After experiencing a traumatic car accident that caused her to lose her dominant arm, Suzan Nguyen’s life changed forever. The changes it brought into her life were drastic.
As a result of her near-death experience, she found herself having to re-learn how to accomplish necessary tasks in her daily life. For her, it was as if she had to learn how to live life again. This did not sit well with her as she soon found herself in a very dark place. Needless to say, she felt hopeless and bitter.
The most difficult part of it all was not dealing with the physical scars but surviving the emotional trauma brought about by the experience. With great help from the people surrounding her, she was able to remove herself from the bitter place that she found herself in. She learned to be her very own life coach and guided herself in finding happiness again. She began reaching out to others to help them do the same. From then on, she made it her mission to transform other people’s adversities into their very own advantages. Her ultimate goal is to help people become better, not bitter.
Suzan completed coaching classes at the Institute of Excellence in Professional Coaching. She focused and continues to focus on the study of Positive Psychology. She even developed her own coaching practice called the BBnB, “Be Better, not Bitter” Coaching. At the same time, she is also a certified “Happiness” coach. She coaches others on how to pull themselves out of feelings of despair and hopelessness and helps them find happiness within. She has also published her book, “One Arm But Not Unarmed,” to inspire and help others recognize, confront and embrace their pain in order to heal.
She started a non-profit group called Be Better Group, where members can openly share their traumatic experiences and life stories with one common goal in mind – to be better not bitter. Recently, in line with her Be Better cause, Suzan launched her candle collection by the name Be Better Candles. These candles have been designed to empower people with love. A portion of the income from the sale of the candles are given to the Amputee Coalition. She is also in the process of launching a global course on helping others overcome trauma, Be Better University, to further her mission.
As a TEDx speaker, Suzan continues her journey of helping others through her motivational talks and speaking engagements in different events such as TEDx talks and others. She also continues to give back to the community through volunteer efforts, together with the members of her team from Be Better Group. The Group exists to create a positive community for people who are working to overcome their pain and traumas in life. Here, members experience hope and get access to helpful tools.
The story of Suzan is a story of survival that turned into a life-long mission of helping others. Her resiliency and the way she accepted the challenges that life has thrown at her have been very inspiring to the readers of her book and audiences. Indeed, not many survive the trauma that they go through, let alone use this as fuel to help and inspire others.
If you wish to get to know more about Suzan Nguyen or get in touch with her, you may do so on Instagram. Her book “One Arm But Not Unarmed” is available on Target, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
