Tiera Berry

My family experienced a traumatic event in 2020 when my youngest son had his first seizure, which turned into a neurological disease called Rasmussen's encephalitis. He had uncontrolled seizures, and the only cure was a hemispherectomy - he had to have the front left part of his brain removed. I became his full-time caregiver, and after 17 years at my job, they couldn't work with my circumstances, so I lost my job. We were in the hospital for 8 months. Coming back home and realizing our lives had totally changed, I didn't know what to do as far as staying connected and not losing myself, while also having to be the breadwinner from my home as a single parent. I self-published my first book and realized that books don't sell like that, so I needed something else to make more money. I went into my toolbox and realized that one of the things I enjoyed doing when I worked in the community center was workshops. So I started Tiara's Voyage as a workshop facilitator, focusing on journaling and implementing journaling into mental health. My son's life changed our entire family dynamics, and that's what inspired me to do what I do today. Doing the workshops also allows me to tell his story as well as advocate for epilepsy and seizure awareness. The work that I've been doing with journaling has been so eye-opening and life-changing, and I don't hear it spoken about as much as it should be. I would love to do a TED Talk to talk about how journaling really impacts and improves mental health and life.