MEET BRANDY

(AKA GRITTY GRACIOUS)

Writer, PUG MOM, SALTY SOCIAL MEDIA CRITIC

Brandy holding three pugs down by the bay.

I’m Brandy - the girl behind the keyboard, the sometimes sweet & sometimes spicy voice behind the pugs, and the human responsible for managing Jonas’ tantrums. With a background in both communication studies & evolutionary anthropology, I’m deeply curious about where we’ve ended up, why we ended up here, and the forces-that-be that prevent us from remembering where we came from and what we’re capable of. I’m a truth-seeker, a little bit of an anarchist, and a self-proclaimed humble warrior who’s ongoing resilience in the face of adversity has resulted in the ability to create significant meaning & purpose out of life’s devastating losses. I find peace & inspiration in nature, freedom in defying the 9-5, and infinite joy in rolling around on the kitchen floor with my pugs.

The queen of context

After receiving a cancer diagnoses at the age of 29, I was catapulted onto a path of unlearning what I had previously believed to be true while actively making choices that served my own healing. In the process of courageously forging my own path, I began to develop my voice through my writing while sharing different parts of my story online. It was through my sharing and the feedback I received that I finally managed to find myself - a writer, a storyteller, and a highly creative soul who’s purpose & gifts had been squashed & repressed by the forces-that-be for far too many years.

My academic background is divided between Communication and Media studies - where I focused on the social, political, and cultural aspects of new media alongside various aspects of digital rhetoric & media critique - and biological anthropology with a concentration in primatology (the study of our non-human ancestors). I am deeply passionate about learning anything surrounding the topic of human ecology, seeking to understand the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments.

My professional background has found me working towards a wide variety of creative entrepreneurial pursuits. Regardless of the business itself - professional freelance body piercer, pug-specific dog walker & pet sitter, and even non-profit endeavours such as rescuing dogs and wildlife with the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation - it has always been the underlying creative aspects of telling a meaningful story that has fuelled my inextinguishable entrepreneurial spirit. The creative challenge of growing, engaging, and maintaining a loyal audience through the unique, genuine, and authentic presentation of information & personal experience has continually driven me to refine the craft of connecting with others through my writing & sharing.

Fun Facts

Birthday: March 22 (Aries)
Favorite Activities: Slow, mindful moments at Grumble Bay Park with the pugs by the lake; early morning wood stove fires while enjoying a hot cup of coffee; SUPing under the big, bright Kootenay sun in the summer; long drives on backcountry roads with Jesse & the grumble
Future goals: Writing and publishing a memoir that shares the full story of Grumble Farm; investing in a slice of beautiful B.C. land to build a homestead and slowly drop off the grid
Pet Peeves: The manipulation within both the pet & human “food” industries; the toxicity and negative mental health effects of social media on humanity; IG Reels
Favorite Memory: Seeing Jonie’s fluffy little head pop up in the window the day I adopted him; the moment Fern & Ivy officially completed the trifecta and made me a Grumble Mama; watching the city disappear in the rearview mirror when we first began our grand adventure to the Kootenays…