Coming Home: My Journey Back to Alaska
If you’ve read my About page, you already know a little about what brought me here. But I want to go a little deeper because if I’ve learned anything, it’s that your past doesn’t disqualify you. It defines your strength.
Where It All Started
My name is Elizabeth Sain, and while I was born in Hickory, North Carolina in 1991, Alaska is where I grew up and what I’ve always called home. At just two years old, my family moved to Alaska, where I spent the majority of my life.
I won’t sugarcoat it. My childhood had deep wounds. I had a father who loved me deeply, and a mother who, for her own reasons, wasn’t able to be there for me. Her absence shaped so much of my early beliefs: that I wasn’t worth staying for. That I wasn’t lovable. It took me 30 years to realize those were lies I was carrying.
When I was in fourth grade, my mom left and didn’t come back until I was a teenager. I moved in with my dad, stepmom, and two stepbrothers. It wasn’t easy growing up in a blended family I often felt like the odd one out, like I didn’t fully belong. But they showed up. They became my family in every way that matters, and looking back, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Still, that ache of being different fueled a need in me to prove myself. To be independent. So, at 18, I left home to find out who I was.
Chasing Life and Losing Myself
After spending a few years figuring things out in Alaska, I packed up and moved across the country to Florida. I had family there, and I needed a fresh start. I built a career I was proud of, found a relationship I thought would last, and was chasing what I thought was success.
Then came 2018.
I had just been promoted a big move that came with recognition, new responsibility, and relocation. But one week before starting that role, my body stopped cooperating. My joints ached. I could barely move. I was in constant pain, and no one could see it or understand it.
I was eventually diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and although it gave my pain a name, it also sent my life into a tailspin. My health declined. My relationship ended. And my sense of purpose unraveled.
I spiraled. I stopped caring. About my health. About my job. About whether I made it to tomorrow. I truly believed I was broken and that no one would ever really love me.
The Turning Point: Summer 2023
Then came Alaska. A trip that I didn’t realize would become a lifeline.
What was supposed to be a solo trip turned into a family reunion of sorts. One night, laying on cots in a cargo trailer with my cousin, I shared everything things I’d never said out loud before. She didn’t hesitate. She offered me a place to stay in Oregon.
She didn’t know then, but in that moment, she saved my life. I left Alaska in August. I moved to Oregon in October. And for the first time in years, I started to come back to myself.
Rising from the Ashes
Since that move, I’ve worked on healing mentally, physically, and spiritually. I’ve changed how I eat, how I think, how I treat myself. I’ve begun moving my body again, educating myself about food, learning herbal medicine, and slowly rebuilding my belief that I am worth something.
Now I’m betting on myself. And I want to help others do the same.
Why I Started This Business
This business isn’t just about pop-up events or organic gardens or social media posts. It’s about building something real, something that matters, something that helps others feel seen and supported.
I believe:
In small business over big business.
In community care over hustle culture.
In natural healing, when paired with truth and science.
In going back to basics growing, making, creating, connecting.
And I believe in Alaska. The place that raised me, saved me, and now welcomes me home to start fresh.
Let’s Build Something Together
Whether you’re a small business owner trying to grow, a person trying to live more naturally, or just someone who feels like they don’t quite fit the mold I see you. I’m building this space for us.
Thanks for being here. I can’t wait to see what we grow together.
— Elizabeth Sain
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