After living in subsidized housing while attending a private school on the Upper East Side for middle and high school with the aid of a scholarship from 1978 through 1985, I attended Bennington College in Vermont for one year, also via scholarship. I loved Vermont and the academics but I really wanted to be in a more economically diverse setting in New England since being the “scholarship kid” among the wealthy elite had its challenges. I transferred to the University of Maine in Orono where I earned my B.A. in English and then went on to earn an M.S. in Counselor Education at the University of Vermont in Burlington. While living on a small stipend from my department assistantship I resided in a charming tiny house in the woods that the UPS driver mistook for a shed one day when I had to chase after him for my package. In 1999 I gravitated back to the coast of Maine where I’ve since remained.
I’m a Chipmunk Whisperer, Thrifty Yankee, vintage diet expert, old-school homemaker and caretaker of a two acre Certified Wildlife Habitat I call home. My cottage was built in the 1950s and has had few cosmetic updates since that time which is aligned with my aesthetic of being outdated by design.
I’m in long-term sobriety from alcohol since 1994 and live with PTSD including nightmares and flashbacks due to the after-affects of crimes committed against me during my childhood. I share this publicly and openly to help remove the stigma associated with living with a lifelong mental diagnosis. I also want to show that you don’t need to be “cured” to experience joy and fulfillment.
In my journey of recovery and healing, no matter how dark things sometimes seemed, I began to practice the art of living gratefully. It started in the 1980s with a spiral notebook and a forced practice of focusing on the things around me that brought me joy. I made a list of anything that I enjoyed so much that it removed my focus off of myself. It took me some months to fill a few pages until I was so enchanted by my surroundings that it came naturally.
So while my life wasn’t always charmed, I was and continue to be blessed with a charming life in Maine where I experience daily sources of healing and peace. These are my “Maine Charms” that I am offering you here and in my shop.
Peace be with you,
Averyl
Maine Charms 