How Three Women Knocked Down By The Recession Came Back Stronger Than Ever

The recession sent us reeling.

Truths we’d taken for granted vaporized.

Home values do not always go up. Job security isn’t guaranteed. A college education doesn’t always lead to employment.

But through it all we learned to adapt.

This month’s issue of Essence magazine shows how the recession forced three women to re-examine their lives, harness inner strengths, and embrace new realities.

Crystal McCary – former NBA wife, lawyer, and novelist

At the beginning of the recession Crystal McCary found herself stripped of a book deal. As a recent divorcee without health insurance she had the daunting task of raising two young children as bills mounted and self-doubt spread like a cancer.

McCary tells Essence that it was at this point that she realized she held her destiny in her own hands. Drawing strength from the quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure,” McCary rebounded and found her way again.

Danielle Belton – journalist and creator of the Black Snob

Danielle Belton found herself living in her parent’s basement fighting bipolar disorder. Her childhood dream of working for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was replaced with a job folding sweaters at Macy’s.

She realized, ” ..you can’t be afraid of change. Of picking up and moving 2000 miles away… Of realizing there’s nothing wrong in being wrong, but there is something wrong in not doing anything about it.”

Through her blog, the Black Snob, she re-ignited her journalistic dreams and paved the way for new found success.

Susan Fales-Hill – fashionista and novelist

Susan Fales-Hill once revelled in the glam life. Her world was that of Chanel, Gucci, and Elie Saab as she graced thousand dollar black-tie events. Then the economy came crashing down and the recession forced a painful self-reflection.

“.. as much as I loved beautiful clothing and accessories, for years I had abused them the way others in my family used alcohol: to mask feelings of inadequacy.”

Recovery arrived as she slayed the internal psychological demons that had guided her spending for so many years.

Read more about how each woman used the challenges of the recession to find healing, understanding and ultimately new peace by reading the January 2012 issue of Essence magazine on newsstands now.