The growth and healing I have experienced in working with Valerie have been immense. In the past, it would have been difficult to put into words and express my learning and gratitude, but Valerie has helped me put words to what I always wondered, was feeling, but was afraid or felt wrong to explore.

I started listening to the Latter-Day Struggles podcast in June of 2022 and the two ideas that first rang true for me, that I had been making myself feel toxic guilt over since a youth in church, was the first episode about the viewpoint of God’s love being contingent on righteousness (which I have now discarded) and the idea that thoughts are bad (also discarded).  I began to separate out my relationship with God and institution, culture and doctrine, began to learn how to sit in tension with the fallibility of humans, from leadership down to neighbors, acknowledge a complex history, and seek to progress through stages of spiritual development.

This was a turning point in my understanding and came at a time when I had recently gone through extreme suffering and life experiences that led me to finally ask deeper questions. This prompted me to join one of the small groups with Valerie. In doing this group work with Valerie, she has helped me feel permission to be me, to be enough, and feel loved just like I am. She has helped me discover my true self and what it means to have a voice. I have come to realize that I am not alone in my thoughts and views, that there is a growing tide of my brother and sisters who desire healthy change and true community. She has helped me deconstruct and begin to reconstruct my faith in a healthier perspective, one in which I employ intention and personal choice. I choose. I don’t abdicate my spiritual growth responsibility anymore; I actively participate and direct my wonderings and inspiration. I have more genuinely sought a relationship with my Heavenly Parents than ever before and look forward to continued growth.

Thank you, Valerie!