Beginning in January, 2018, the mission of The Evelyn Pearl Breast Cancer Awareness Jewelry Collection will take a new direction. It has been just over two years since my dear friend, Evelyn Pearl Meyerson, died from metastatic breast cancer. From her initial diagnosis until she passed away, she lived only six short weeks. I promised her before she died that I would make a difference for other breast cancer patients. I know she is watching over me. I can feel her knowing, loving smile as the funds we raise are spent in a way almost as special as was Evelyn herself.

If you believe as I do that everything happens for a reason, what I am about to tell you will come as no surprise. Several years ago, I became ill with an autonomic illness that profoundly changed my life. Since being pathologically tired was my worst symptom, I had way too much down time that was once filled with raising kids and working full time. It was at this time I met Ev. She literally and figuratively saved my life. While I would have given anything to save her life and make her breast cancer go away, that was not possible. What I can do is work my hardest to make breast cancer go away for as many women as possible in memory of the extraordinary Evelyn Pearl.

When I didn’t think I had the physical or emotional strength to go on, Ev was always there for me.

She helped me face the limitations my illness imposed. She made me laugh. She let me cry. Sometimes, when there were no words she held me in her arms like a baby. She kissed my tears and wiped my nose. Most of all, she was always there to help me chase away the blues. Often even before I called for help. To say she was one of the most remarkable women I have ever known is a cliché. In her case, it happens to be true. She made every person she met feel special because she really looked for what was special in every person.

After I became ill, I needed to find something to do that would keep me occupied when I was too tired to get out of bed. Since I have always been good with my hands, I somehow became interested in making wire wrapped jewelry. I went on youtube and taught myself the necessary skills. I developed a style all my own using gem stones from around the world. Each stone is its own mystery formed billions of years ago with its own unique pattern and its own unique story to tell.

Our first collection, Susanna Leigh Elemental Designs, was an instant success. It is not unusual for someone to admire the pendant I am wearing and buy it on the spot right off my neck. Then, one day, seemingly out of nowhere, I decided to make a new line of jewelry to raise money for breast cancer patients. As I said before, I believe everything happens for a reason. I ran the idea by Ev. Of course, she loved it. Two weeks later, Evelyn was told she had end stage metastatic breast cancer. It was so advanced the doctors recommended she not consider treatment. How could I have possibly known that the cause I was conceptualizing would offer help to women like Evelyn?

Evelyn died on December 20, 2015. Before she passed away, she saw the prototypes of the new collection. I handed her the newly designed business cards. Once again, she flashed me her knowing, loving smile when she saw the business cards had her name on them in bright pink type on a pale, gray background. I knew, then, how much it meant to her. She also knew how much it meant to me.

After Evelyn died, I began to look for the best place to donate the money we raised. My first priority was to make sure it reflected Ev’s need to make a real difference in the lives of real women. Easier said than done. The amount of money we could contribute would get lost because of the size of the charities we were considering. Then, everything changed in the summer of 2017 when I decided to go to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health for the first time.

The reason I decided to go to Kripalu was because I was feeling blue. I couldn’t get a dose of Ev to cheer me up anymore. Yoga and meditation practices helped me get through losing my best friend. They were already an important part of my daily life, but I had never considered turning my practice into a week long spiritual journey. What astonished me was that even before I checked in, I felt a calm sense of belonging that I had never experienced before. I think that is true for everyone who stays at this magical place.

As the days went by, I met so many women like myself who breathed in the serenity and sorority that surrounded us. Then, on the third day, I noticed a group of women with scarves on their heads to cover the loss of their hair from chemotherapy. I literally saw Ev across the way as if she was a three dimensional hologram. She shook her head in approval. I felt the warmth of her knowing, loving smile once again. At last, I knew what to do with the money I raised from the sale of The Evelyn Pearl Collection. In a instant, I began to formulate a plan to start a scholarship program for women with breast cancer so they could learn about the incredible benefits of yoga, meditation, and a heathy diet to enrich their strength and stamina. Hence, the idea for The Evelyn Pearl Kripalu Scholarship Fund began to take form.

Starting next week, I plan to make the focus of this blog center on the benefits of yoga, meditation and a holistic ayurvedic diet. I believe that by healing our mind and spirit, we can also heal our bodies. I am living proof. When I was first diagnosed, I was told my life expectancy was seven to ten years. That was seventeen years ago, and I feel better than I ever thought possible.

I invite all of you to share your stories about how your spiritual journeys have transformed your lives. I will post them on the blog so we can start a dialogue that will enrich each other in countless ways. I hope this blog becomes a source of inspiration and hope. We are all so much more than our physical bodies. We are a sisterhood of amazing women who strive to make our time on earth the best it can be for ourselves, our families and friends. In the process, we will remember the women like Evelyn Pearl Meyerson by the way in which they fought to survive with dignity and grace.

I look forward to making this journey with the strong, brave women who are battling or have survived breast cancer, the women like Evelyn who will never be forgotten, and with all the spectacular women I hope to meet along the way.

Namaste,

Susanna Leigh

(If you’d like to read more about how I met Evelyn, visit The Story of Evelyn.)

Previous and next posts...