The Wall Between Two Lives

Annette is a military spouse of 22 years, mother to a daughter, Haeli (20 yrs old; (college junior at Sam Houston State University) and son, Blaze (17 yrs old; high school senior at Robinson High School) and veteran who served in the Army for seventeen years and 4 months as a Chemical officer including a deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Annette commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army as a Chemical Officer from the ROTC Program at Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ). She has a B.A. in Psychology from Arizona State University and an M.S. in Environmental Management from Webster University. She retired and decided to become an Accidental Entrepreneur to be able to make up for lost time with her children and use her voice to share her story about real life after the Army and living with mental illness. Since her retirement she has relocated from Fort Polk, LA to Fairfax , VA to support her husband's military career. Her blog A Wild Ride Called Life ®, LLC. incorporates stories from her post military life in which she shares how she lives life as being a mom and military spouse living with PTSD, anxiety and depression. Along with writing, she also hosts a Podcast titled The Truths We Hide in which not only does she share her story, but she also has guests who share theirs and offers advice to others to help them know that they are not alone. Annette is a mentor for veterans on Veterati and for military spouses on Ementor. Annette also has a passion for volunteering. Annette is a volunteer freelance writer for Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs. She volunteers as a mentor for TAPS, Tragedy assistance Program for children survivors, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Trauma Survivors Network.