It didn’t happen overnight. For several years after escaping my abusive marriage, I was angry, exhausted, and stuck. On the rare occasions when I would tell my personal story of domestic violence, I’d frequently get responses like, ‘You are so lucky to be here. ‘Everything happens for a reason.’, and ‘But that’s over now, and it’s time to move on.’ These platitudes didn’t just minimize my trauma, they created a narrative where I believed my feelings were illegitimate. I began to believe I was looking at my life ‘wrong’. I didn’t realize I was caught in a resiliency circle, falling down and getting up over and over without moving forward. I had internalized a narrative that the mere fact of my survival was all I could ever hope for – and all I ever deserved. Even as I rebuilt my life, becoming a leader in my field and raising my family on my own, I continued to struggle with understanding, growth, and the value I offered in my personal and professional life.

Until I discovered post-traumatic growth work and learned that I didn’t need to settle. I didn’t need to minimize or ‘forget’ my trauma either. I learned how to retell my story without the shame and how to cast myself as the hero, not the victim. I learned important lessons about myself and my own strengths and eventually used them to transform my view of my life, my leadership, and what I could offer to the world. I came to understand that survival wasn’t the end of my journey: it was the very beginning. And now, whether in my Radically Well online community, in my 8-week Resilience and Growth Coaching program, or through Bespoke Leadership Coaching, I'm here to teach you how to do it, too.