Our newest M+E Ambassador, Josiane Ménard is a young Haitian-French Canadian author and poet. She has always been passionate about interpersonal relationships and human behaviour. Thanks to her great sensitivity and sense of self, she allies her two passions, writing and relationships, in order to create safe spaces where everyone feels welcomed.
This is Josiane, sharing her gifts at her book launch in Montreal. It was such a success and sold out that she quickly went into a second print. Congratulations!!!
You can sense Josiane's love of self and of community through her Instagram page. This is where I was lucky to find her and purchased her poetry book, États d'âme. It is such a refreshing and inspirational book written in both English and French. It now has a permanent spot in my library.
Josiane's words on natural beauty...
For me, natural beauty is something I was introduced to almost 10 years ago, when I started contemplating the idea of accepting my natural hair. For over a decade, I had damaged my hair and hurt my scalp by using chemical relaxers and I felt trapped into a vicious cycle. After three years of research, I decided to finally embrace my natural self and I started to use natural products, like coconut oil and shea butter to nourish my hair. As I evolved through my natural hair journey, I noticed that it had an effect on my self-esteem and self-love. I could not believe that I was able to look in the mirror, with my kinky, coily hair out, and still find myself beautiful. This was the beginning of my love story with myself, and it is still going strong.
By learning the benefits of natural products on my hair, I realized that my skin, the largest organ of my body, also deserved to be treated with the same love and care, so I invested, in jojoba and argan oil to moisturize my face, tea tree oil to treat my acne, shea butter to moisturize my body, and so on. It just feels so nice to know that I am not putting anything harmful on my skin.
Thank you for joining the M+E family, we're so happy to have you!!! You are such an inspiration. I can't wait for our continued partnership.
My self-care practice is very important to me.
I am very careful of the words I use to speak about myself.
I try to correct my thoughts when they are self-deprecating.
I smile at myself in the mirror
I say no, more and more often. Setting healthy boundaries is crucial
I no longer stay in situations where I don’t feel comfortable or respected, either in my personal or professional life.
I like to dance, to sing (even if my singing voice isn’t all that), to read, to write poetry and positive affirmations.
I like to look at pictures of my nieces and have good talks with my friends
I like painting my nails and doing face masks.
I like listening to podcasts and meditating
I like crystals, burning sage and Palo Santo. Theses practices make me feel connected to my spiritual side.
I pray, a lot.
You can order Josiane's book, ÉTATS D'ÂMES by clicking on the image below. It has been described by fellow M+E Ambassador AFROPREPPY as a "must-read poetry book ... where she vows to lover all of herself unapologetically and reminds us to do the same."
A bientôt!,
D.
