Ellie-Louise: Lessons in Love

"It is in the human connection that we see each others as human beings on this journey of life. Volunteering is an act of love. It is always first and foremost, an act of love."

"When you believe you have nothing left to give, that's the time to give! It is time to share love."

"In the virtual room of the Internet Forum, I began to give back more and more...In our giving, we receive so much more than we give." 

Louise's comments above are paraphrased from her TedxCalgary video linked below. I also added my Photoshop rendition of Ellie, the woman-with-a-screenname many of us came to know and love.

Her real name is Louise Gallagher, author of the blog Recover Your Joy. She also has a new blog called A Year of Making a Difference, probably because she's writer which means she can pop those essays out faster than I can think of a title. If you haven't read about Louise's journey, take a few minutes to bless yourself with her style, her inspirational encouragement, her story. You'll be the better for it, I guarantee.

And lest you believe Louise has always been an angel (just look at that innocent smile on her face!), take it from me: neither of us will be sprouting feathers out of our shoulder blades anytime soon. Feather dusters, maybe. We've learned to clean up after ourselves even when we didn't want to---even when it seemed impossible. Time and healing, time and faith, time and good hearts make anything possible. Even a tender friendship between a Canadian wanderlust dandelion and an American shrinking violet.

Louise was invited to speak at a Ted conference in Calgary. The very idea of getting up in front on an audience and talking about the psychopathic relationship nearly gave me a heart attack...me being more comfortable behind the kitchen sink than a microphone. To support her chutzpah and daring, I did my part: I worried about her before she gave her speech. You know how helpful worrywarts are, right? We send out our good vibes, tightly controlling our fears inside our chests and when the person we're worried about does a fantastic job, we thank the Good Lord for the power of prayers though we deign not tell our intellectual neighbors we still believe in such things. And we dare not tell our therapist lest she think we have a problem with magical thinking and a narcissistic personality.

To Ellie-Louise if you're reading this blog (and if you aren't, yer in trubble), you did a wonderful job. I'm so proud of your accomplishments this last decade. It's been almost a decade since we met on a forum discussing narcissism and psychopathy. Can you believe it? Bless you and your work.

"Louise Gallagher has a remarkable personal story that has turned tragic circumstances into a life filled with passion and joy. Her book 'The Dandelion Spirit' was turned into a documentary for the Oprah Network and has touched people's lives across North America. Louise's work at the Calgary Drop-In Centre includes inspiring efforts like the development of the Possibilities Project that uses art in its many forms to keep people of the streets. She has the soul of a warrior poet and her story is transformative." ~YouTube link

Some of you may be interested in this article posted on the WoN Connection (our WoN Forum's blog). Ellie-Louise speaks candidly about her psychopathic relationship and message board recovery. She writes:


"Those first six months were pretty tenuous. I knew I had received a miracle the day he was arrested and I knew I had been given a gift to live this one wild and precious life fearlessly in love with all of me. But, I was scared and frightened and still raw from the trauma. I’d have to say the feeling like myself is long ago. I feel like a new woman. Far stronger, greater, wiser, more confident and complete than I ever felt before." ~Excerpted from An interview with Ellie by CZBZ 



Hugs all! Love you, Louise!
CZ