Welcome to this month’s BRAVE Interview with Dee Fournier!
- WHO are you? My name is Dee Fournier. I’m an average 55-year-old woman. I grew up in the seaside town of Cape Elizabeth in Maine. I am one of 4 siblings. We lived in an upper middle class area where all the neighborhood kids played kick the can, hide and seek, and walked the quiet community streets in the summer evenings. In the winter we sledded, ice skated, and engaged in snowball fights to combat the winter blues. It was a very Norman Rockwell type of setting.
- WHAT is your One Brave Thing? I haven’t yet embarked on my One Brave Thing, but I have made the decision to do One Brave Thing. I will be undertaking an incredible journey. I will be hiking the American Discovery Trail (ADT) … it’s a coast to coast trail – starting in Point Reyes CA to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. From sea to shining sea!
- WHEN did you do it? I will start my excursion on April 24, 2019
- WHERE did it occur? It is about to happen!
- HOW did you make it happen? I’m in the process of making it happen as I write this. The research and training have been “all time consuming”. Reaching out to businesses and individuals to donate to My GoFundMe (dee goes from trial to trail) is humbling to say the least. But am very proud of the friends that I am surrounded with … that have donated, that believe in what I’m about to take on.
- WHY did you do it? My sister was killed by her estranged husband. Up until this point I used to say, ‘My sister was a victim of domestic violence’, but I no longer want to say that. Juli (my sister) was a vibrant, STRONG, witty and passionate person. To portray her has a victim is wrong to me. She died at the hands of her angry husband. He shot her multiple times. Since her death, I’ve wandered somewhat aimlessly. Lost my marriage, jumped from job to job, from city to city, from state to state … I knew there was something missing in my life and KNEW that I had to somehow make a difference. Make an effort to somehow help other women get out of a dangerous predicament.
As I walk along the ADT, my hope is to stop at women’s shelters along the way. Not to share my story, but to listen to theirs. To encourage them and let them know that they are not alone. That there are resources available for them to take advantage of.
I don’t pretend that I’m going to save every woman I meet. We know it’s a vicious cycle with women returning to their abuser. But if I can possibly help one woman THINK about not going back. To help one woman from going back that particular hour/day. It’s a positive step in the right direction.
Follow Dee here:
YouTube: Dee Goes From Trial to Trail
Twitter: Deestahdiva
Instagram: Deestahdiva
GoFundMe: dee goes from trial to trail
Read the other BRAVE Interviews: The BRAVE Interviews
Be part of the community! Join the ONE BRAVE THING Facebook group
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR THIS SERIES ABOUT SOMETHING BRAVE YOU HAVE DONE IN YOUR OWN LIFE, SEND ME AN EMAIL HERE: karen@karencreamer.com
Karen Creamer
