DEXTER, Maine — Amy Morin grew up in Dexter, but her life today is dramatically different. She works as a therapist, and lives on a sailboat in the Florida Keys. That boat is also where she records a podcast, helping others build their own mental strength.
What does someone soaking in the sunshine and salt water every day know about mental strength? Well, Morin learned a lot through others and through her own journey, starting with the sudden death of her mother.
"Something I have learned from people in my therapy office is that sometimes people went through something and they grew from it, and other people went through tough times and they felt like they were stuck, like their life could just never be as good again," Morin explains. "I realized it wasn’t always about what people did, sometimes it was about what people didn’t do. People who didn’t have certain bad habits seemed to do better than others and so I studied them, a lot for my own purposes, but also because I wanted to teach other people."
On the three year anniversary of the death of her mother, Morin says her 26-year-old husband had a heart attack, "I found myself a widow. I didn’t have my mom and I’m supposed to be a therapist and helping other people with their problems... I thought, 'Now what do I do?'"
Morin wrote herself a letter about what mentally strong people don't do. It included a list of 13 things. She says she would read the list whenever she needed a reminder of what not to do. "I thought, if it helps me it might help someone else."
So that list became a book: 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do.
Four books later, and Amy Morin is a bestselling author. She has also teamed up with the mental health website, Verywell Mind. "We created the Verywell Mind podcast as a way for me to get information out there about how to manage your mental health, how to build mental strength, and how to deal with tough times in life," Morin explains. That podcast is recorded on a sailboat in the Florida Keys.
"I was living in Maine at the time in February and the snow was up to the windowsill still, and it was cold, and my husband and I had always talked about moving somewhere warm. We said we would do it someday. Well if I have learned anything from my own life, it’s that you should never bet on some day because you don’t know whether or not that’s going to happen."
While there are many challenges that come with recording a podcast on a boat, Morin has had a wide range of guests from Good Morning America's Dan Harris to actress Danica McKellar; and has covered many topics, hoping to help anyone listening.
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