Renée has been a photographic artist, a ballroom dancer, a Sales Administrator, Fine Dining Manager, and with many other learning experiences…born in Wisconsin, has lived in Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, New York State…the soul of an adventurer..she has also lived in Thailand, Alaska, traveled to Colombia and Venezuela…She now lives and loves with her husband in their home in Port Elizabeth, South Africa with their rescue dog, Bacchus..enjoying the busy retired life..
Her mission has always been to be a conduit of love to those lives she touches…to help heal, kindle hope, and lend comfort to all who feel alone on this this big blue marble…to share the incredible magic of this breathtaking world…with her words and photographs
My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport. ~Steve Curry
Renée was born with wanderlust flowing through her veins. A passion to explore the world was kindled with her stacks of National Geographic magazines that she read voraciously during the frigid winter nights in Wisconsin, USA.
Living in Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, New York State, Alaska moving more times that she can keep track of…the soul of an adventurer. She has also lived in Thailand, traveling to Canada, Colombia, and Venezuela…currently based in South Africa, living, and loving with her husband in the Eastern Cape with their rescue dog, Bacchus.
Her mission has always been to share the incredible magic of this breathtaking world, to share stories that inspire and uplift others, and to give hope…with her words and photographs.
Scars are beautiful reminders that we have lived...
My authentic life was not something that I really wanted to share. People do not always appreciate viewing the ugliness of life’s scars. It took time to view them with pride, as unique features that tell a story. Symbols of strength and resilience that I can now show others and say, “You are not alone in your journey”. We are survivors and there is enchantment even on the darkest of days lived with the love
A premie born on the coldest of winters angst in Wisconsin, USA. The first born of six to a dairy farmer and my beautiful mom.
I wasn’t wanted by my father because he wanted a son…and so my life began.
My father was bipolar…one moment a religious saint and the next a mean and abusive father and husband.
Moving to Indiana to join a religious organization at the age of nine was instrumental in a naivety that contributed to many wrong choices…not just an organization, but a cult with power that controlled every aspect of life…no tv, radio, no exposure to any life outside of the “church”.
The church agreed that I could marry a man whose mother was a member of the church. At eighteen, I married a man from another culture, a soldier that I had meet once before for a period of three days.
Another chapter began, two children by the age of twenty-two. And the beginning of eighteen years of continual infidelity and emotional abuse. Years of wanting to leave the pain beyond…
When I finally found the courage to leave, I walked away with nothing …not even my children. I found myself in a world that I did not know how to navigate, and the scars compounded.
Many abusive relationships because that was all I knew and was familiar…
I read, studied, went to therapists, searching for answers to learn how to exist without the continual pain that my heart bore …the stories are chapters full of barely surviving, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
I have now survived cancer with my husband and am facing cancer with a child…I am still here!!
I’d love to hear your stories and comments about finding your way through difficult paths.
