Shelly-Anne Mckay

08/25/2026

We don’t always get to choose what happens to us. We do get to decide what we make it mean.

Dana Bosch has lived through experiences that could have easily defined the rest of her life. Instead, she keeps asking a different question: How can I grow from this?

Her perspective doesn’t minimize pain or pretend life is always fair. It reminds us that even after the hardest chapters, we still have choices about what comes next.

Watch my full conversation with Dana on YouTube. Link in the comments.

08/25/2026

Nobody Knew I Was Struggling - Not Even Me!

I was recently invited to be a guest writer for Vital Voyage Blog, an addiction recovery publication that features highly accomplished voices in this field. I was genuinely honored to be asked.

I could have shared the traditional professional bio. The credentials. The experience. The version of my life that looks very put together from the outside.

Instead, I chose to share what I discovered was underneath my addiction.

We often talk about addiction in ways that leave people believing they are weak, lack discipline or should simply be able to stop. My recovery taught me to ask a different question:
What is under the hood?

For me, recovery became about understanding what my addiction had been trying to soothe, escape or compensate for.

As I come up on 19 years clean and sober, I know that going under the hood has been some of the most important work of my life.

Sharing this openly wasn't easy. I did it because someone may look completely fine on the outside while quietly knowing something isn't right on the inside. Perhaps you can't name it yet. My hope is that my story might help you find words for your own.

If you recognize yourself in what I share and want support exploring what's under the hood for you, DM me privately. I would be honored to walk alongside you.

I'll put the Vital Voyage blog article in the comments.

08/21/2026

What if the thing keeping you stuck is the thing you’re trying hardest to hold onto?

In my conversation with Dana Bosch, she talks about our desire to control our emotions, our circumstances and what happens next — and how learning to let go can create space for something different.

Change can be uncomfortable. Staying in the same place can be uncomfortable too.

Sometimes peace begins when we stop trying to control everything and become willing to take a different road.

Watch my full conversation with Dana on YouTube. Link in the comments.

08/17/2026

What if your mind doesn’t need another solution...it needs a break?

Roger Davidson knows what it feels like when anxiety takes over. One of the lessons he has learned over the years is to stop trying to solve everything at once.

Take a step back, go for a walk, get outside, do something different, and give your mind somewhere else to go.

Sometimes letting your mind relax is part of finding your way through.

Watch my full conversation with Roger on YouTube using the link in the comments

08/17/2026

Some musicians sing about survival.

Billy Strings has lived it.

I have enormous respect for the way Billy is speaking so openly about his road through addiction, trauma, loss, and recovery.

He grew up surrounded by substance use, experienced addiction himself, and has lost both of his biological parents to overdose. Today, he is filling arenas, creating extraordinary music, and talking openly about the work it has taken to build a different life.

One line from his recent interview stopped me:

“All this generational trauma has to stop with me.”

That is recovery.

Not pretending the past did not happen. Not hiding the scars. Deciding that what happened before you does not get to determine what happens after you.

Billy also describes music as his coping mechanism, survival strategy, and medicine. I understand that deeply. Music has been one of the ways I have healed, regulated, connected, and found my way back to myself too.

I especially respect artists who are willing to talk about recovery publicly. Nobody owes the world their private story, yet when someone with a platform has the courage to say, “This happened to me,” it makes it easier for someone else to believe change might be possible for them too.

This is also why I care so deeply about supporting musicians and other high-profile people privately. Success does not protect anyone from addiction, trauma, grief, burnout, or emotional pain. Sometimes it simply makes the struggle easier to hide.

Billy, thank you for being willing to tell the truth about where you came from and what it takes to keep moving forward.

Recovery does not erase our story.

It gives us the chance to write what happens next.

I’m sharing Billy’s “Turmoil & Tinfoil” here:
https://music.apple.com/ca/song/turmoil-tinfoil/1285698960

08/15/2026

Sometimes the hardest door to open is the one that leads to clarity.

Roger Davidson has lived through anxiety, uncertainty and some difficult seasons, and his message is simple: don’t give up.

Sometimes you have to change gears, choose a different path and trust that time really can change things.

Watch my full conversation with Roger on YouTube using the link in the comments.

08/13/2026

What a beautiful legacy to leave behind.

Fifteen years after the world lost Amy Winehouse, her name continues to represent hope for women rebuilding their lives.

Amy’s Place is celebrating 10 years of supporting young women in recovery by giving them something so many people need when life begins to unravel: a safe place to land, the right support, and the opportunity to rebuild.

Amy’s story is also a reminder that success, talent, and visibility do not protect someone from addiction, burnout, emotional distress, overperforming, or unhealthy coping. Sometimes the pressure to maintain an image and keep functioning makes it even harder to ask for help.

That is one of the reasons I care so deeply about the work I do with musicians and other high-performing, public-facing professionals. Success on the outside does not always mean someone is well underneath it.

Healing requires more than pushing through. It requires safety, trust, individualized support, and a path that honours the human being behind the performance.

Congratulations to the Amy Winehouse Foundation and everyone at Amy’s Place on 10 years of creating hope and possibility.

What began in tragedy has become a legacy that is still changing lives.

If you are high-performing on the outside while privately struggling underneath it all, you do not have to wait for everything to fall apart before reaching for support. Message me privately.

08/06/2026

Tomorrow it begins.

Level Up LIVE starts tomorrow. The coaching seats are full, but observer seats are still available.

If you've been thinking about joining, now is the time.

DM me 𝐋𝐔𝐋 for the details.

08/04/2026

If you’re sober, sober-curious, or choosing an alcohol-free life, I’d love to invite you to my next event.

Sun-Dipped Social—an elevated private poolside brunch designed to make meeting people and forming real connections feel easy.

The $50 ticket is an investment in more than an afternoon out. It is an investment in belonging, laughter, meaningful conversation, and a vibrant social life with alcohol nowhere near the centre.

Only 25 spots are available, so grab yours before they’re gone.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14eWkD2FtDZ/

Socializing without alcohol can feel surprisingly intimidating—especially when you are walking into a room alone. At Sober & Social Club, you do not have to figure it out by yourself.

**Sun-Dipped Social** is not simply a casual pool day. It is a private, elevated experience thoughtfully curated to feel vibrant, welcoming, and unforgettable—from the beautiful setting and playful summer details to social activations designed to make real connection feel natural.

Expect swimming, lounging, laughter, a potluck brunch, and a fun beach hat and sunglasses contest. Introverts and extroverts are equally supported, and guests arriving solo can request our complimentary Connection Concierge for extra support walking into the event.

This is a summer afternoon where alcohol is not the centre—joy, belonging, and meaningful connection are.

Only **25 tickets** are available. Grab yours through the event page linked in our bio before it is too late.

08/04/2026

Sometimes the thing that helps us heal is not another conversation.

Sometimes it is a guitar, a rhythm, a lyric, and the experience of creating something alongside other people.

Music is one of the most important ways I care for my own mental health, so I absolutely love the work being done through BandJAM (https://www.facebook.com/willyhuro) and Rock to Recovery.

BandJAM brings people together to write, record, and perform an original song in a single guided session. It grew from musician Wesley Geer's own recovery experience and his discovery that music could break through isolation, lift people’s spirits, and bring an entire room together.

The program now supports mental health, addiction recovery, and human connection—and it is expanding into South Florida.

This resonates deeply with me because healing is never one-size-fits-all. Music can give us somewhere to place what we cannot yet express. It can help us feel present, connected, and less alone.

I especially love that participants do not need to be musicians. They simply get to create, connect, and experience what becomes possible when music brings people together.

Huge respect to everyone at BandJAM and Rock to Recovery for continuing to expand this meaningful work.

What is one song that can lift your spirits almost every time, even on a difficult day?

The full story from WLRN Public Radio and Television is in the comments.