Michelle Meramour

My new name is Michelle Meramour and I am the creator of the Meramour Body-Feedback acupuncture system. I would like to share with you my unexpected journey of changing my name in order to become a published author, educator, and mentor. I will also answer the questions everyone wants to know; Why did I change my name? Did I get a divorce? And is Meramour my maiden name?

Between 2011 and 2016 I was more than burning the candle at both ends. I had been seeing an average of 50 clients a week, managing up to 19 employees, teaching workshops, and creating online classes. All while raising two kids and spending time with my husband. I now realize that the impact of always saying “yes” leads to a life out of balance.

In October of 2015, I had a defining moment that forced me to fight for my life, not once, but twice. I fell off a horse that I had been riding for years. I was too emotionally and physically exhausted to be on a horse that day. I wasn’t sleeping well. I had stopped my regular exercise routines and was skipping meals because I was too busy to eat.

At the end of the ride, something spooked the horse. I was so tired and I wasn’t holding on so I simply rolled off his back and landed on my side. The pain was so intense that I didn’t realize that I had broken a rib and punctured a lung. I was 45 minutes away from Madison, the hospital, and my husband. I insisted that my son William apply about 60 drops of essential oils to my back and that my 77-year-old mother drive me back to Madison. Both my mother and son were also having horse-back riding lessons that day, and they managed to stay on their horses.

At urgent care, I could barely walk and the X-ray showed a broken rib and punctured lung. The Doctor recommended going straight to the ER, which I was hoping to avoid. I had my husband drive me to the ER and by the time we arrived, I could barely talk and was unable to stand up.

Unfortunately, the X-ray technician’s report failed to include that I had a punctured lung so the ER nurse kept trying to send me home saying I simply had pain from a broken rib. I knew something was wrong and I would die if I went home. I convinced the ER doctor to run another X-ray, which showed a severely collapsed lung with an air-filled pleural cavity. I required an emergency chest tube – right there in the ER room with minimal anesthesia.

After surgery, I was given large amounts of pain and anti-nausea medications and I started to vomit non-stop for hours. The nurses kept giving me more IV medications that I was having an allergic reaction to. After several hours, I knew I had to refuse all medications. A voice in my head kept telling me that if I fell asleep, I wasn’t going to wake up. I remember seeing an angel in the corner of the room watching over me. I managed to keep myself awake for another 12 hours in order to refuse all medications. They finally called an ICU nurse in to figure out why I was being so difficult. This nurse turned out to be a client of mine and knew me well enough to determine I was having a reaction to the medications.

I spent five days in the hospital and six weeks on the couch with time to reflect on how I wanted to spend the rest of my life, and what was needed to achieve a balanced life. At this point, I knew I needed to focus on simplifying my practice by working independently, writing books, and teaching the Body-Feedback acupuncture system with essential oils. Otherwise, my Body-Feedback techniques would be limited to a few hundred clients.

In January of 2016, I decided to dismantle Isthmus Acupuncture Center and work from home. This allowed me time to write my books and create new online classes and workshops.

During the process of finishing my first book, I had a dream that told me I must change my name. I didn’t know why. I told my husband about the dream. He was so confused and thought I wanted a divorce. Then two months later during an initial meeting with a publishing agent, I found out why I needed to change my name. The first thing he said to me was, “So you are going to have to change your name to become a successful author.” There was another Michelle Buchanan, who is a well-known published author, established on YouTube and dominates the internet. For years, people had mistaken me for her on the internet. I knew he was correct.

After the meeting, I called my husband to tell him why I needed to change my name. He said because of the dream and the publishing agent’s recommendations, he would support this change. The publishing agent advised me to have fun with the process, and I decided to change my last name to Meramour. I didn’t want to use my maiden name because that is what people do when they get a divorce, and I am very happily married. In French, Mer means Sea and amour means Love. I thought a French name would beautiful and I wanted to incorporate love into it somehow. I grew up on Clearwater beach near the ocean, and Mer amour represents my love for mother earth and the oceans. And more importantly, no one else has this last name on the planet.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about my journey to becoming a published author. And for more about my life before Michelle Meramour, please watch my About Michelle Buchanan video.