Elaine Brown

I grew up in the wonderful, small town of Athens, AL after my father was transferred here to assist the space team at NASA. I thoroughly enjoyed my college experience at The University of Alabama and completed my B.A. in Psychology in 1983, the year 'The Bear' died. I lived in Huntsville, AL for many years working in a variety of sales positions (e.g. clothing and furniture retail), and then admissions counselor for a business school, and crisis intervention for drug rehab. These experiences were intriguing and eventually led me back to school to complete my M.S. in Clinical Psychology in 1992. I worked in addiction treatment for ten years as a counselor and then director. I specialized in the typically treatment-resistant populations which made me quite adept at developing successful programs for patients and their families. I moved back to my home town a couple of years before my mother died. I'll always be grateful for that. Our friendship became even closer as we were better able to pop in on each other, have lunch, and shop. The year before she was diagnosed with cancer, we spent the summer together learning how to navigate an old boat that I decided I had to have. I fell in love with the river again and that summer somehow made it easier to say goodbye to her the next year. I continued to spend time on the river, however. It had been a constant companion growing up and it seemed to have become even more beautiful in my absence. In 2004, I moved there permanently and am in awe of its majesty, power, and scenery every day. I joke that I have the best backyard anywhere - 2 miles of unobstructed river beauty. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2002 and it wasn't long before I had to move him in with me. He lived on Lake Eufaula so the river house was a perfect place for him to convalesce. There were times when he actually thought we were living in a resort; a belief that was somehow comforting to me. I think he enjoyed his last years... I decided to open a business in 2005 and by the spring of 2006, All About Me (a ladies' boutique) was born. I really enjoyed owning a small business. It seemed to combine all my talents over the years e.g. bookkeeping, marketing, public relations, merchandising, sales. I decided to sell it only because of the stresses of a messy divorce and my father's death. Now I'm just looking for the next interesting chapter in my life. I'm at a point now where I can be a little more particular about my choices.