Nina’s 9: Interview with Rebecca Alexander
By Nina Livingstone
Rebecca Alexander has shared her story on national television, as an international keynote speaker, and in her award-winning memoir, “Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found.” The author, psychotherapist, extreme athlete, group fitness instructor, disability rights advocate, and public speaker carries degrees from Columbia University and the University of Michigan. Here Rebecca shares her challenges and triumphs living with Usher syndrome, a hereditary disease that causes blindness and deafness. Today, Rebecca is almost completely blind and deaf (she wears cochlear implants). In this Nina’s 9, Rebecca will serve up humor as she talks about an imaginary dinner party and her very real Bernedoodle, Violet. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Rebecca Alexander at Harvard Medical School, courtesy of Rebecca Alexander
NINA: You hold the titles of therapist, athlete, author, and public speaker … what do you do in your free time, assuming you have some!
REBECCA: Excellent question— I am definitely a busy body. I just completed my yoga teacher training certification for trauma-informed adaptive and accessible yoga, which took up most of my free time on weekends. Nothing makes me happier than taking Violet, my mini Bernedoodle (she’s 50 lbs. so “mini” is a bit misleading) to Central Park for off-leash hours before 9 a.m. There is a whole community of dog lovers and their pups there. We go rain or shine and it truly is a dog lover’s paradise!
NINA: If you could invite four celebrities to a dinner party, who would they be and what would you serve?
REBECCA: Wow! I love this question but I am not a big celebrity follower so this may be disappointing. I have several dinner parties based on different types of guests:
Inspirational leaders’ dinner party: Mahatma Gandhi, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Bono, and Maya Angelou (I’m sorry, that’s six!)
Entertaining, laughter-filled dinner party: Will Ferrell, Dave Chapelle, Amy Schumer, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (they come as a pair, don’t they?) And of course, I would have Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper sitting on either side of me — settle down guys, there’s plenty of me to go around (smile)!
I would serve either a delicious Mediterranean meal with lots of fresh veggies or a vegetarian Ethiopian meal — my two favorite cuisines — neither meal would be made by me though, I’m lucky if I don’t burn a salad.
Rebecca Alexander, courtesy of Rebecca Alexander
NINA: In a few words, can you recall a favorite moment in your career? And/or how about a highlight from your personal life?
REBECCA:
Professional life: I really enjoyed the release of my book “Not Fade Away” — it was such a proud moment for me because of how much time and effort I put into the writing process. Writing has always felt incredibly cathartic to me. I would like to start writing again.
Before COVID, I was traveling quite often for speaking engagements and I really loved meeting people from all different industries and parts of the country and the world. I am very hopeful that I will be able to do this again someday soon.
Perhaps the most meaningful experiences for me are the moments in my psychotherapy practice with clients when they really show up and do the work to improve their outlook and quality of life.
Personal moment: When I was about 19 or 20, I swam the length of Bass Lake near Yosemite National Park and climbed Half Dome. I’d recovered from a debilitating accident the year before and being able to swim and climb again made me feel so incredibly alive. I grew up going to Skylake Yosemite Camp every summer — some of my best sense memories — like the thick smell of pine in the mountain air — are from my summers in Yosemite.
NINA: Haute couture, have it or not? What’s your favorite fabric, color, and designer? How about your favorite perfume scent?
REBECCA: Sadly, I don’t think anyone would ever associate haute couture with my name. I am a Lululemon Athletica legacy ambassador, so I am very accustomed to their fabrics. I like to think that my style is “workout-chic” but I’m sure my friends would say that’s a stretch (pun intended). I definitely would describe myself as a minimalist. When I find something I really like, I often buy it in several colors. My go-to brands and designers are: J. Crew, Madewell (for jeans and jewelry), Vince, Ralph Lauren, Eliza J for dresses or jumpers, and Hoka, Frye, Maje, and even Ugg for shoes. My left foot was reconstructed many years ago after a bad accident so these days, my mission is to find comfortable yet flattering shoes — it’s a real challenge!
Perfumes are a different story — smell is by far my most acute sense. Most people have an unusual skill or ability like being double jointed or touching their tongue to their nose, my skill is being able to identify perfumes and colognes on people very quickly.
There is nothing quite like a light, clean, French perfume. My favorite is Floret by Antonia’s Flowers.
Rebecca Alexander (second from left), Nina Livingstone and Kerry Thompson signing “dance” at a salsa event in Boston, pc: Stacey Sacks. For more photos, look here!
NINA: What do you like most about yourself?
REBECCA: I am deeply curious and love to learn and laugh. My biggest problem is that there is so much that I want to learn and read, and I simply don’t have time to do it all-especially with a very demanding full-time job. I don’t shy away from discomfort. It is impossible to live a meaningful life with a disability without developing a relationship with discomfort.
NINA: What should someone know about you before meeting you for the first time?
REBECCA: Dogs are the key to my heart and my family. Stargazer lilies too, they are so fragrant and calming to me.
NINA: What would you like your life to look like 10 years from now?
REBECCA: This is difficult for me to answer because I really do strive to live in the present without thinking too far ahead in the future. Living with a condition that is causing me to progressively lose two of my vital senses means that I am keenly aware of how precious time is and I don’t take time for granted.
NINA: Do you have a favorite book, film, Netflix series (or streaming series)?
REBECCA: I love historical fiction like Lisa See’s “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” and “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese because I love learning about particular times and places in history. I also love memoirs because I am so intrigued by the human condition and humbled by the power of the human spirit. A couple of my favorites off the top of my head are “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi-Ali and “Manic” by Terri Cheney. The majority of reading I do these days is related to my work as a psychotherapist.
NINA: What is the one thing you can’t live without?
REBECCA: Dogs, the silence of not having my ears (cochlear implants) on, and laughter.
NINA: If you could be anywhere right this moment, where would you be?
REBECCA: Back in Thailand, volunteering with Lek Chailert, founder of Elephant Nature Park, rescuing and rehabilitating elephants, and opening more elephant sanctuaries.
