Hi there! I'm Sonja.
What started out as a tragedy turned out to be a journey of transformation.
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I’d never seen anything so black and empty as when I tried to look into my future after my husband died.
My whole life had revolved around my little family...
but Mike had died...
my son was growing up quickly...
and not even those terrifying days in the ICU waiting in vain for him to wake up terrified me as much as trying to stare into the void of my future.
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So I didn’t–for a long, long time.
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And even when I started trying to put my life back together, it was with the idea that I would just be putting in time until I died, too.
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I truly thought that being happy without him would somehow invalidate the happiness I had with him.
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It turns out....
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It's hard to rebuild a life when you don't believe you deserve to be happy
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and
your biggest goal is to stop being miserable.
At the time, I couldn't even see how at odds I was with myself.
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Despite my belief that I couldn't ever be happy again....
I wanted to set a good example for my son.
And even if I didn't believe I could be happy again, I at least wanted to stop hurting.
​At the time, I just wanted to get away from the pain of my grief.
I didn't realize that I was moving in the direction of happiness, and it was a surprise when I realized that I loved my new life as much as I missed the old one.
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I started to think more about the future than the past.
I was finding my confidence again and thinking about what kind of impact I wanted to have in the world.
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A job to pay the bills wasn't going to cut it.
I wanted to make a difference.
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I’m passionate about helping people to rebuild their lives after loss with courage, creativity and intention so they can love life and find joy again….
Because I believe….
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I began piecemealing my way forward.
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It started with....
A book here.
A 6-week grief group there.
Long, long, long walks with my dog.
A fresh start in a new state.
Two steps forward, one back.
The literal and figurative bumps and bruises of starting over....
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Perhaps you feel this way, too.
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Armed with the confidence that came with having made it through the death of my husband, I lit on an idea I'd had for years but never felt...
Smart
Educated
Good enough to pursue.
I began to research coaching and was soon on the phone with an admissions coach from iPEC.
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My coach training transformed me.
I was no longer trying to move away from pain but instead found new dreams and goals to reach for.
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In the course of it all, I learned that....
Life is precious–not in spite of Mike's death but because of it.
I'm no longer just putting in time but am instead living with a sense of joy, gratitude, and adventure.
You don't have to feel guilty about being happy.
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You can love your new life every bit as much as you did the old.
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You deserve to live your precious life to its fullest.
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You have what it takes to rebuild your life and find joy again.
