EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY
As I sit at my little seafoam green cafe table, scarfing down a scone and setting up my notepad and pen for the day’s interview, I find myself really excited about the arrival of my guest, Dana Buckmir. Dana is a local writer who not only spends her time tutoring and mentoring young students who wish to enrich their writing skills, but also reviews delicious restaurants in her blog @danaliciousreviews on IG… and is a published author. How cool is that? Today, we finally get to meet face to face, hang, and talk about her amazing life and impact.
Back in 2010, Dana was living in Fort Lauderdale and had landed a job working at an online publication—The Examiner—as their restaurant reviewer. You must note that I said “restaurant reviewer”, not critic. It is a distinction that Dana insists on clarifying, and I love when she explains why. “Food is subjective. I focus on writing about the positive experiences I have in hopes to help those who may need a nudge in promoting their business.”
Dana continued doing this for six years, quickly establishing her audience and expanding into reviewing spas, hotels, and even concerts! But when the publication abruptly shut down in 2016, Dana found herself jumpstarting her own platform called Danalicious Reviews (@danaliciousreviews on IG), specializing in everything delicious, and continuing to market restaurants to the masses.
It just made sense for her to love promoting restaurants. Growing up, her family owned a catering business so at a very young age Dana was already enlisted to help serve hors d'oeuvres and drinks at parties. Then, once old enough to be hired at an actual restaurant, she bussed tables and mopped floors, washed dishes, and worked her way up to waitressing and food running. Bottom line, she understands and respects the ins and outs of life in the restaurant biz and has found a way to pass it on.
Dana Buckmir
A Published Author
Dana’s first book was published in 2018. A light hearted, fun read about her experiences with online dating called Plenty of Laughs: One Woman’s Journey Navigating the Online Dating Waters. People related with it so well that Dana’s next step was to start a dating column called “Oh, Dana!” (think Dear Abby meets Sex and the City… I know right?), where people would write in and ask her questions or advice in their relationships.
The Tables Turn
It wasn’t until a few years later that a negative life experience compelled her to sit behind the typewriter once again to capture her second memoir: Everything Will Be Okay. Dana found herself in a very toxic relationship. While it only lasted around three months, it was very intense and quickly spiraled out of control. On the night where everything culminated, it was quite catastrophic, ending with her house being destroyed to the point of being completely uninhabitable. Here she was, mid-pandemic, living in a hotel for almost six months, completely isolated. Without anything else to do with her emotions, the only thing that felt right to process her trauma was to sit down and write about it. This memoir walks us through the moment they met online (oh, the irony), all the way through her process in reclaiming her power, finding her voice again, and using writing as a mode of therapy to come to terms and recover. Well, writing and her dog Lucky, who has been her therapy dog and best friend since the moment they met.
“Sometimes I get panic attacks. And he calms me down a lot. It also takes me outside of my head to focus on something else. So I’m not, like, just stuck. It’s so important.”
Surviving Trauma and Changing Course
One of the biggest lessons Dana took away from her toxic relationship was that it doesn’t have to be a long relationship to do some major damage, and it could happen to literally anyone. It was a very humbling experience. One that, since the publication of her memoir just over a year ago, has connected Dana with other women who shared in similar experiences with her ex as well. Dana decided to take action, doing talks alongside the Domestic Violence Crisis Center and other organizations such as the police department to reach other victims of domestic abuse and be a resource for good. “I want to be the last victim”, Dana states.
Dana with her therapy dog, Lucky
Future talks plan on including teenagers and even their parents, as abuse is not reserved for the grown up crowd. In fact a recent panel held at the Fairfield Museum, in conjunction with the Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County, gathered forty plus mothers of teenagers. To date, that was the most rewarding talk of all. To involve concerned parents, to involve teens who may be in an abusive relationship and not even know it, normalizing the discussion about sex and relationships, what is acceptable vs unacceptable behavior. They were very engaged, asked a lot of questions, and just emphasized the need for this type of conversation.
Needless to say, Dana has quickly become one of the most inspiring women I have ever met. She is funny, vibrant and strong. Someone I hope remains in my circle for a long time. Thank you Dana for sharing your story with us, and thank you for persevering through it all.
Everything Will Be Okay can be found on Amazon or at your local bookstore. Dana just actually finished recording the audiobook, so keep an eye out for that as well!
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