Coaching

Most coaching starts with a goal. I start somewhere more ambiguous than that, intentionally.

Before the goal, there is usually a feeling. A sense that what you are working toward—the promotion, the project, the version of yourself you have been building—belongs to someone else's idea of a good life. That you have been optimizing for something you never quite chose. That you are good at things that do not light you up, and quietly unsure whether the things that do light you up are allowed to matter.

That is where we begin...and more often than not, we begin by writing.

My goal is to coach you out of needing a coach.

WHAT WE ACTUALLY DO TOGETHER

I intend to use writing as a tool for thinking, including drafting, revising, and discovering what you actually mean—and through that process we uncover what you genuinely want. Not what you think you should want, have been told to want, or feel pressure to pursue. We will find together what sparks something: what gets you unstuck, what makes you want to pivot, what you have been circling without letting yourself land.

From there we figure out what you actually enjoy—not just what you may be 'good at', not just what earns recognition, but what integrates your strengths with something that feels alive. Instead of creating tasks, we create organic goals. Instead of a framework imposed from outside, we build something that comes from you.

One of the most important things for me is for the sessions feel more like a collaboration than a consultation. This includes that we: *put words to things. *name what has been shapeless. *find the language that grounds you—something you can come back to when the noise gets loud again.

The overarching goal is that over time, these ways of thinking and working become your own: your methods, your rituals, your routines. Not mine. Your's.

We can see how crafting an identity is a process of writing—and how writing is a process of becoming. The same tactics work for both.

THE APPROACH(es)

Another aspect that is so important to me is bringing sociology into the coaching realm; I know that sociology is less popular, yet that is a big part of it—to learn new approaches and understand how this new 'language' is not jargon, but a new way of seeing & understanding.

That means we pay attention to exploring the systems shaping what you believe is possible, which is far beyond not just the thoughts in your head. To the scripts you have inherited about achievement, identity, and what a good life looks like—and whether you want to keep reading from them.

I also bring in writing not as a homework assignment, but as the primary method. Putting words to a life, drafting and revising, noticing what you actually mean when you say what you say; this is one of the most clarifying things a person can do. It is also, I think, the most honest form of self-authorship available to us. We use it that way in every session, regardless of whether you come for identity work, a life transition, or the writing itself.

I look to bring genuine curiosity about the human instinct toward meaning. The creative urge. The part of you that knows, even when everything looks fine on paper, that something is missing. That part is not a problem to solve. It is the most useful thing in the room.

This is science and research meeting compassion and creativity. The examined life, in practice.

WHO THIS IS FOR?

This work is especially resonant for:

~Academic women navigating the particular pressures of institutional life, which has been a focus of my research: the striving culture, identity questions, feelings of being inspired by your work and trapped by it at the same time, and far beyond.

~High achievers who are stuck—not because they lack ability or ambition, but because they have been running toward a finish line that keeps moving, and they are starting to wonder if it was ever real.

~Anyone in a life transition, which could a career shift, a life stage, and/or a moment where the old story no longer fits and the new one has not yet taken shape.

~People who are suspicious of self-help but still searching, and therefore want to think carefully about their lives without being handed a ten-step program or a "magic pill".

I hope to work with you towards something you can come back to: language that grounds you; goals that are genuinely yours; and methods that do not depend on me, but rather that you have realized as your own.

HOW IT WORKS

A few approaches:

Single session — $200 · 60 min

A focused conversation for a specific question, decision, or stuck point you want to think through carefully. We use writing and dialogue to get underneath the surface of what's actually present, and you leave with something concrete you can return to.

Book here: https://tidycal.com/draftinglifetogether/single-session

Writing consultation — $175 · 45 min

For academics writing for public audiences, researchers finding their voice outside institutional formats, or anyone thinking through ideas by putting them on the page. I work with you at the intersection of argument, voice, and what you're genuinely trying to say—keeping your ideas yours and your voice unmistakably your own.

Book here: https://tidycal.com/draftinglifetogether/writing-consultation

One-on-one coaching — $185 · 60 min

For people ready to do sustained, unhurried work on identity, direction, and the life they're making. Together we use writing as a tool for thinking things thrpugh, in order to get your thoughts out there: drafting, revising, and discovering what you actually mean—and then build on what emerges between sessions at the pace that's actually useful. This is a thinking partnership, not a pre-packaged program.

Book here: https://tidycal.com/draftinglifetogether/ongoing-coaching

START A CONVERSATION

Not sure which option fits? Start with a free discovery call:

Discovery call — Free · 15 min

A relaxed, no-commitment conversation to see if working together feels like a good fit. I'll answer any questions you have about the work, and you can get a sense of how I think, and how we might use writing and conversation together, before deciding anything at all.

Book here: https://tidycal.com/draftinglifetogether/discovery-call

If you're still not sure, reach out anyway. We can figure it out together.