Ailie's biggest motivators have been the two strongest women in her life: her mother and grandmother. Her mother was a Scottish immigrant who had been ripped from her family and moved to Montreal where she spoke no French and was forced to visit her incredibly cruel father in the summer. 

Ailie didn't understand her mother's perspective for a very long time but, as she grew older and learned more about her mother as a person, she found herself empathizing and praising her mother for her strength and resilience.

Ailie's mother was extremely unhappy and dealt with plenty of mental illnesses, alcoholism, and abuse. She reminds Ailie a lot of herself, and she finds herself wanting to learn from her experiences so that she can get better at her own situation and help those around her.

To inspire other women, Ailie quotes Mary J. Blige: "You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I've overcome it."