Tell Me, What is it you Plan to do with Your One Wild and Precious Life?
I absolutely love this quote from Mary Oliver:
It has become an absolute mantra for me.
So, here is my story (so far) of living my one wild and precious life and following my heart…
Early Years
It turns out that having a baby at sixteen years and two months came with an avalanche of things I had never even contemplated. Really, how could I?
I thought I was having a baby. That alone felt like an enormous responsibility at such a young age, and I had to buck almost every social norm just to survive.
What I hadn’t realised was that I would have to fight for my life—and hers. I lost (what little dysfunctional) family I had. I lost my home because I was fostered. I lost my education. I lost my friends because they simply didn’t know how to relate to me anymore.
What I also didn’t understand was how deeply those experiences would shape me.
It wasn’t until many years later, after raising five beautiful children, that I began to understand the significance of it all. I was fifty six when my youngest daughter left for university and, quite honestly… BOOM. My world fell apart.
Empty nest syndrome hit me like a wrecking ball. Overnight.
I no longer knew who I was.
Within two weeks I had resigned from a secure job and booked a one-way ticket to Thailand, where I spent five months trying to find myself.
Looking back now, I realise I wasn’t running away. I was running towards the next version of myself.
From that difficult beginning into adulthood and motherhood, I survived and gradually began to thrive. I believe that happened because I always followed my heart. Somehow, instinctively, I knew that if I kept doing that I would become the best version of myself—for me and for my children.
I still believe I was right.
Don’t misunderstand me—it wasn’t always easy.
Along the way, I had work that I genuinely loved, but none of it came without determination. With three young children, I returned to night school to gain my GCSEs and A Levels before eventually going to university. I completed both a BA and later an MA, becoming a dance specialist and choreographer for ten years—a career that truly made my heart sing.
Later, I moved into business, becoming a successful sales leader and business development coach in an industry I remained in for over twenty years. It brought hard work, wonderful opportunities and extensive travel.
Following my time in Thailand, I briefly returned to the corporate world before being made redundant. Rather than seeing it as the end of something, I saw it as another beginning.
I returned to university to study Dance Movement Psychotherapy, gained a formal coaching qualification and then completed a further three years of training to qualify as both a Hypnotherapist and a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor.
When I look back over everything I’ve done—including, perhaps most importantly, the relationship I’ve developed with myself—I realise that one theme runs through it all.
The Courage to Make Changes
Not because I have never been afraid, but because I have repeatedly chosen to keep moving towards the life that felt right for me.
I have reinvented myself more than once. I have experienced loss, uncertainty, grief, change and transformation. Each chapter has taught me something about who I am.
I don’t share this story to impress anyone, I share it because understanding our past helps us to create a different future.
I share it because I want other women to know that change is possible.
You are not defined by where you started.
You are not trapped by your past.
You are allowed to begin again.
Today, my vision feels clearer than ever.
I have the privilege of doing work that I genuinely love, helping women navigate change, loss and uncertainty with courage and clarity.
When I look back at my own story, it feels obvious why this is the work I now do. Every chapter of my life has prepared me for walking alongside other women as they navigate theirs.
Life is short.
Time is precious.
And the life you want is often waiting on the other side of the change you’re afraid to make.
So I’ll leave you with the same question that has guided me for so many years:
Tell Me, What is it you Plan to do with Your One Wild and Precious Life?
If you’re not sure yet, perhaps we could discover the answer together.
I’d love to welcome you to a free discovery call and explore where your next chapter could begin.
