Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Dickenson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I was in business as a co-owner of my law firm for several year before creating a new business. The law firm was very successful and was the largest female owned real estate law firm in the southeast and likely the whole east coast. But the stress of the practice and then the financial crises in 2008, created so much stress I ended up getting very sick. I was diagnosed with Brain Cancer, grade 4, glioblastoma. The doctors informed me that even with brain surgery, radiation and chemo, I could expect to live for just another 12 months. Glioblastomas is a particularly daunting illness as 95% of those would pass within 12-18 months. The statics say that the remaining 5% remaining would expect to pass within 5 years. Pretty bad odds, pretty scarry. Even so, I took on the attitude that there is always hope and if there is even one person out there who has beaten this illness, why couldn’t I beat it too. From being a “big shot” lawyer, I became a patient and that is how I learned to be my own health advocate and ultimately help others too.
It worked! I took control of what I could control- my mind, body and spirit. Anything that was good, I did, anything the was bad or toxic (including toxic people), I got rid of. About 3 years after my initial diagnoses, I started getting referrals from people dealing with cancer and I started coaching them about the healing path. Ultimately, I realized the need was too great and I wrote my book, The Case for Hope by Jennifer Laguzza Dickenson
(Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.). Its a simple, inspiring book filled with tools anyone can use to improve their health, even serious ones like mine was. This is the book I wished I had when I was diagnosed. There were no books like this that I was able to find when I got sick. Which is why I wrote this book for others so they wouldn’t have to struggle in the dark like I had too. My company is JD Publications LLC and I do a lot of public speaking, churches, podcast, corporate events, writing, and posting about my message of hope, healing and manifestation. I have well eclipsed the Dr’s plans for me as I am 15 year clear of any cancer.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I originally grew up in New York but moved to Georgia for law school at Emory Law. That was kind of a shock at first! But I love being in Georgia. As a lawyer and ultimately managing partner and business owner, I did a lot of public speaking before I got sick. Now as an author and health advocate, I also do a lot of public speaking but now it is about teaching people how to use the healing tools available to us all. I never would have thought in a million years I would be doing this kind of work, but I love it! It is so satisfying to meet people who are scared and asking questions- and I can help them by listening and teaching what I learned the hard way. Most clients I meet do not know about the healing tools available to them. And it pains me because not only are they mostly free, they have all been studied over and over as to the effectiveness towards healing. I really enjoy working with groups or individual people and I see the light bulbs going off. “Oh, so there is more to healing than just drugs and surgery!” They start to take control of their own health and change everything to give them the best chance to beat their illness. But I also talk to people who are perfectly healthy but who are interested in living a better life. I love that too because that is the core solution for all of us- we take control now, before something shocking happens. But, even so, if illness were to occur, having learned and used these tools upfront, you would be so much better prepared and able to spring into action. I helped a man who had glioblastoma and he was simply planning to die withing 6 months as his doctors had told him. His situation was pretty severe because of the location of the brain cancer it was in operable. That’s a really big deal. However, I taught him all that I learned in my healing journey- and he followed it all! He beat it and is healthy, with no cancer 9 years form his diagnoses!! So you can see how much I enjoy sharing this information with others in all of the different forms I meet them.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

There are many lessons I have learned through this journey but the main one I have learned was about truly loving myself no matter what. And I don’t say this in a flippant way. For most of us, it takes a lot of hard work to give ourselves the grace to make mistakes, deal with setbacks, struggle, imperfections, yet truly and ardently love ourselves anyway. When I was working in my firm, I would work later than anyone else – leaving at mind night a lot like a badge of honor. I hated doing it, but I didn’t know how to get out of it as I was an owner and there was so much to managed. But really I resented it too. If I could go back to put fairy dust around my younger me, I would say to myself, if you let yourself get so worn down, there won’t be anything left for you, your daughters, your husband, the people that truly love you. It’s not worth it. I would tell my former self – you deserve balance and joy -in fact, its not an option. Strive for it every day. You will thank yourself later. The way I stressed myself out and ran so hard- it is not a surprise that I got so sick. Now, with all of these lessons, I would never go back to the way I ran my life. Never. I am so lucky to be here at all.

One last thing-please allocate. It is so easy to take on too much- to do everything by yourself. If you are feeling overwhelmed, get help!! I know you can do it better than anyone else (!) but this is about fighting for a balanced life for you- and you deserve that. I like the phrase “Work smarter, not harder”. Not that we can always do that- but I do think that is the idea we should strive for.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was in the thick of the cancer diagnoses, brain surgery, radiation, chemo, losing my hair- all of it- my doctor had a conversation with me that suggested I would get sick again and he was talking about using another doctor to help us ‘”when” that happens, he said. My response ” If that happens”. My doctor said ” When it happens.” Like a childish back and forth we kept going with it. Wisely he stopped and I got the last “IF it happens”. I was FURIOUS. This is a particular area that really angers me. That a doctor doesn’t realize how a sick patient desperately needs to hold onto hope- it is so fragile. Yet, the officious MD, will tell you, you have no chance to beat this illness. They do not have the corner on the market concerning your healing. The traditional doctor can be part of the picture but they would be wise to understand the powerful tools of engaging the spirit, the mind and good lord the body. How dare they take hope away from anyone. It is true that that interaction shook me for a day or so but I remember saying to myself- ” the doctor doesn’t know what is possible in me. But I do!” I guess I did beat him in that juvenile back and forth so many years ago because I am still here to tell this story. Thank God.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.JenniferDickenson.com
• Instagram: JenniferLDickenson
• Facebook: Jennifer.DickensonWrites
• Linkedin: Jennifer-Dickenson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/WeCanHealwithJenniferDickenson

Image Credits

Katya Vilchyk