Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Acker-Halbur.
Hi Alexis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m no stranger to adversity. My life has been filled with traumatic events ranging from child abuse, surviving Stage IV colon cancer (twice), and experiencing two near deaths. I’m a writer with a life filled with many stories on how to never give up. That’s my mantra and I believe I’m stronger for it. I also had the pleasure of being an adventurer seeing the Great Canyon, Yellowstone, Mexico, Portugal, Scotland, and Mt. Saint Helens — three months after it erupted.
I love the outdoors and having a quiet moment on my porch or at a campsite. These things give me a strength I didn’t know I possessed. I connect with the beauty of the Minnesota landscape as often as I can. I believe I’m here today to go into the forest and fuel my soul.
I grew up in Wisconsin and root for the Green Bay Packers, despite living behind enemy lines (Minnesota) most of my life. Football season is always a time for friends to tease me about being a cheese head, but I don’t mind because good competition is healthy.
Speaking of healthy, one of the first lessons I learned as a child was to tell the truth.. For children like me, this lesson is a dire challenge. Frequently threatened and told to lie, children find themselves ebbing further and further from reality. The result is a spiritual loss so deep that recovery from trauma seems impossible. But it’s not.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I was born wounded, but I put my faith in the Divine Spirit. When I’m in the forest I can hear her whisper in the wind, and find solace in the waters of Lake Superior. The accidents, health issues, and growing up with a vulnerable DNA has proved to be a map for me to take on challenges and find peace in the silence.
Our world is filled with obstacles that prevent us from living a healthy, meaningful life. Past experiences of stress, trauma, and loss make us sick. I sought medical professionals to give me pills to eradicate the pain and ease my suffering. My medical bills just skyrocketed. As a copywriter for several companies in the Twin Cities, including Hazelden and HealthPartners, I was given the ability to stretch my creative thinking and writing abilities. Words are a treasure for me and I love to write fiction, nonfiction, magazine articles, and blog posts. My posts appear on my website at https//nevergiveupinstitute.org. I write a lot about how I’m reacting to situations in my life so I can adjust to adversity. Lately, there’s a lot of that in our world, and people are becoming much more sick. My story is a reminder how we can overcome fear and balance our bodies.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a published international and national book award winner, I have brought to life. Never Give Up: Break the Connection Between Stress and Illness, is a real story about how I survived being abused and what I did to bring healing to my body, mind, and soul. The story was awarded a gold medal by the Living Now Book Awards. Recently, I learned that this book also was a finalist in the 2025 American Legacy Awards.
Another book, The Bear: In the Middle of Between, is a fictional tale about a young woman who grows weary and finds she can no longer live in a world of abuse. The main character’s plan is interrupted when a mystical stranger appears and struggles to take away the gun. For readers who love “The Shack” by William P. Young, this story delves into the world of survival vs. death and faith vs, fear. In 2024, The Bear also received an International Impact Book Award by Go All In Media. The book is available online at IngramSpark.
To follow the success of Never Give Up, I wrote an 8-week workbook, T.R.U.T.H. Program: The Road to Unresolved Trauma Healing, designed to to help those of us who have experienced trauma to enhance our abilities to recover our souls through mind, body, and spirit healing activities. This book can be purchased directly from me.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I encourage readers and listeners to create a safe and healing environment as an important way to survive adversity and trauma. to reduce the effect of emotional distress, suicide, physical illness, and substance abuse. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are over one billion children in the world today who are physically, sexually, and emotionally abused and neglected. If you are a trauma survivor please remember:
1. You are not responsible for your trauma.
2. You are in control of healing your pain and suffering.
3. You have the right to live a healthy and more meaningful life
My hope is more people will find the right tools to get them through our country’s hardships. My main theme “Never Give Up” reminds us that every possibility exits at every moment — including the miraculous — no matter how dismal the current situation or news maybe.
Pricing:
- Never Give Up: Break the Connection Between Stress and Illness
- $15.00
- The Bear: In the Middle of Between,
- $15.00
- T.R.U.T.H. Program, $20.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nevergiveupinstitute.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebear_6791/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/miracleshappen
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-acker-halbur
