About Elaine

Like so many of us, I had that “rock bottom” moment when things become crystal clear and inevitably, life changes. Ironically, it happened with my 15-year-old daughter, Marlie, who has special needs. Through her words and example, I came to understand that I had a deep, limiting story I had been carrying most of my life - The story of “not being enough.”

 Hi! I’m Elaine Turner and I’m so glad you are here!

I  guess you could say I am many things— a Texan, fashion designer, entrepreneur, special needs mom, wife, sister, daughter, philanthropist and best girlfriend. You can also find me moonlighting as a part-time author, comedian, psychologist and enneagram junkie. But, all of these roles only tell part of my story. What I've learned along the way is that none of these so-called titles even come close to defining me. (or you for that matter!)

So.. you might be thinking... If I am not my roles, responsibilities, job titles and to-do lists, then who the hell am I?

I believe most of us trying to find our true self. The self unencumbered by outside expectations. The self that is not earned. The self that is divine, worthy and whole. This is what I am here to talk to you about.

Not to get too deep too fast— I mean c'mon, we barely know each other, BUT... I want to tell you about a time in my life where a part of me died and what I did to turn that death into a rebirth, and I want to show you how you can do that too. 

Let me give you a little background first- I launched my own fashion, lifestyle brand, Elaine Turner®, with my husband, Jim in 2000 and it thrived for many years. Not to toot my on horn, but ‘toot toot.’ Basically, I had ALL THE THINGS. I had the world in one hand and Kim Crawford in the other.

In January of 2019 the dream I had been building for 19 years fell out of my hands (don’t worry, I held onto Kim REAL TIGHT at this point). In the ever-evolving retail industry we had to make the gut wrenching decision to close the business and our last remaining store. I can vividly remember sending the final email out announcing our closure to over 50k people. There I was…helpless, ashamed and grief stricken. I’ve never felt so exposed, so raw, so vulnerable.

I was standing there in Jim’s arms with tears streaming down my face. I could barely breathe. I quietly asked myself-  Who am I now? What is this feeling?

The answer came to me like this: what this is… is a deeply broken heart inside a forever changed woman. This is that moment. That moment of surrender. That moment when you realize you must rebuild yourself and your life from rock bottom.

And this brings me to the goosebump moment I had with my daughter that changed everything. It turned the grief over what felt like a death of self into an opportunity for rebirth.

My 15 year old daughter, Marlie, who has special needs, requires my undivided attention, love, compassion and empathy on a daily basis. She has taught me so much about myself and what matters most in life. It serves as no surprise that she was the one who mirrored back to me exactly what I needed most.

About four months after we closed our last store, I was picking up Marlie from school in my usual “I am majorly depressed look” of yoga pants, an old tee-shirt, no makeup and unwashed hair.

Marlie got in the car and said, “Mom why are you picking me up all the time now? Why aren’t you at work?” Well, there it was- the realization that she knew. She knew something was way off. My heart sunk. My throat closed up. My mouth got dry. I was speechless.

As we headed out of the school driveway- I looked at her very calmly and said. “I closed Elaine Turner. I don’t work right now.” Marlie is a girl of few words and she is extremely literal. She looked back at me and said, “Oh ok, mom, I liked that place. I liked the pink. But, I like being with you more.” Cue the waterworks. Never in my life have I needed to hear a set of words strung together like that..  She didn’t need me to be THE Elaine Turner, she needed me to be mom. She loves me at the top of the world and she loves me just as much when I feel squashed underneath it. She reminded me that I am ENOUGH. Just me. Nothing else.

In that moment, I felt like I could see how warped my lens had been for so many years. Hustling for approval and over trying doesn’t even occur to her. She is who she is, plain and simple, no manipulation, and no filter. Seeing this more clearly that day was freeing for me. I guess our roles had reversed- Marlie was modeling for me what being enough looks and feels like.

I came to see that Marlie had uncovered a very deep personal wound. A limited story that I had been carrying for most of my life. The story of “not being enough.”

After that day, I became committed to the idea that if I do anything right on this earth it has to be to model for my daughter what worthiness looks and feels like. She must know and experience and truly believe that her worth is unchanging and innate. She needs to know that being born with a disability does not negate her worth in anyway- no matter what society tells us. Neither is my worth compromised by experiencing challenges and disappointments in my life and neither is yours regardless of your life circumstances.

I guess you could say, I am on a mission to convince women of this very real fact. (I know, kinda an ambitious mission, right?! Maybe next I’ll tackle why your pant size doesn’t correlate whatsoever to your worth- but one hurdle at a time ladies.)

So, that brings us to today. I am on new journey of discovery. A journey of awakening. A journey of manifestation to my truest self. A journey that has been years and years in the making as I have been relentless in my self-empowerment studies for over 15 years. (let’s just say Brene’ and I have shared many tears together…)

After reading thousands of books and experiencing more life that I would have wanted to (if I’m being honest) I am currently in the midst of using my story and all my studies as a way to connect with others more deeply- especially women. This has led me to what I consider my greatest passion- guiding women to believe YOU ARE WORTHY.

Oh, and I wrote a book! In August of 2018, I launched a book  called, Breaking the Glass Slipper — Debunking the Myths that Hold Women Back. Ironically, I wrote it during one of the most tumultuous times in my business. Looking back, I now see that the journey of writing the book was truly the spark that led me to where I am today.

It allowed me to discover how passionate I am about empowering women through sharing my story, insight and inspiration. And, this is how Know Your Worth was born.

By inspiring women to discover the truth of who they are; they can begin to adopt the idea that regardless of our circumstances, our jobs, our weight, our bank accounts — We are not broken. We are not incomplete. We are Enough. Always, as is.  

Once we know this, we are able to live from a place of courage, compassion and connection and create a life of deep meaning and purpose. It’s my greatest hope that you will join me on the most important journey of your life: the journey back to yourself.