My Life To Now

My Story

In The Netherlands I had a very happy childhood. I grew up with my older sister and my mum and dad. They were young fun parents who worked hard and we saw lot of their large families. I have many wonderful memories from this time.

During high school I visited close friends who had moved to Australia and I completed year 12 with their youngest son. I totally and completely fell in love with Australia. On the flight back to home I cried and cried, already missing Australia so much.  The duelling countries that held my heart and the constant travel between them had begun.

After Australia I went Hotel Management College and loved everything about it. I never really had a clear vision of “What do I want to be when I grow up?” I liked the thought of being a stewardess. That did not happen. I ended up doing hospitality on the ground and not in the air. My parents both worked in the café and restaurant business and I simply slid into that. I always loved working with and for my parents.

Australia was still calling however, so back I came for a year long working holiday in 1993.

Back in The Netherlands I met and fell in love with my first husband Fedor. He was a golf professional at the golf club where I worked and 5 years after our first kiss we married. October 1999.

Life was amazing. We bought our first home, had great friends, and great jobs that we were both passionate about… and we fell pregnant!

In December 2001 a tragedy hit our lives when Fedor was almost killed when he crashed into a tree on his way to work.

Not long after this, amongst all the hospital visits and sorrow, I gave birth to our beautiful and healthy baby girl. Fedor was in a coma for many months and when he regained consciousness he was diagnosed with Locked In Syndrome. My once active and fun loving husband was 100% paralized. He could only use his eyes to look up to respond YES, down to respond NO, and eventually use a spelling board to communicate.

Four years after the accident Fedor said with his eyes that he wanted to die. And so he did. 16-01-2006.

My family wasn’t surprised I wanted to go to Australia with my daughter, so off we went to stay with my Dutch friends, who now lived in Bundaberg. The plan was to stay for a year and take the time I needed to heal and catch my breath. I did neither.

So I could work I applied for permanent residency and by the time it came through, I knew I wanted to stay in Australia long term.

Many happy times followed and the healing though the peace I’d yearned for was still on the horizon.

In 2012, after a business venture fell apart, I moved us back to The Netherlands and intended to stay put this time. (Mmmmm sure thing)

I loved writing, journalling, sharing my story and eventually I wrote my first book. My autobiography called Adem. We launched it in October 2013, on my wedding anniversay at the golf course we fedor and I first met.

A month after the book launch my 2nd husband came into my life. He was keen to visit Australia and after a holiday there we decided to move. Australia… here we come… again! It turned out I was 7 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child and my beautiful son was born in 2015 .

The following years were difficult ones and much happened that I am still processing and healing from. It was during this time that I felt at my lowest and utterly disconnected from my self, my family, my friends… from the world.

It was also during this time that I found my tribe. My ride or die sisters who have been with me through thick and thin and stayed by my side, no matter what I was going through or how un-Mira-like I had become.

With their love and support I gradually found parts of myself again. I regained the strength I needed to believe in myself and trust I could do things differently. And I did.

Guided by my life experiences my personal mission is to create balance in my body, my mind, my family and my community.

I am now dedicated to empowering other people to achieve this balance.

THIS is my PASSION and my PURPOSE 💞 I hope you will join me.