We recently connected with Nicole Kerr and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

When my memory came back of the car crash 19 years after the accident. My life started to make sense. I then changed my focus to the emotional and spiriutal dimensions of wellness. I realized I was given a message to tell people not to be afraid of death.

Nicole, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My career path into the Wellness Arena began when I was in a car crash (where I was pronounced dead at the scene) at age 19 while a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy. It took 19 years for my memory of that event to come back. Many times when you experience trauma your body suppresses the memories in addition your Soul may fragment in order to protect yourself. I had massive injuries including a partially amputated left foot, severed right write, broken pelvis, 4th degree laceration between my anal and sphincter muscles, deep road burn on my face and other injuries. I was in ICU for 7 weeks and 4 months in the hospital. I had my 2nd NDE in the hospital in the OR while getting a colostomy and trying to put out 3 bacteria that were infecting me – sepsis and gangrene developed. Once I got home to Jackson, MS, I started more rehab – learning to walk, etc. I was back to infancy totally dependent on my mother. My parents did not believe I needed mental health even though the doctor tried in vain to convince them. My mother told the doctor Jesus was my psychiatrist – which was not true. As a result my body coped by developing an eating disorder – compulsive over-eating now known as binge-eating disorder. I went into nutrition to fix myself – got a master’s degree in Public Health Nutrition and became a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. I lived with that ED for 20 years until I got married. I got a job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and tried to keep my life as safe as possible – then my memory came back. The events of the actual crash and going to the other side. The message I received was to tell people not to be afraid of death. It has taken me 13 years to write, You Are Deathless, as I had to align myself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The God I was raised with (fear-based) was not the God I experienced on the other side. God is love. For the past 30 years, I has worked in all sectors of society, including in government (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), non-profit (American Cancer Society), military (United States Air Force Medical Operations), academia (University of Hawaii), healthcare institutions/hospitals (Adventist Health Castle and Queens Medical Center), corporate settings (Sea Ties, LLC), and private consultation. My warm, engaging presentations have earned me a place in front of international audiences ranging from corporate food producers to health and medical associations. Throughout my career, I have focused on supporting people from every walk of life to make realistic, meaningful, happy choices for lifelong health and well-being. Now I am helping on the spiritual part of Wellness which we have avoided in this industry. I also co-authored, Eating the Rainbow: Lifelong Nutritional Wellness—Without Lies, Hype, or Calculus. I have appeared on CNN, PBS, CBS, ABC, the Food Channel, and a host of other TV and radio shows to share my unique perspective on wellness, lifestyle, nutrition and now death.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

No, I got into nutrition specifically (wellness generally) as the result of having my own eating disorder. The old adage we go into the field in order to fix ourselves. My eating disorder lasted 20 years. So needless to saying learning about food did not “fix” me. I developed my eating disorder as a result of not getting mental health help after being in a traumatic car crash at age 19 while a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy. My parents told the doctors Jesus was my psychologist. Well Jesus didn’t help me. I went on to broaden my skills to overall wellness but still focused primarily on nutrition.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

BOOM! I had a huge pivot when I was in a car crash at age 19 while a cadet at the USAFA. I was pronounced dead at the scene-brought back and had a stormy recovery for 4 months. I was honorably discharged and I am now a 100% disabled veteran of the armed forces. I was not sure where my life was going as I had to recovery physically, mentally and much later spiritually. Over the past 40 years I have gone from the NDE to and STE – Spiritual Transformative Experience. There is so much to this story I wrote the now best-seller, You Are Deathless: A Near-Death Experience Taught Me How To Fully Live And Not Fear Death. Summary – Do not fear death. This was the message I received when I died. I had a near-death experience (NDE) from a horrific car crash at the age of 19. I was pronounced dead at the scene but I came back. I had the classic NDE experience of approaching a bright white light along with ethereal beings telling me to tell others not to fear death. It took 19 years for the full memory of the accident and its aftermath to come back to me. I had been a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy (one of first classes of women) and had gotten a ride with a fellow cadet whom I did not realize was drunk. He crashed his Corvette into a boulder and forever altered my existence. This compelled me to write You Are Deathless: A Near Death Experience Taught Me How to Fully Live and Not Fear Death. Through ongoing physical, emotional and spiritual traumas I have learned to shed ascribed identities, such as being a people-pleaser, to instead develop an authentic, loving relationship with myself and God. I focus on the 10 Common NDE Lessons (all positive). My book is a national best seller in the new NDE category and sold over 600 copies in 3 months.
Here is what one person said in their review, “This is a book that changed my perspective on humanity, spirituality and life in general. To experience that from reading a single book is HUGE and I cannot recommend it more highly. It’s filled with depth, raw emotion, intellect and a perspective of the world that most people (including me) never experience or even consider. The book pushed my thinking and resulted in my reassessing a lot of my life. The impact of reading it is really impossible to describe.”

Another pivot was learning alot of my physical symptoms were emotionally based. So I did Neuro Emotional Technique and it was such a game changer in my life I went and became certified. I then started doing it with my nutrition clients and it took off from there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nicolekerr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole.angelique.kerr/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.a.kerr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-kerr-8920438/