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Meet Chidima Anusiem

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Chidima Anusiem.

Chidima, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up, I had a pretty normal life. My four siblings and I were raised in the heart of downtown Atlanta by my two wonderful Nigerian parents. My parents were very adamant that we accomplished two things in life—developing a relationship with God and getting a thorough education! Any Nigerian reading this would totally say “Yesss ooo” to this! Ha! As a result, I intently focused, at an early age, on excelling in my education. I graduated from Georgia State University with a B.S. degree in HR and completed my MBA at American Intercontinental University, both with high honors.

I began a career in banking in 2005, where I spent 15 years in Leadership and Management positions. As much as I love my career, I equally enjoy liberal arts. I am truly creative at heart. So between the years of 2000 and 2007, I assumed a role as a volunteer dance instructor at a local church during my evenings and weekends. I resigned from my dance instructor position to further my passion as the Founder and Head designer of my clothing line Chianu International Fashions. I operated this business from 2010-2017 with my sisters, turned business partners, Hope Anusiem and Chioma Akhabue. The clothing line was a success and all was going really well for me until my life took a turn for the worse. I’ll share why a little later. Today, I am a Women’s Empowerment Speaker, Best-selling Author, Mother, and Divorce Coach.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Despite how perfect my life seemed, with all my accomplishments, I felt my life lacked true substance. This was because growing up in such a large family, I often felt insignificant and invisible. I constantly questioned who I was and my role in society. I remember praying a short prayer asking, “God, could you put your Extra on my ordinary? Could you place your Super on my natural”? I guess my prayer was simply asking, “God, could you give my life purpose?”

Several years passed after that prayer and, in 2010, I met an amazing guy, we fell in love and got married. Very shortly after our “I do’s,” my marriage became turbulent. Slowly, I found myself a victim of verbal and emotional abuse. It was a very difficult and lonely time in my life, but I tried everything I could to save my marriage. After the birth of my daughter, the abuse grew worse! By this time, I knew my marriage was extremely toxic. I knew if I didn’t leave, I would be left picking up the emotionally broken pieces of myself and my daughter.

In 2015, the marriage ended and I was devastated! I lost everything after my divorce—it stripped me of my confidence, joy and literally felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. Not to mention I also lost my house, my job, was forced to move in with my sister and slept on her guest bedroom floor. It was the lowest I’ve ever been in my entire life, but I was determined that I would never be this low ever again. I knew that I had to rise from the devastation of divorce and become better, not bitter.

I began to get wisdom, from God, on seven specific steps needed to heal properly from my divorce. It was literally like a divine download. Every instruction I received, I tried. Guess what? It worked! Allowing myself to grieve my marriage, learning how to forgive, and restoring my confidence, were a few of the steps that eventually took me from pain to power. After walking through this process and finding myself whole again, I knew that I tapped into my true life’s purpose. This purpose was to share my story–and these seven healing principles – to coach women to become healed, happy, and whole!

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a Divorce Coach and CEO of Change, Heal, and Inspire (C.H.I.), LLC. I leverage my 15 years of leadership and coaching experience to empower and guide women through their healing journey from Divorce or Break-up. I help these women move past their pain, reclaim their value, and position their hearts to love and be loved again. I achieve this through a series of channels such as Podcasts, Women Conferences, Books, Life Classes, and one-on-one Divorce Coaching sessions.

This year, I decided to take my story a bit further by writing my first book, “From Glass to Stone: 10 Transformational Stories of Resilience”, which became a #1 Amazon Bestseller in March 2020! In July of 2020, I launched a 7-week “The Making of Diamond” Life Class. During this course, I demonstrate how the formation of a Diamond is parallel to the healing process from Divorce. I personally walk women through the seven steps to heal from divorce or break-up and reclaim their value. I am definitely excited about the progress so far! Stay tuned for more impactful programs launching in 2021 as C.H.I., LLC continues helping women live a life without limitations and shine brighter than diamonds!

I believe what sets me apart as a Divorce Coach is my transparency and vulnerability. I share my pain and experiences from divorce without filters. I believe people are drawn to what’s real and are healed when others expose their wounds. So I like to adopt a “keep-it-real” approach at all times because I have found it to be most successful and impactful.

What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
My favorite memory of my childhood is taking many road trips with my family. Since I was 1 of 5 children, my parents preferred driving over flying. So we drove pretty much everywhere. Eight hours here and 15 hours there. Those road trips were definitely moments where we had plenty of time to bond and get on each other’s nerves! I still smile thinking about those good ole days.

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Photos by: Jeno Uche

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