WHY "BITTER2SWEET"?

My late mother had a remarkable ability to find meaning in difficult moments — to notice growth, possibility, and connection even when life felt heavy. She didn’t ignore hard things. She met them with compassion, perspective, and care for others.

She believed deeply that everyone had something to teach and something to learn. She approached people with curiosity, humility, and openness, always ready to listen, always ready to grow.

She believed in meditation, in finding joy in nature, in living simply, and in faith. These practices grounded her and shaped the quiet strength with which she moved through the world.

She was deeply loving and profoundly selfless.

Often, she put everyone else first — sometimes at the expense of herself. She cared so much, gave so much, and carried so much for others that her own needs were often pushed to the background. Self-care was never her priority. Attention flowed outward, rarely inward.

Over time, that pattern took a toll.

Her unexpected death more than 20 years ago changed my life forever. It taught me, painfully and early, how fragile time is — and how essential it is to honor both connection and self-preservation.

Her life showed me the beauty of generosity.

Her loss taught me the cost of neglecting oneself.

Both lessons live inside Bitter2Sweet.

After her death, I began a long, imperfect journey of learning how to live fully, honestly, and with intention — how to stay present, how to value authenticity, and how to build community without losing myself in the process. (I'm still learning.)

Through my personal life and my professional work, I came to see how many people carry experiences that feel bitter: loss, conflict, identity shifts, broken systems, overwhelming transitions, and relationships that ask too much of them.

And how often those people are doing exactly what my mother did — giving endlessly, never asking for help, and quietly masking her own pain in order to keep caring for others.

Bitter2Sweet reflects my commitment to helping people transform what is painful, confusing, or overwhelming into something that supports growth, clarity, and connection — without sacrificing themselves in the process.

Not by pretending hard things aren’t hard.
Not by believing that loving others means neglecting ourselves.

But by learning how to live inside complexity with honesty, boundaries, presence, and support.

At its heart, Bitter2Sweet honors the full human experience:
the grief and the hope, 

the struggle and the strength, 

the bitter and the sweet.

And it invites us to care for others — while also learning how to care for ourselves.

-Jo