How Healthcare Works, LLC

 by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH Yesterday, I voted. I took an Uber directly to my polling place because I wanted to make sure I got it done before heading home to rest. When I got back, I had some baked chicken from the night before, a little yogurt, and a salad. I’ve been trying to eat healthier— trying being the operative word—especially since I gained almost twenty pounds earlier this year while recovering from pneumonia. It’s interesting how the body responds differently to illness. During pneumonia, I gained weight; during COVID, I lost more than twenty pounds—over 15% of my body weight—in just a few weeks. I was very sick, but I kept going. I credit my dog, Mosie, with keeping me alive. Friends reached out when they could, but it was her loyalty and my background in healthcare that truly kept me moving forward. I created most of the videos for my course  28 Days of Gratitude on my lunch break when I worked at the housing authority.  If you look closely, you will noti...

 by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH When I get home from work, I usually have the energy for one activity before I’m completely zapped. Last night, I had to walk downtown to get a money order. On the way there, I was doing mental math—figuring out how to stretch what I had left in my budget and make it through the week. I need at least $50 a day to get to and from work, and that can be challenging at times. I work all day, then come home exhausted. When I walk through the door, that’s it—no one’s cooking dinner, folding laundry, or asking, “How was your day?” The last person who asked me that regularly was my bus driver, and even that felt more like a polite formality than genuine care. Sometimes, when I think about that, I can almost hear the unkind voices from my past—people who’ve said things like, “That’s because no one cares about you.” Recently, when I watched my promo video for Bragging About You, the next video that popped up was Brené Brown’s “How to Tell When People Don’t Car...

by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH Confession: I’m waking up from a nap to write this. Sometimes I take a nap before I go to sleep. I call it pre-sleeping. Really, it’s a way to separate my day and calm my mind before writing about today’s gratitude practice. Before I go any further, I want to mention that my course, 28 Days of Gratitude , is based on the book The Magic by Rhonda Byrne . Some people think it’s a “magical” practice, but the reason it’s called The Magic is because when you practice gratitude consistently, magical things really do start to happen. It could just as easily be called The Miracle or The Hope, because life often feels restored after completing 28 days of gratitude. I’ve done this practice several times, and each time I notice tremendous improvement in my life. Every day brings a new focus for gratitude. Today’s practice is about identifying the best thing that happened today. I am thankful for Sandjest for providing me with this butterfly tumbler to promote. I...

 by Jeanette R. Harrison, MPH It’s Saturday night, and I’m sitting at home in my sweatpants and nightshirt. I’m relaxing in my chair after a day of doing laundry, walking, and trying to cut back on spending. I didn’t walk as much as I wanted because my knees hurt. My home still isn’t clean because I was tired and distracted,  and walking around all day increased my pain. I’m trying to spend less because I was recently transferred at my day job, and it’s costing me almost $300 a week just to get to work. I spend the first and last hour of every day working to earn money just to get to and from work. Did I mention my knees hurt? And it’s oddly hot in my apartment even though it’s fall. I have the sliding door open on this November night just to let in some cool air. Overall, I’d give today a six—it was peaceful. But I downgraded it because I had no one to talk to about what I needed to talk about. That’s one of the ways people try to control me. They say their “boundaries” mean ...

It's Homecoming season, so it's only natural that I would take some time to reflect on my college years. I loved my undergraduate alma mater as a student. So much so, I later went on to be an adjunct faculty member at that very school. I loved that school even until I graduated from there four years later.  Then, I started opening my eyes and really looking at how I was treated. At how some of those events negatively impacted my life and still do today.  When I was 19, I transferred colleges. The college I attended my freshman year was rumored to have financial problems, so I left and went to another small private college in Iowa.  I wanted to focus on school, make friends, and enjoy the ride — but instead, I quickly became the target of lies and cruelty that would follow me for decades. At a small college in a town of fewer than a thousand people, everyone knew everyone else. Early on, I asked a guy I considered a friend to a formal. He didn’t go with me, and his girlfri...

How Lack of Reliable Transportation Creates Barriers to Work, Health, and Opportunity Recently, I was transferred to a different work location in my day job. I didn’t feel like the move was optional. But there’s one major problem: I don’t have a car. And while that might sound like an inconvenience to some, in reality, it’s a barrier — one that touches every part of my life and wellbeing. When people say things like, “You should just work from home,” or “Take a closer, lower-paying job,” it may sound like practical advice. But it’s not that simple. Those suggestions ignore the reality that transportation is a social determinant of health — one of the essential conditions that shape how we live, work, and thrive. I had a car accident almost three years ago at Christmas. It put into motion a chain of events that created tremendous stress. My life has been impacted in ways that make daily activities difficult.  Transportation Isn’t a Luxury — It’s a Lifeline Transportation isn’t just ...

When people look at me now, they see an author of two successful books, a business owner, and someone who works full-time while still moving forward with dreams and goals. On the outside, that may look like resilience, stability, or even success. But what most don’t see is the road it took to get here—or the weight I still carry every day. What I have accomplished in the past five years is unheard of from most people… and unlikely for the insurmountable struggles I’ve had to face nearly alone. It’s grit and miracles all in one. I started my life over with absolutely nothing. No safety net. No local support system. No friends or family nearby to lean on when everything felt impossible. Starting from scratch is one thing; doing it with layers of trauma and PTSD on your back is another. Here’s the reality: for most people, research and lived experience show that it often takes seven to ten years to fully rebuild life after starting over with nothing. That timeline assumes you have at leas...