On October 1, 2025, I was deeply honoured to receive the AgeCare Seniors of Distinction Award for Leadership — an award that recognizes the contributions, resilience, and leadership of older adults in our communities.
To be honest, this award feels less like a personal achievement and more like a celebration of what’s possible when we keep showing up — with love, purpose, and perseverance — no matter what life brings.
Leading Through Life’s Challenges
When I turned 65, I made a decision: I wasn’t going to slow down.
Since then, life has certainly tested that resolve — from living with Crohn’s Disease since 1973, to recovering from a stroke in 2024, to marking 38 years clean and sober after my own 15-year addiction to opioid painkillers.
Each of these experiences shaped me — not just as a counsellor, but as a human being. They deepened my empathy, strengthened my boundaries, and helped me truly understand both sides of the addiction journey: the one who struggles, and the one who loves them.
That’s why I do the work I do through Love With Boundaries — because addiction doesn’t just affect the person using. It affects everyone who loves them.
Love With Boundaries: A Mission That Keeps Growing
Through Love With Boundaries, my team and I work with families who are desperate to help their addicted loved ones — but who often feel powerless, exhausted, and alone.
Over the years, I’ve learned that when families learn how to love with boundaries — to balance compassion with clarity, love with self-respect — real change begins to happen. Recovery becomes possible. Hope returns.
Since turning 65, I’ve been grateful to continue expanding that mission by:
- Delivering my TEDx talk “How to Love with Boundaries” in 2019, right before Covid hit, when I was 68
- Updating my award-winning book Loving an Addict, Loving Yourself and creating a companion workbook
- Developing an online course for families of people with addiction
- Co-creating a 17-week online counselling program for women
- Becoming a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and the Women Speakers Association (WSA)
- Being a co-author in 3 of the Voices of the 21st Century series of books
- Hosting a monthly Ask Candace Live show
- Mentoring Master’s-level counselling students
- Writing for Psychology Today, Medium, and other publications
All of this — every word, every presentation, every client session — has one purpose: to help families reclaim their lives, heal their hearts, and create change that lasts.
Why This Award Matters
Receiving the AgeCare Seniors of Distinction Award feels like a reflection of what I’ve always believed: that leadership isn’t about titles — it’s about service.
It’s about showing up, even when it’s hard. It’s about using your experiences — the painful ones and the triumphant ones — to lift others up.
And it’s about remembering that it’s never too late to create change.
I hope that my journey reminds others, especially those in their later years, that age doesn’t have to slow you down. In fact, it can deepen your purpose.
Looking Ahead
As I celebrate this moment, I’m also looking forward — to continuing to speak, write, teach, and collaborate with my wonderful team to reach even more families who need help.
Addiction is still one of the most painful and isolating experiences families face. But with the right support — and a foundation of love with healthy boundaries — healing is always possible.
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