Alison Canavan: Episode 21

The Breifne Earley Show

Irish Model & Author Alison Canavan joins Breifne Earley to discuss her career, life and overcoming addiction to inspiring and motivating others through her work. Over twenty years since she lied about her age to enter and win a modelling competition on Irish TV her career has taken her to periods living in New York, London, Paris, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. Alison talks about the routine of working, casting, travelling and adjusting to life in the major fashion cities with just a list of appointments and a map of Paris before mobile phones. Alison discusses the feeling of being judged on her appearance, the competition for work at the top end of the business, how being on the world stage eliminated the bitchy aspects of getting into the industry, dealing with rejection and the dark sides of the industry with alcohol and substance abuse, castings where the agents didn’t even look at her book, not fitting the criteria for shoots, being the worldwide face of Lux, seeing her face on beauty products in a shop in Cuba. Alison shares how the fashion industry made it easier to get access to alcohol as a teenager, how self medication became a necessary device to function normally, how pharmaceuticals have become normalised in modern society and the dangers that poses, becoming a fully functioning alcoholic but still showing up for work despite the addictions, how she thought her situation wasn’t anything like the people around her at Alcoholics Anonymous and not able to identify which low point was her rock bottom. Despite the glamorous lifestyle Alison led through her twenties she found herself struggling to make ends meet after the birth of her son James, back in Ireland, working within two weeks of giving birth and struggling between odd jobs and single parents supports her world had turned upside down. Over the last seven years Alison has turned her life and career back around through taking personal responsibility for her actions and deciding her path forward. Alison explains her love of education and self development, her strong interest in meditation and spirituality, how she struggled as a single mum to deal with the experience and couldn’t find a book or manual to help her as a mum look after herself, resulting in her first book ‘Minding Mum’ and how she is now enjoying the freedom that comes with finally leaving her drinking days behind her.