Susan Aranda began her human journey in the mystical foothills of the great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. She spent the better part of her childhood running wild and barefoot through the woods and learning the magic of Mother Earth. The soundtrack of her life has many melodies, the most constant of which has always been the wistful wail of the train horn, but the siren song of the ocean has won her heart (she may have been a mermaid in a past life). After liberating herself from successive destructive relationships, she now shares the hard-earned knowledge that everyone deserves to be loved, and anyone can be their own hero. She has made it her mission to empower others who have not yet discovered that having boundaries against abusive and toxic people—from family to partners to frenemies to bosses—is a necessary act of self-preservation and, above all else, self-love. Susan is a working single mother to two amazing creatures called “children” and a full-time college student. She enjoys tending her small garden and cooking delicious food. She occasionally worships at her piano and spends Sundays drinking coffee (the nectar of the Gods) and cuddling with her two sometimes-maddening cats. …and she will always believe in magic.