Madison Ford

I grew up in sunny San Diego, California. I was named after the mermaid in Splash, and my mom hoped I would grow up to be a famous movie star. Instead, I spent most summers at the beach and most school years trying to fit in with the cool crowd. I had no particularly promising talents, but I did flunk biology and world history with exceptional veracity.

After my mom accidentally and fatally overdosed on her anti-depressant when I was 17, I became obsessed with understanding the search for meaning in every human’s life. Well, first I moved into the dorms at San Francisco State and I drank, cried and cursed the Gods more than any person should.

In my first philosophy class as a college student, I became infatuated with the idea of what it meant to be human. Was there any purpose at all? Apart from memorizing names, dates, and dudes of philosophical histories, I started to question the human condition. Of course, I didn’t see any real future in philosophical musings, so I graduated with a degree in Marketing and did my best to excel in business.

Over the last decade, I worked in business development for a boutique fitness brand and moved to Amsterdam to lead the company’s international expansion. After packing up my world and moving to Europe with my beloved husband and lazy cat, I started to look back on the teenager who touched death and ran. I asked myself, “Are you still running?”

I’ve lived in Africa, travelled in India, taken shamanic medicines and have thrown myself into a high-stress career. I’ve tried pretty much anything to fill the void of my own human question. However, all of my chosen distractions never stopped the pesky question from beating between my ears, “Who are you?”

This blog is a witness of self-questioning, personal stories, and philosophical musings about what it means to face life after death.