Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Kuhr.
Hi Samantha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Derby, England, and during my pretty traditional childhood, we were fortunate to take annual holidays to Europe. Although my surly teenage self would never admit it, these holidays were fantastic. They stirred a yearning to experience different countries, cultures, and people. I realized the world was accessible and I dreamed of becoming a travel writer. After marriage and children, instead of settling in we purposefully prioritized travel as a family. I kept copious notes for the little blog I’d get around to building one day, now called MyTravellingCircus.com.
We had so many adventures with our kids around the world. However, my world changed significantly in March 2015 when I was unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer. My immediate concern was to maintain stability for my young boys during this unpredictable and stressful time. I focused on staying alive to see them graduate. This obviously rocked our whole family to the core. The next few years were filled with surgeries and treatments. To minimize the worry for my boys as much as possible, during my downtime I began to document our travels. I wanted to remind them of happier times. I also wanted to document as much as possible — in the event I wasn’t around to share memories all of the incredible places we’d visited. My plan was to give them a place where our family memories would live on.
Fast forward seven years. I’m thriving, traveling, and on my blog, I keep it real. I share my stories of raising two boys, our family life after my cancer diagnosis, and family travels around the world! Each story is written with my dry (and sometimes naughty) British sense of humor.
I’m also working with many brands and try to authentically share details of products I truly love and use. I was The Mommy Blogger Tribe’s 2022 Best Travel Blog winner and the 2022 Best Empty Nester Blog award winner.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My cancer diagnosis taught me that nothing is more important than family and friends, and that I am not afraid to die. Before learning the stage of my cancer I felt strangely calm and was already planning the next steps for my boys. Thankfully this wasn’t my path.
I became a better mother and wife because I feel incredibly grateful for the little things. I also learned that the whole trajectory of your life can change in one second, and that has given me a desire to soak in all life has to offer and to love even harder. I want to appreciate every minute, to live without regrets, and I know that if this were all to end tomorrow, I wouldn’t have done anything differently.
Our family can do hard things. We can face a scary disease. We can figure out a treatment plan. We can manage the treatment. We may not want to do it, but we can. Those experiences we don’t choose make us better and stronger. That feels pretty awesome. I really feel content with my life and have no regrets.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In addition to growing MyTravellingCircus.com I founded Kuhr Strategies, a consulting firm. Kuhr Strategies focuses on assisting e-commerce and consumer lifestyle brands with driving digital revenue. We build digital communities, create social media strategies, and run affiliate and digital marketing programs.
I help companies break through the noise to grow traffic and rapidly generate product sales through social media and referral networks.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I hope my blog inspires others to leave their comfort zones and experience the world in a new or different way. Maybe even plan a trip somewhere off the beaten path. And for some, I hope it can bring them comfort during their own health crisis.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mytravellingcircus.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthakuhr/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samantha.kuhr.9
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/samanthakuhr
