We were lucky to catch up with Kim Wagner Nolan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kim Wagner Nolan, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I think the recipe for my resilience is a mixture of strength from God, my upbringing, and my life circumstances. According to my mother, I was born with an extra dose of determination. Playing sports also helped mold me into a physically and mentally tough person. If I got knocked down on the soccer field, I always got back up and kept going. I learned from an early age to face problems head-on, but my resilience was cultivated over time.
I’ve struggled with health problems my whole life. I ruptured my eardrum twice when I was a child, resulting in some hearing loss. I also suffered from a debilitating illness and seizures. I’m happy and grateful to share today that I’ve been seizure free for three years.
From the time I was in preschool, I dreamt of going to art school and becoming an artist. Ten days after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design and achieving my goal, I was in a car accident. The doctor didn’t think I’d be able to work again. After a year of physical therapy and multiple surgeries, I proved him wrong. Not only did I go back to work, but I backpacked around the world and lived in some of the most beautiful places on Earth, including New Zealand and Lahaina, Hawaii. Along the way, I surfed waves, conquered mountains, and even climbed a glacier! While trekking the Himalayas in Nepal, I survived an earthquake. Nevertheless, I continued climbing until I reached the top of the mountain. Traveling has been a rewarding and invaluable experience. It strengthened my resilience by pushing me beyond my limits to achieve things I never knew I was capable of.
But the most painful trauma I’ve had to endure was the overwhelming loss of five children–a wound that never heals. Everything else I’ve been through seems like a minor inconvenience by comparison. In all these situations, I had two choices: give up or keep going. Of course, there were plenty of times when I wanted to lie down in the street but ultimately I chose to keep going. It would have been very easy to let my circumstances make me bitter and destroy my life but I chose to learn from those situations and use them to become a better person. These challenges I’ve faced have helped me to build a strong character, an abundance of empathy, and an unbreakable spirit. Having said that, I didn’t get through any of these trials in life without the support of a therapist, family, friends, and faith.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve dedicated the past 25 years of my life to the education and welfare of children and wildlife. I work in the non-profit sector developing educational content and designing interactive exhibits for museums and institutions such as children’s museums, zoos, aquariums, and science centers. I’ve taught preschool through graduate-level art courses and was a volunteer mentor to at-risk youth prior to stepping into my current role as a foster parent – the most significant job of my life. I’ve always been one to defend those who can’t defend themselves, which is why advocating for abused and neglected children has become my calling.
When I’m not designing exhibits or caring for needy children, I work as a freelance children’s illustrator and have several online stores where I sell my art. A few years ago, I ventured into the world of children’s picture books and I’ve written and illustrated four picture books that I’m working towards getting published. Writing and illustrating have given me a voice and an outlet where I can use my experiences to teach children how to cope with life’s challenges, encourage them to never give up, and make all children feel accepted and loved.
One story I wrote happens to be about resilience, the topic we’re discussing today. It’s a social-emotional learning picture book that follows a determined dung beetle confronted with obstacles and adversity while rolling his prized dung home. When naysayers mock him, he turns their guffaws into awe, proving that perseverance pays off.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The first and foremost is passion. Love is the driving force in everything, and if you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, you’re not going to succeed. I absolutely love what I do. Knowing that something I created is helping people gives me a sense of purpose. For some people, success is all about making lots of money, but for me, true success is measured by how many lives I’ve touched.
Perseverance is another important quality you need, especially in the creative field. You need to be able to handle rejection, criticism, and failure over and over. This is where resilience comes into play. The people who make it in the creative field are the ones who never give up. They keep honing their skills, taking classes, practicing, improving, and pushing forward no matter what.
The third quality you need to have is flexibility. The ability to roll with whatever life throws at you is essential. Unforeseen circumstances are always going to arise, whether it be a computer crash, a medical emergency, or a natural disaster. Being able to remain calm when difficulties come your way is paramount.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
What a timely question! Right now, I’m facing the greatest challenge of my life. I mentioned earlier how advocating for abused and neglected children has become my calling. Due to the sensitive nature of the case, I can’t discuss the details, but for the past eighteen months, my husband and I have been subjected to a contentious legal battle with the Department of Children and Families over the adoption of our foster daughter. We promised her we’d do everything we could and now, our case has made it all the way to the state Supreme Court. The outcome will set the precedent for future cases like ours. If we win, it will help every foster-adoptive family in the state.
Since this magazine is about Bold Journeys, I want the world to know what a remarkable little girl she is. She is a testament to resilience. Despite all she’s had to endure in her short life, she radiates pure love and joy. I consider it the greatest privilege of my life that she asked me to adopt her and be her mother. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I live with no regrets knowing that advocating and protecting a child is always the right thing to do and I kept my promise to never give up on her.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kimwnolan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimwnolan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KWNdesigns
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimwnolan-678/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimwnolan
- Other: https://bsky.app/profile/kimwnolan.bsky.social
Image Credits
Kim Wagner Nolan Kimio Honda/WCS Darren Nolan
