Episode Notes:

Nikki talks about the challenges she had as a child
Dealing with divorce, abuse, and a dysfunctional family
As a child, how Nikki dealt with fear
Learning to deal with early depression and an eating disorder.
Talks about how difficult it was being sexually abused as a child
The importance of speaking out & educating at a young age
Dealing with alcoholism
Coping with childhood trauma
Dealing with pain, anger, stress, anxiety, and hurt
How to reach out and get help
Advice to young women
Examples of positive outlets
Advice & resources that can help a person in need
Holistic approaches to recovery

Nikki DuBose’s Bio

Nikki DuBose is a model, author and advocate. She serves as a Director for the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles County and is an Ambassador for Shaw Mind Foundation. Her debut memoir, Washed Away: From Darkness to Light, was released September 30, 2016 in the U.S. and will be released in French in 2018 with Editions du Rocher.

Tara Nicole DuBose was born in 1985 in Charleston, South Carolina to Sandra Pierce and Wayne DuBose. Her mother was an artist and her father was a delivery salesman for local food companies. Sandra named her “Tara” after the fictional plantation in the film, Gone with the Wind, directed by Victor Fleming. Despite Sandra’s love for the name, she and Wayne often referred to Tara as “Nikki,” short for Nicole, and so the name stuck. After her parents divorced when Nikki was two, she and her younger brother were raised by their mother and stepfather. Her upbringing was filled with problems; Nikki suffered abuse of all kinds and was a witness to domestic violence. Her mother, Sandra, was afflicted with severe mental health conditions and drank heavily. As a result, Nikki suffered for over seventeen years from a wide range of mental health conditions.

Nikki wrote her first short story in the third grade and was a staff writer for the Odyssey in her senior year of high school. Her mental health conditions, however, hindered her from writing for many periods of her life. Although the ability to write was taken from Nikki for many years, through the gift of recovery, writing is what helped Nikki to heal and gave her voice back. Washed Away: From Darkness to Light explores her life from the ages of two to twenty-seven, and her recovery from the mental torments that threatened to kill her.

Nikki currently lives in Los Angeles, California and enjoys reading anything by Stephen King in her spare time. She is working on an inspirational recovery book and a poetry book about the Gullah culture, which heavily influenced her growing up.

She has been featured on television shows and networks such as The Doctors, TD Jakes, CBS Los Angeles, and the Oprah Winfrey Network, and profiled in publications such as People, LA Times, and Vogue UK. She worked alongside Assembly member Marc Levine on California Assembly Bill 2539, which addressed the need for workplace protections and health standards in the modeling industry. She gives talks regularly on her recovery at universities and treatment centers, and writes extensively on mental health, political issues, and the modeling industry on the NY Daily News, The Huffington Post, PsychCentral, and more. Nikki contributed as an expert reviewer for Harvard University’s STRIPED program (Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders), helping craft their student and teaching lesson for the fall 2016 semester, which focused on modeling and eating disorders.

DuBose also sits on the Budget Committee of LWVLAC and serves as Co-Chair of the Mental Health Board. She is a proud member of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology.

If you would like to book Nikki for your next event, please contact: nikki@nikkidubose.com

Do you know somebody that may need help from addiction or mental illness?

We want to help those who are suffering from addiction and mental health disorders by providing you some of the best know resources mentioned in this week’s episode and listed below.

If this is an emergency or if you are worried that you or someone you know may be at risk for suicide, please call your local authorities (911).

OTHER MENTIONS

Nikkidubose.com – coaching, advocacy, books, blog, videos, and more
Nikki’s memoir “Washed Away: From Darkness to Light”
nationaleatingdisorders.org
Alcoholics Anonymous
Life Recovery Bible
NCADD – National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 24/7 support @ 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Textline – support by texting “Hello” to 741741
PeacefulHeartsFoundation – support for childhood sexual abuse
rainn.org – sexual assault prevention
arttherapy.org
Life Without Ed – Book by Jenni Schaefer

Also, check out all the resources mentioned by visiting Rise Together’s “FIND HELP” section at www.weallrisetogether.org

This week we encourage you to get involved in your community or by supporting us online. In order to make long lasting change, people need to start dedicating their time and resources to the cause’s they most care about.

Episode Call to Action:

SHARE YOUR STORY with us and speak about the issues you most care about.
Rise Together to help break the silence around bullying, self-harm, suicide, drugs & alcohol!

Join the Rise Together Nation When You

TEXT THE WORD “RISE” TO 44144