Today we have a special story to share with you – Kerrie Atherton is a lady who was on the brink of ending her life but managed to do a complete turn around and has now dedicated her life to assisting others and is constantly SHINE’ing a spotlight on bringing awareness and hope to people who are homeless and disadvantaged or battling addictions and trauma. Kerrie’s book is set for release in February and will share stories of some of the people she has assisted or worked to support, with the HOPE of assisting others.

Kerrie, tell us a little bit about your story…

After planning suicide at 18, I walked through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Since that day 38 years ago, I have remained clean and sober. Over the past 30 years, I have worked in a voluntary capacity in the community helping the very vulnerable and those battling addictions. Since moving to the Sunshine Coast 14 years ago I have also worked in private practice as a trauma and addictions coach/counsellor supporting people from all walks of life and have worked with many young people in crises at different schools on the coast. My husband and I founded a charity  called ‘Streetlight’ which ran for 6 years and supported the homeless and disadvantaged.  Four years ago I launched my business EMPOWER Life Solutions. Two years ago I founded Stories of HOPE Australia and am now a published author having  just written my first book.

What motivated you to start Stories of HOPE Australia? 

A few reasons , but mainly the fact that the need out there is so great and that the suicide rate had become so high.Because I am only one person but there are so many people out there who are battling lack of connection and loneliness out there, I wanted to do something where I could literally reach the masses and have maximum impact. I have met thousands of people each year in my community work and profession as a coach/counsellor who are struggling through life and many of them battle the silent epidemic of feeling like they are all alone. Often it’s people that nobody would ever suspect.I just knew that I hadn’t been through all the hard times in my life for nothing and that I had to share my stories and the stories of the many other triumphant people I knew to bring HOPE to others and show as many as possible, that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

What was your biggest learning curve and how did it make you a better person?

Letting go of fear of rejection and humiliation. Once I let go of the fear of what others thought about me, I was truly free to be my authentic self.  Transparency is the only key to true connection with others and when we find that connection we can really help change lives. Trusting my gut instinct instead of being concerned with the popular opinion of others has really led me on a great and steady path.

Tell us about your new book – Stories of Hope Australia ‘Everyday People, Extraordinary Stories’ – and the motivation behind this? 

The speakers at my events have inspired me so much that I wanted as many people as possible to hear their stories.Many of these people have also never spoken in public before and many have expressed their deep gratitude for the opportunity to speak out with some really feeling like they had been given a voice for the first time which has also brought a sense of healing for them as well as inspiration for the audience. While I have a deep desire to bring HOPE to my local community, my desire is to also reach the masses and those all over the world, who need to hear the message of HOPE.Because it isn’t always possible for people in different locations to attend my events, I have created this book in such a way that I can give people a glimpse of the journey along with wrapping some of the stories of these amazing people up in a book, so I can essentially take a taste of the Stories of HOPE Australia event experience out to the wider population.

What decision changed your life? 

To hold my first Stories of HOPE vision night on the 31^st January 2017, even if only one person turned up.

And what’s next on the agenda for Kerrie Atherton?

To publish my second Stories of HOPE Australia book at the end of this year.

To expand Stories of HOPE Australia and take the team to different locations in different states.

To run regular men’s and women’s events targeting high level topics affecting today’s society.

To take the SOHA team into businesses and workplaces to present staff resilience and mental health wellbeing events.

Doing more Key Note speaking engagements sharing my own story of HOPE and triumph over the difficult circumstances in my life.

Bringing HOPE to schools through presenting my various programs, and workshops.

Most interesting person that you have met? 

Ricky May the famous New Zealand 80’s Jazz singer

Favourite movie?

The Party with Peter Sellers

What do you love most about your job?

That I have the privilege and opportunity to help change and save people’s lives in their darkest times by bringing them HOPE and helping them find their purpose.

To find out more about Kerrie’s book and Pre-Order head to the link below:
Stories of Hope – Book Pre-Order

If you’re interested in attending the Stories of HOPE Book Launch – head to:
Stories of Hope – Book Launch

For more information on Stories of HOPE Australia head to:
https://storiesofhope.com.au/