More about Sarah

or, the journey from lawyer to Board-Certified Health Coach

I appreciate how hard it can be.

I was a nerdy, overweight girl with glasses and braces, and parents who struggled with serious mental and physical illnesses. I was forced to grow up too quickly but as a result, I developed incredible resilience and a scrappy, can-do attitude that turned out to be a huge asset in my adult life and career.

A former Big Law litigator with two cancer diagnoses under my belt, I understand the necessity of a healthy lifestyle and how hard it can be to achieve that. Living with a teenage daughter (hardcore soccer mom, here), a husband, and a double-wide poodle, I understand the need to keep it simple.

I’ve been blindsided.

In 2001, at 32, a week before my first wedding anniversary, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My diagnosis, treatment, and recovery forced me to rethink almost every aspect of my life: what my career meant to me, the definition of a family, and how in the world I ended up getting cancer in the first place. My diagnosis inspired me to learn how to maximize my health and wellness.

I’m grateful for second chances.

After my first cancer diagnosis, I quit my job, founded a local chapter of a national young women's breast cancer organization, and focused on advocacy. I joined the Board of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, and between the two, committed myself to focus on young women and the prevention of breast cancer.

Meanwhile, my husband and I struggled with how to have the family we’d been planning when I was diagnosed. After deliberating every possible route to parenthood, we decided on adoption from China. In June of 2004, we met our daughter in a far-West province. Life has been even richer and more joyful since.

And third chances, too.

Things were going along swimmingly until, on the eve of my ten-year cancerversary, the beast came knocking again. A new primary cancer was detected in the opposite breast. It was small, but the writing was on the wall. I had a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction on September 19, 2011. Thankfully, no further treatment was necessary. I blogged about Cancer, Round II at Be The Weeble.

I’ve felt those feelings . . . the “why me?” and “not again!” ones.

My cancer and reconstruction story don’t end there. Over the years, it became clear that implants and I just didn’t jibe. Because my implants were placed under my pecs, they threw off all the musculature to my shoulders, causing years of shoulder pain and mobility problems. This peaked in 2018 when the pain increased dramatically in both shoulders, subsequently spread down the right side of my body, down to my foot, and became chronic. Walking became so painful, I needed a disability hang-tag for my car. My treatment providers and I all agreed: the implants had to go. In September 2019, 8 years to the week after they were placed, I had my implants removed and got sewn up flat. My recovery from chronic pain was slow, but I learned amazing things about my body and my brain in the process, and am happy to report that I’m pain-free and back to being active again.

Bottom line: I haven’t struggled in the same way as you, but I know what it is to struggle.

I use my life experiences to provide coaching in a compassionate, empathic, non-judgmental style. Clients can “come as they are,” and I understand that “progress” is not linear and that it’s measured in many different ways. What’s most important to me is my connection with my clients, that they feel seen, heard, understood, and that they leave me feeling better and understanding how to take care of themselves more effectively.