Vera Culkoff was a migrant of Macedonian heritage, having arrived in Australia from the former Yugoslavia, at the age of seven. She was an incredibly shy child, with a deep-rooted fear of not belonging that led her onto a path of academic excellence. Driven by that survival instinct that many migrants are confronted with, she ended up top of her class throughout high school and college. But she still left school at the age of 16, married at the age of 20 and became a mother at 23 - because that is what was expected of her. That was her cultural conditioning. Vera took up law as a hobby and ended up graduating with First Class Honours and the University Medal. Still driven by that deep-rooted fear of not belonging, she even considered doing a PhD to have “Dr” in front of her name - surely with this exalted qualification under her belt, she would then belong and be relevant in her new country.

Vera was confronted with a major life challenge at the age of 30 which set her on a path of self-questioning, discovery and growth. She finally woke up to the illusory nature of her fears, and to the conditioned nature of all our fears, which are instilled and inculcated in all of us by our cultures, our schooling, our parents, our friends and our very societies. She discovered that it is those conditioned fears that evolve into our belief systems and identities that prevent us from fulfilling our dreams. She discovered that what is conditioned in us can be unconditioned.

Vera shares her life’s journey and the discoveries made along the way so that her readers can awaken to this reality and manifest their dreams – without having to undertake the decades of growth that she experienced.

Vera is now in her 60s and lives in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia. She is a mother, daughter, sister, friend, practising barrister...and hopefully an inspirational writer! Her life’s journey opened the door to many new learnings and insights, over several decades. During her search, she travelled many roads, with many potholes that caused much pain.

She is passionate about sharing her life’s lessons so that your potholes and your pain may be lessened; so that you can realize your dreams in a much shorter timeframe and with far less pain; so that you become aware of the many illusory fears that are preventing you from experiencing your true freedom and living your dreams.