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APRIL 2018 | 23 During our 50-minute interview, Breese shared the steps she took on her journey back from darkness, and she explained how each one of them helped her heal: Naturopathic medicine Acupuncture Float therapy Hypnotherapy EMDR — eye movement therapy She also cut caffeine and alcohol out of her life. And she had to cut some people out, too. They were friends, Breese explained, who just didn’t understand what she was going through. Why couldn’t she “just get over it?” They wanted her to go to crowded restaurants and drink wine, like they used to do. But life for Elena Breese had changed. She had to accept that to become healthy again. “Healing hurts. And it takes a lot of time and it takes you being willing to be gentle with yourself and listen to yourself and go through your emotions,” Breese said. “It’s a process. It takes a lot of fight, a willingness to feel uncomfortable — and a lot of faith. You have to be willing to heal.” Slowly, Breese transformed her life post- bombing. She launched a website, stillbloomingme. com , to help others dealing with tragedy and trauma. She’s met with many survivors of terrorist attacks, and others who have walked through their own painful journeys. Breese has also had the opportunity to write for various websites, including Maria Shriver’s Powered By Inspiration platform, mariashriver.com . Recently, Shriver was in the Valley at Changing Hands Bookstore to promote her new book, “I’ve Been Thinking.” Breese attended the event, and says Shriver remembered her story and gave her a huge hug. Shriver also asked Breese to contribute another article in April, when her husband goes back to Boston to run the 2018 Marathon. Yes. They are returning. Five years after the bombing, Breese and her husband, Jeff, will return for the Boston Marathon. She will be back in the bleachers April 16 — this time with their children — to cheer Jeff across the finish line. (He is raising money for a fellow survivor, so she can continue therapies not paid for by insurance.) It is, Breese said, “the end of a chapter for all of us.” You can hear Elena Breese’s entire 50-minute interview at transformationtuesday.tips . She talks, in depth, about the therapies and day- to-day practices that helped her transform. Everyone has a different road to transformation. Whatever the road, I just like to see people traveling forward. CAREY ' S CORNER CONTINUED Carey Peña is the founder & CEO of Inspired Media 360, a modern media company fueled by inspiration. She is an Emmy-winning news anchor and host with a passion for politics, social media and inspired communication.