{"id":17643,"date":"2026-03-10T14:39:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/the-manicurist-who-changed-her-life\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:04:08","slug":"the-manicurist-who-changed-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/the-manicurist-who-changed-her-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Manicurist Who Changed Her Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug and sank into my sofa, trying to let the stress of dealing with my mountain of troubles<\/a> seep out of me. Instead, my eyes landed on my fingernails. They were ugly and ragged. As ragged as my spirit was these days. My long-awaited retirement wasn\u2019t working out the way I had planned.<\/p>\n

A series of medical crises<\/a> had left me dependent on prescription opioids<\/a> and deep in debt. Though I\u2019d finally conquered the addiction, I remained buried in debt<\/a>\u2014and shame. I\u2019d never felt so hopeless.<\/p>\n

Maybe a manicure would give me a little lift, make my day better. I hadn\u2019t been treating myself to anything lately, but it was one indulgence I could still afford<\/a>, even on my strict budget. I didn\u2019t want to run into anyone I knew and have them ask how I was doing, so I made an appointment at a salon I had never been to. Annie, the owner, answered the phone and said that she would be taking care of me.<\/p>\n

\"Roberta's
Roberta’s friend and
\n manicurist, Annie<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With a name like Annie, I wasn\u2019t expecting the Asian lady with the silky black braid who came up to me and introduced herself. \u201cSo happy to meet you, Roberta,\u201d she said, leading me to her workstation. It wasn\u2019t just her smile<\/a> that was radiant. It was her whole being. She seemed overjoyed at the prospect of painting my nails. She must really like her job, <\/em>I thought.<\/p>\n

While Annie was gathering her supplies, I overheard a conversation between two of her customers. The one who was recovering from a stroke<\/a> showed off her icy blue nail color. \u201cAnnie says this is fit for a queen,\u201d she said, beaming. The other had nails painted in a shimmering pink. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have made it through my cancer treatments<\/a> without Annie,\u201d she said. \u201cOr my Debutante Pink.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annie reappeared at her station, brandishing a bottle of vibrant red polish. \u201cThis is you, Roberta,\u201d she said. \u201cLucky Red!<\/p>\n

\u201dShe\u2019s picking my color for me? <\/em>I thought. That\u2019s weird. <\/em>Then again, I\u2019d always loved red polish<\/a>, and I could use some good luck for a change.<\/p>\n

Annie took my hand and went to work. As she clipped, filed and buffed my nails, she told me a little about herself. She and her family were from Vietnam<\/a>. They\u2019d immigrated to America when Annie was nine and settled in California. While still in high school, Annie studied the nail tech trade at her mother\u2019s urging. \u201cWhat do you <\/em>do, Roberta?\u201d she wanted to know.<\/p>\n

A lady waiting for her appointment called out from behind a magazine. \u201cIf Roberta won\u2019t tell you, I will. She was head of infection control at the VA hospital<\/a>. Whenever anyone had a question, Roberta knew the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

I cringed, shrinking down in my chair. How had I gone from being a high-ranking nurse with a private office and a phone ringing off the hook to the messed-up life I had now?\u201c<\/p>\n

I\u2019m retired from nursing,\u201d I said at last. \u201cNow I write little stories<\/a>. All by my lonesome at my kitchen table.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStories?\u201d Annie exclaimed. \u201cFavorite thing! I tell you my <\/em>story.\u201d She leaned in and applied the polish. \u201cPeople used to ask what I do. When I say, \u2018Nail Girl,\u2019 even their eyes frown. One day, a man say he plucks chickens. Next time someone ask what I do, I say to them, \u2018Chicken Plucker.\u2019 Frown worse. Went back to Nail Girl. Best. Nail. Girl. Ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

I fanned out my fingers and checked out my manicure. My nails shone, beautiful now. The red Annie had chosen was bright and bold. Exactly how I wanted to feel. I left the salon smiling for the first time in months<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Three weeks later, I returned. I found myself studying the little sayings Annie had tacked on the walls. I zeroed in on one of them: Don\u2019t look back. You\u2019re not going that way.<\/em> How I wanted to escape the prison of my regrets<\/a> and make those words mine! As Annie set everything down on the worktable, I said, \u201cIt\u2019s hard not to look back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annie nodded, encouraging me to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see, I was hooked on prescription painkillers,\u201d I said, keeping my voice low. \u201cI don\u2019t need the pills now. But I can\u2019t get rid of the shame<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Roberta!\u201d Annie said. \u201cDon\u2019t hold that to your heart. Ball and chain no more!\u201d<\/p>\n

She cradled my hands in hers for a moment before lowering my fingers into a bowl of acetone remover. I watched as the flecks of old polish floated away, imagining that they were my yesterdays.<\/p>\n

Annie told me more about her own battle with shame<\/a>. She\u2019d hated being a manicurist at first, feeling inferior to the affluent clients who seemed to have it all. \u201cI look in the mirror. My forehead was wrong, my eyes wrong, my mouth wrong,\u201d Annie said. \u201cI added up all the places I need surgery so that I look like I belong in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, she\u2019d forged ahead, following a friend here to Huntington, West Virginia, where she set up her own shop two decades ago. \u201cI had no money, but I work and work and work,\u201d she said. As Annie built her clientele, her attitude shifted and she found her calling to become the best nail girl ever. \u201cAt beginning, you\u2019re all just clients. Then you learn from me and I learn from you<\/a>,\u201d she said. \u201cNow if someone give me $20,000? I don\u2019t have surgery. I buy new kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a devout Christian. But when Annie talked about how embracing her Buddhist principles<\/a>\u2014particularly the idea that everything in life is impermanent\u2014had helped shape her sunny disposition, I listened intently. It made me think of what Jesus told his disciples the night before his crucifixion: \u201cIn the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

I grew so comfortable with Annie that one day I told her about my struggle to whittle down all my medical debt<\/a>. And how depressing it was not to be able to do anything nice for myself anymore except get the occasional manicure.<\/p>\n

Annie listened with no judgment in her eyes, only compassion<\/a>. When she spoke, it was of pleasures that don\u2019t cost a dime. \u201cNo need to go to mall. People stuffocate.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

I chuckled. Annie\u2019s command of English might not be perfect, but she made perfect sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo for walk, Roberta. Every evening, I walk in park. Talk to everyone\u2019s dogs. Park and dogs are free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her words shifted something inside me. For weeks, I\u2019d been coveting a leather case for my pens. I\u2019d circled the one I wanted in a fancy catalog and kept staring at the picture even though I knew I shouldn\u2019t spend the money. That evening, after getting home from the nail salon, I stumbled upon an old, oversize eyeglasses case. Hmm\u2026 <\/em>Its red and black pebbled leather was every bit as lovely as the pricey case in the catalog.<\/p>\n

I loaded the old glasses case with my writing implements. They fit just right. I set my \u201cnew\u201d pen case beside my journal, contentment <\/a>washing over me. Annie would be proud.<\/p>\n

One afternoon at the salon, one of the regulars was going on about the doom and gloom on TV. The atmosphere in the salon grew dark. Suddenly Annie bounced up from her perch at the worktable and ran to the front door. She used her hands to literally sweep out the negativity and usher in positive vibes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBest. Day. Ever,\u201d Annie proclaimed. We all burst into laughter. At my next appointment, a new saying adorned the salon wall, complete with a huge smiling heart: If you can\u2019t be positive<\/a>, at least be quiet<\/em>.<\/p>\n

One time, I told Annie how I was having trouble with a story I was working on. \u201cIt\u2019s about a painful time in my past,\u201d I said. \u201cBut most of the details are gone. There\u2019s a lot I just don\u2019t remember anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annie gently massaged herbal-scented lotion into my hands. \u201cSome things we\u2019re not meant to remember, Roberta,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cSo we can move on<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought of one of my favorite Bible verses<\/a>, from Psalm 118: \u201cThis is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.\u201d I\u2019d recited it countless times, but until meeting Annie I\u2019d never really lived those words, had never awakened each morning alive to the abundant blessings that God intended just for me. If anyone had told me that a Buddhist angel in a nail salon would change my life, I would have said, \u201cNo way.\u201d But that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the funniest thing,\u201d I told Annie recently. \u201cSince knowing you, I realize I could be younger, prettier, smarter, thinner. A whole lot wealthier. But not richer<\/a>. And there\u2019s not one person on this earth I would trade places with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annie squeezed my hands. \u201cMe either, Roberta,\u201d she said. \u201cI love the Annie and Roberta we\u2019ve become. They are enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some folks might attribute my new way of thinking to a polish called Lucky Red. I say it wasn\u2019t luck at all. It was Annie, who\u2019d pointed the way to my Best. Life. Ever<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug and sank into my sofa, trying to let the stress of dealing with my mountain of troubles seep out of me. Instead, my eyes landed on my fingernails. They were ugly and ragged. As ragged as my spirit was these days. 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