive stranger was appalled when Logan said he couldn't eat the ice cream. With a look of pity and a snarky tone he exclaimed, "Being a kid who can't eat ice cream is like being a fish out of water."
After the man walked out of hearing range, Alicia told Logan she felt the expression was wrong. A fish would die out of water, but he would survive just fine eating other amazing foods that did not make him sick. Her son looked at her with watery eyes and said, "Yeah, but it's like being a frog who can't eat flies. It's just wrong." With that, the idea for this book was born.
Alicia hopes Tad's story will help kids with food allergies navigate through the tough feelings a little easier, while also increasing awareness and compassion among their friends and peers.
You may be happy to hear that Tad's story is not over; in fact, it is just beginning. Alicia is already working on his next adventure. Be sure to subscribe below and follow her on social media to stay up to date, get sneak peeks, and maybe even participate in the creative process!
Resume
Since Alicia is a new author, she doesn't have literary reviews or an extensive portfolio (yet), but her career path has followed an interesting and windy road. Each role has played as an integral part in the making of who she is today, and her experiences help shape the way she approaches any project: especially this one. Alicia has supplied this information in case you are bored, having trouble sleeping, or just curious.
Holistic Health Coach
June 2013 - Present
In 2013, Alicia and her family were facing numerous medical challenges, so she quit her time-consuming and high-stress career so she could enroll in a holistic health coaching program. She figured if she couldn't find doctors that could give them answers or solutions, she would make an effort to reclaim their health naturally. Her efforts were so successful that she felt called to pay it forward and open a private practice.
As a holistic health coach, Alicia helps busy moms who manage allergy and autoimmune challenges with themselves and/or their kids tame their overwhelm by teaching them natural lifestyle habits and processes that simplify their required daily tasks, minimize allergy or autoimmune flare ups, and reclaim their sense of self and sanity.
Alicia is passionate about helping those who have a sincere desire to help themselves, and who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work.
doTerra Wellness Advocate & Gold Team Leader
September 2013 - Present
After using doTerra products to make some pretty huge health strides in her family, Alicia felt the right thing to do was to add the products to her health coaching practice. The oils and oil-based products are a highly effective complementary therapy for the majority of allergy and autoimmune clients.
For those who wish to learn, Alicia provides an initial wellness consult, during which she works with her clients to develop an individualized plan. In order to best support her clients, Alicia continuously educates herself, provides a community of like-minded people to learn with and from, offers continuing education classes, and invites her clients to schedule regular wellness checks.
Learning and Development Specialist
October 2004 - December 2018
Alicia worked for various organizations as an employee or consultant in roles such as project manager, instructional designer, performance consultant, and talent acquisition director. She garnered many awards and accolades, but the accomplishment she is most proud of is how she applied her expertise to her family's organizational challenge of managing her kids' severe food allergies, reflux, and asthma.
The moment she decided to step back and tackle the problem systematically, she stopped panicking and took control of the situation. She conducted a gap analysis, and then developed the training, job aids, and procedures required to ensure that all involved in her kids' care were able to consistently follow the required steps to keep them safe. Now, her passion is helping others do the same.
------------------------
Alicia has written stories, poetry, and songs for as long as she can remember; but her love of writing really took flight during her time at Susquehanna University. Her writing skills have served her well in every job and career, but she has said many times that becoming an official author is her favorite accomplishment to date.
If you actually want MORE details about Alicia's background, check out her LinkedIn profile or Contact her using the buttons below.