Westchester PR, advertising and marketing agency Thompson & Bender
Many adjectives could be used to describe Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson life, but uneventful isn’t one of them.
Both her remarkable career and personal life are shared in her recently-published memoir More Than a Crown, an unusual blend of autobiography and self-help that took some two years to write. The story is also punctuated by the life lessons the author has drawn from the many and varied experiences, some positive, some traumatic, she has undergone.
“What I wanted to share,” she says, “with people who are facing hard times, is that life keeps going. In my case every chapter of my life, when it ended, a new chapter began, and so I really have a belief in hope and looking to the future. And I’m hoping that anyone who reads it who’s experiencing something that is difficult or challenging, that they’ll be inspired by my story and the lessons I learned to keep going.”
The book is an often frank account of a life packed with incident, including several extreme medical emergencies, and marrying and divorcing the same man twice. It starts with Bracken-Thompson’s involvement with the beauty pageant industry. Self-described as shy and lacking in self-esteem, she entered this arena at age 17 after a former boss submitted her name to the Miss Westchester pageant. “I was so embarrassed and if it hadn’t been for my mother I would never have taken that step.” But she decided to follow through on the opportunity, winning the titles of Miss Westchester, Miss Rockland County and later Miss New Jersey. And the experience transformed her.
“Beauty pageantry taught me poise, grace, stage-presence and a lot about public speaking. But I also learned about putting myself out there, being the best that I could be and understanding that if you set a goal for yourself and you prepare for that goal and you feel that you’ve done your best, you’ve really achieved something,” she says.
Luck has also played a significant role in her life, notably when a temp job led to a role as a copy-writer, which in turn introduced her to the worlds of promotion, marketing and public relations. She rose quickly in the corporate sphere, then later became a partner at the high-profile Westchester PR, advertising and marketing agency Thompson & Bender.
Life lessons are a theme developed throughout the book, this being a mindset of hers, she admits. “Life is like a pageant to some degree because it isn’t really defined by the crown you wear but how you prepare for that competition and to achieve your goals, how you show up in the face of adversity.”
And of adversity Bracken-Thompson has certainly had her share. She survived ovarian cancer at age 26, a heart complaint which nearly led to a transplant, and severe injuries following car crashes.
When asked if there are any regrets, she admits one: “Not realizing at the time I was living through the experience to appreciate and to thank people enough for what they had done to help me and support me. Particularly the doctors and nurses who cared for me. At the time you’re just struggling to stay alive and get better. And looking back on it, I wish I had thanked and paid more attention to the care I received.”
Looking forward, she points readers to one of the later chapters in the book, entitled ‘The Ten P’s of Success in Business.’ These include perseverance, passion and professionalism, of which she herself is a living and obvious example.
