EP 27: How You Can Live with Obstacles while Living Your Best Life with Rebecca Alexander: Extreme Athlete and Disability Rights Advocate w/ Deaf-Blindness

Rebecca Alexander  inspires, empowers and entertains us with hilarious anecdotes; candid insights and expert advice that will help you overcome any obstacle and encourage you to live life to its fullest in this lively conversation with Katrina Carlson and Jefferson Denim. Rebecca is the perfect guest with whom we celebrate “National Month of Hope” because she brings that and much more in this podcast! This episode is also completely closed captioned on Crazy Amazing Humans' Youtube channel.

Born with a rare genetic disorder called Usher Syndrome rendering her almost completely deaf and blind, Rebecca has written the best-selling book Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found which is currently in development to be made into a major motion picture and received an Indie Book Award. She was also honored as one of the MS Society’s Books For A Better Life. She recently narrated the PBS American Master’s biopic documentary “Becoming Helen Keller” and her TEDx talk entitled “H.E.L.P. - Humanity’s Essence, Living Proof,” has been critically acclaimed. Rebecca has been featured on many TV shows such as The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and ESPN, as well as numerous publications including People, Cosmopolitan and Shape. Rebecca has been honored with prestigious awards for her advocacy work, presented for TEDx, and has been the keynote speaker for many esteemed companies and organizations.

She has been honored with prestigious awards for her advocacy such as The American Foundation for the Blind Helen Keller Achievement Award, Disability Rights Advocate Eagle Award, Future Vision Foundation Luminary Award, The Foundation Fighting Blindness Hope and Spirit Award, Strike Out USH, No Limits for Deaf Children Spirit of Leadership Award, University of Michigan Bicentennial Alumni Award, JWI Woman To Watch, Center for Hearing and Communication - Irving Berelson President’s Award.

Among her many extraordinary feats, Rebecca participated in the 600-mile AIDS Lifecycle ride, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, swam from Alcatraz to shore in the San Francisco Bay, and competed in the Civilian Military Combine (CMC) races. Rebecca has a thriving psychotherapy practice with two masters’ degrees from Columbia University in Clinical Social Work and Public Health. She works with individuals, couples, and groups, specializing in the treatment of anxiety, depression, grief/loss, eating disorders, and disability. Rebecca received post-graduate training at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy at the Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia and received her psychodynamic psychotherapy training from the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. Rebecca is certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) and also communicates in American Sign Language and Tactile Sign Language.

Rebecca currently serves on the boards of Usher Syndrome Society, Usher Syndrome Coalition, No Limits for Deaf Children, Disability Rights Advocates, Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the University of Michigan Department of Otolaryngology.

As we celebrate the National Month Of Hope, always remember that we can be the source of hope for others. Every small kindness has the potential to create a Crazy Amazing Human experience, one person at a time. You have the power to create that every day because you are Crazy Amazing! And we, at Crazy Amazing Humans, are in your corner, we’re rooting for you, and really appreciate you as part of our community.