Rose Ann Forte and Layne Whitely
Rose Ann Forte
Rose Ann was a successful C-Suite Executive and ministry leader in the church. She was a working mom of four and a social drinker. Over the years, life’s stresses and a difficult marriage created an environment where her alcohol usage increased significantly. Her health and emotional wellbeing suffered greatly. After the collapse of her marriage, her drinking further escalated, and she felt like a fraud with God and the Church. She made many attempts to control it only to later lose control again. There were aspects of AA that didn’t feel comfortable for her so it was not an option in her mind. She had already submitted to God and didn’t want to call herself an alcoholic. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she enrolled in a coaching program to put alcohol to the side for three months. Her experience was extremely transformational, and she recognized God’s instruction embedded in the entire process. She identified what alcohol had stolen from her life and understood that God had a better plan for her. Rose Ann felt called to document what she learned with a daily devotional so others can experience God’s promises through scriptural instruction with hope and a better plan for the future.
Layne Whitely
Layne worked in the education and nonprofit fields for decades and suffered major burnout and overwhelm. The habit of using alcohol to “relax and cope” escalated, and daily drinking became the norm. Unfortunately, this radically competed with Layne’s personal values, including her relationship with God, as well as her passion for healthy eating and physical fitness goals. Overweight and spiritually miserable, Layne decided to put her fear of change aside and honor her convictions. She began the search for alternative ways to cope with life’s stressors and joined a coaching program to put alcohol aside for three months. Those three months became years, and she joyfully embraced a profoundly rewarding and permanent alcohol-free life. Layne is grateful for this transformative gift from God and is now using her experiences and training to help others on their AF journey. As a certified life coach and teacher (Masters in Education), Layne works with clients on goal achievement strategies for living adventurous, successful and fulfilling alcohol-free lives. She has also authored several articles on living an alcohol-free life. Layne currently resides on a homestead with her family in Southeastern Connecticut.
Michele Bunnion
Michele worked as an administrative assistant for 20 years and moved into a real estate career after retirement. Her overindulgence with alcohol started after having gastric bypass surgery along with personal problems in her marriage. She tried various ways of quitting and/or decreasing her consumption of alcohol but kept going back to drinking excessively. After several attempts to quit drinking in a secular coaching program, she was able to get back on track in August of 2021 and incorporated “The Plans He Has For Me” daily devotional. For Michele, this was the missing piece of the puzzle. The devotional strengthened her faith and allowed her to develop the inner strength to continue her journey. She recognized the transformation in how she feels mentally, emotionally, and physically. She continues to use the devotional and looks forward to encouraging others to do the same. She is currently active within her church and her community. She is a mom of three adult sons and has 7 grandchildren, whom she adores.