I don’t hang out in Dior’s Paris flagship store (or wear faux fur, for that matter) very often. But I did for my 50th birthday, and I’m extremely thankful for that experience.

When I say I’m thankful, which I do a lot, it’s because I really am.

My life began as a third culture kid, growing up between countries and cultures and learning early how to leave, adapt, and become someone new. My childhood took me from New Jersey to Hong Kong, Miami to London, and gave me an extraordinary life, even if I didn’t always understand just how extraordinary it was at the time.

As an adult, I kept moving. I built a career in public relations, fashion, interiors and design. There were fashion weeks and celebrity interviews, incredible clients and beautiful rooms. There was marriage and motherhood and the house I thought would finally mean I had arrived.

And then life got very small for a while.

Getting sober in 2017 changed everything.