NOTL native reconnects with old friends and makes new ones while signing copies of her brand new book ‘Claim Your Brain’ Thursday night
Thursday’s book-signing at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library was like a reunion for mental health and wellness coach Jocelyn Pepe.
A large crowd turned up in the atrium of the Anderson Lane location to have Pepe sign a copy of her first book, Claim Your Brain: Your Practical Guide to TrU Mental Health.
Published by fellow NOTL native Christie Mann’s UpLevel Publishing, the book outlines Pepe’s own personal struggles with mental health and presents her TrU model for mental health and well-being. It includes questionnaires, worksheets and checklists developed over her decade-plus working with medium to large coporations to help them connect improved mental and physical health to better performance.
Pepe grew up with her family in NOTL, attending Parliament Oak Elementary and Niagara District Secondary Schools. Her grandparents once lived in what was known as Pepe’s Corner at the intersection of Mary and Mississagua Streets, in the vacant house that was most recently the location of Willow Cakes and Pastries.
Friends such as Tanya Peterson, who, with her husband Jordan Morrison, runs the Niagara Image Gallery on Niagara Stone Road, visited the library to support their longtime friend and pick up a copy of the book.
“I am so proud of this beautiful soul,” Peterson tells The Local. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing her since childhood, and just like her book, transparency and vulnerability come naturally. She is a rare gem and an OG NOTL’er.”
“We get together once in a while, but we keep in touch mostly through social media,” says Pepe. “It was great to see Tanya. There were a few people who came that I didn’t recognize who I should have, and lots of friends of my family, and a few other childhood friends.
Pepe was encouraged by a few of the visitors who wanted to learn more about why she wrote Claim Your Brain, so she put aside her Sharpie in favour of leading a talk about the book that she felt resonated well with the visitors.
“I had a conversation with one gentleman,” Pepe adds. “My story is written as a mother, sister and daughter. But there were things that resonated, that woke him up about his ways of being. It was incredibly emotional to have that depth of connection, that depth of impact for both men and women. It was powerful.”
Pepe says she will wait until the fall to schedule more promotional appearances and may just reserve a date to return for another signing in her hometown.
Claim Your Brain is available for purchase through Amazon
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