Created by @bethbriggsillustration
It has finally arrived. February 19th, the 50th day of the year…
THE STORY
…What’s so special about today? It is the official launch of The Fierce 50 Campaign, that’s what!
“The inspiration for the campaign is to highlight this powerful demographic and begin blurring the boundaries amongst the various age groups in the blogging world. A wide variety of female bloggers are included in the mix from fashion to music to health and fitness. There’s something for everyone.” ~Catherine McCormick
Take a moment and read this article for a full explanation of the movement and it’s beginnings by the beautiful Catherine McCormick, one of the founders of this groundbreaking and exciting movement. I am honored and humbled to be included in this group of fierce fabulous women.
Anyone who is a regular reader of the blog or who knows me in real life, knows that I basically defy all of the traditional precepts of aging. You can say a lot of things about me, but “Wow, she’s old” is not one of them.
“I refuse to be changed by aging…instead I will change the way aging is viewed…”
MY FIERCE 50 PARTNER
While I absolutely love the energy and positivity surrounding the entire campaign, I have to say my favorite part is having the opportunity to get to know my Fierce 50 partner on a more personal level. Each of us was paired up with another blogger and today our posts are focused on each other. I had the good fortune to be paired with author, wife, mother, cancer survivor and advocate and all around fabulous human being, Angelique L’Amour. That I wound up paired with Angelique out of all of the other ladies on the list seems to me to be a stroke of serendipity.
Angelique’s father is Louis L’Amour, prolific writer of Western novels. I have very distinct memories growing up of my father always reading Louis L’Amour novels. My uncle, who is like a dad to me, has also always been obsessed with all things Western. Since losing my aunt in August he has been immersing himself in Westerns and one of his favorites is again, Louis L’Amour. You could say it has been helping to keep his sadness at bay. So although I knew nothing of Angelique prior to this project, the fact that we were randomly paired seems to me to have some real meaning.
Angelique has creativity hard-wired in her genetic code. She was blessed to grow up in an environment filled not only with love, but creative energy. Not only was her father a writer, but also two of her aunts and an uncle as well. Both Angelique’s mother and grandmother were actresses, and Angelique herself was an actress until her children were born.
Her earliest memory of writing is from when she was a mere four years old when she wrote a song about her dog. Growing up, she always had a notebook nearby to write. She has written songs, stories, poetry, novels and articles. Angelique’s published works include songs, articles non-fiction anthologies, a book of her father’s quotes and her non-fiction book about how to survive chemo while being a parent. Currently Angelique is finishing a spiritual self-help memoir about her personal cancer journey as well as two novels that were put on the back burner when she was diagnosed with cancer.
When her girls were small, Angelique taught creative writing and literature as a volunteer and it ignited an intense love for teaching within her. In continuing her love of teaching, she is launching an online coaching/writing program this month which she is super excited about. The program is a passion for Angelique and it also meshes well with her current writing projects.
Angelique is a second generation Los Angelino and has lived there her entire life. She lost her father at 24 and still misses him every day, while her mother, who is herself a fierce female, still runs the family business along with Angelique’s brother. She and her husband have been married for 26 years and have two daughters (aged 19 and 14) as well as a dog. At 45, Angelique was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is now healthy and a 7 1/2 year survivor who is serious about staying that way. She is a dedicated proponent of early detection, teaching breast self-exam in schools, and the ACA ruling in regard to preexisting conditions.
Her outlook on life is one that I can definitely get behind. Angelique believes that “everyone has a choice to be positive or negative about anything in their lives~sometimes it’s difficult to find the positive, but you must or you will be miserable and make those around you miserable as well. You have to go out and make your life instead of waiting for it to happen to you.” One of her favorite quotes by Charles R. Swindoll is “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
I think that a quote Angelique shared with me from her dad beautifully sums up what the Fierce 50 Campaign is all about:
“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.”
**Angelique is on Instagram and her website is angeliquelamour.com. Stop by and say hello!
Thank you to the amazing Hannah Storm for joining us and sharing your journey on the newly launched Thrive Global. Hannah, we applaud you and the incredible work you have done lighting a path for women to succeed in so many creative endeavors after the magical 50!
A big thank you goes out to all of the sponsors of The Fierce 50 Campaign:
- Onzie www.onzie.com @onzie
- Madison Reed www.madison-reed.com @madisonreedllb
- HSI Professional www.hsiprofessional.com @hsiprofessional
- Awe Inspired www.aweinspired.com @aweinspired_
If you have enjoyed reading this blog post and would like to learn more about The Fierce 50 Campaign, please visit this page http://catherinegraceo.
A roundup of all of the fierce fabulous women who are part of #thefierce50 campaign can be found here.
