About Doré Frances

Doré Frances is a retired educational consultant, mental health advocate, and founder of Mental and Health Awareness—a platform dedicated to empowering individuals and families with compassionate, accessible resources. With decades of experience supporting young adults, caregivers, and behavioral health programs, Doré now focuses on community engagement and promoting meaningful change through education, storytelling, and collaboration. Known for her direct yet deeply empathetic approach, Doré brings a lifetime of lived experience to her writing, blending professional insight with personal reflections on resilience, trauma recovery, and personal growth. She is especially passionate about youth advocacy, emotional wellness, and amplifying the voices of those often unheard. When she's not writing or connecting with like-minded advocates, you can find Doré exploring the beauty of Colorado with her service dog, Aspen. Let’s build a more understanding, mentally healthy world—one story at a time.

Trust Your Intuition: A Spiritual Guide to Authentic Relationships

Trust Your Intuition in Life and Relationships

Intuition is that quiet inner voice within you—the one that gently points you toward truth.

Sometimes it arrives as a sudden insight, a vivid dream, a gut feeling, or an unexplainable sense. Other times, it speaks through the subtle signals your body sends.

Pause and ask yourself:

How do I feel around this person? Am I calm, energized, uneasy, or drained? Does this decision feel light in my body, or does it create tension and heaviness?

Your intuition is powerful. Learning to listen to it can guide you toward what feels right and protect you from what does not.

Still, it’s common to […]

Beneath My Silence – In Case I Forget – Series

If the day arrives when memory loosens its hold ~

when faces blur, when names drift away ~

please sit with me. Anchor me in the memories we’ve known. Remind me of my daughter, of laughter you and I once shared, of the life I wove together thread by thread.

If I forget, bring me back through your stories. Tell me of the milestones that shaped me, the tears we may have shared, the pride that swelled in me as I supported you in your life.

Let your voice be sunlight, your words be colors.

Show me photographs, yes, but more than that ~

show me the memories you carry in your […]

Beneath My Silence – Lessons from a Heavy Year – Series

This year has stretched me in ways I didn’t see coming. I’ve had to learn the quiet art of release ~ of leaving people where they’ve chosen to stand, even when my heart longed for them to come closer.

There’s a deep ache in realizing that not everyone will meet you with the same effort or care, no matter how much you offer. For a time, I wrestled with it ~

turning inward, questioning myself, wondering if I was the problem.

But slowly, I began to understand:

you can’t keep holding the rope when the other end has already slipped away. Gripping tighter only leaves you marked with bruises that don’t easily fade. I’ve […]

Beneath My Silence – Never Let Life Dim Your Light – Series

Never let life dim your light or make you small.

Do not let its weight dim your light, or quiet the radiance that is yours to give. Pause when you must.

Rest, mend, and gather strength. But never abandon your path, or hide away from your purpose. Hold to the faith that brighter horizons await ~

new journeys, kindred souls, love yet to touch your heart, and sunsets still painted just for you. Do not close the chapter too soon. The Universe is abundant, and you are woven into its infinite giving. Keep your heart open to receive what has always been meant for you. Offer gratitude ~

for you to endure. For you to rise again. Let go of disappointments. Release […]

Whispers To The Soul – Letting Go of Comparison and Embracing Authenticity – Series

My journey has been one of trial and error—learning, over many years, how to stand in my own authenticity and embracing authenticity..

To live a lie is a heavy burden—silencing your truth, echoing what others expect, and walking a road that was never yours to take.

We arrive in this world with a single calling—to be fully ourselves.

Yet so often, we measure our worth against others, past and present. We’re taught that comparison is the path to success, to happiness, to “better.” And in doing so, we slip into the dreams of lives not our own, or chase after the glitter of strangers’ fame and fortune.

When our sense of self falters, instead […]

Beneath My Silence – When Life Reveals True Friends – Series

When life takes an unexpected turn, it reveals a great deal about the people around you. Life reveals true friends.

It feels like a raw, unsettling purge—suddenly you see who has the courage to sit with the darkness, and who runs from it because they cannot face their own.

The truth is simple: those who deny their own shadow cannot hold space for anyone else’s.

In a culture addicted to distraction, we postpone meeting our shadow until life leaves us no choice.

Privilege protects itself, but in the end, nothing genuine survives without honesty. So, cherish the ones who can stand with you in the storm, and release the rest.

For it is […]

Notes From George – A Dream with George – Series

I drifted off last night with George on my mind, quietly asking what he might think about me writing this blog. To my surprise, he showed up in my dreams. It felt so real—like he was alive again, moving through time and space beside me—until morning pulled me back.

 

Soooo… what’s happening in your little corner of Earth and time right now?

Ah, I understand…

Oh my goodness…

I hear you…

Mmm, I get it…

Oh wow…

These little talks always make me smile.

George

 

This dream was a comfort—a sweet glimpse of George that I carried with me […]

Notes From George – A Brother’s Legacy of Love & Wisdom – Series

Notes from George

An Introduction

My brother George never set out to be a teacher. He wasn’t loud with his wisdom, and he never sought the spotlight. His lessons were carried in the quiet way he lived—simple words, steady love, and a bravery that never asked to be noticed.

This series, Notes from George, gathers those moments and holds them close. They are reminders of the best little brother anyone could have, and reflections of the truth he lived: that love, even when whispered, leaves an echo that carries on.

George was born on June 23, 1956, and by December 25th, he became my most cherished Christmas gift. I had wished for a baby […]

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