You’ve clicked About... Where do I start?

Neat and tidy was never really my thing

I've taken an unconventional route in life. Been an addict, an escort, a toilet cleaner, personal trainer, nutritional therapist, weight loss specialist, life coach of more niches than I even remember, marketeer / social media manager (although you wouldn't think it to look at mine) and now author.

In between all that, I went from leaving school with no qualifications to somehow finishing uni at 44 with two pieces of paper: a Master’s with Distinction in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, and a report telling me I have dyslexia.

Chasing the Life I Thought I Wanted

Kali’s certificates and qualifications displayed together on a wall

There was a time when I was hell bent on following advice like...

Find your passion. Follow your purpose. Work harder. Do more. Be more. Trust and everything will fall into place.

What I found was, sometimes it fucking doesn't.

By the time I'd finished my Master's, I hit a midlife wall. I was exhausted and broke. Years of striving had left me grieving the life I thought all those sacrifices were supposed to lead to. And if this hadn't worked, what the hell was I supposed to do next?

I listened to the voice inside me and folded my business, even though it meant walking away from everything I'd fought to create. I'd spent years studying, qualifying, building businesses and working with people. I cared about what I did. I thought I was living my purpose.

After more than two decades of self-employment, I did something that felt backwards: I got a job. Working conventional hours exposed just how erratically I'd always functioned and led to another assessment, then an ADHD diagnosis. Suddenly, leaving school with nothing, my scattered career path and the boom-and-bust cycles made more sense. So did the fact that I could handle academically demanding, science-heavy work, yet trying to sustain it as a career fried my brain.

The job grew with me. I completed another postgraduate qualification in digital marketing, and later became a director within the company. It also gave me something I hadn't had before: stability.

Kali’s desk showing a contrast between a cluttered and more organised workspace

Here I Am

Dare to Break Free kept pulling me back for years. I wanted to quit many times. Why was I putting myself through this? What was the point? Giving up would have been easier than revisiting the pain and shame I still carried.

Something in me was done hiding beneath a so-called 'normal life'.

Publishing the book and creating this website is my way of saying:

Here I am.
This is me.
And I'm okay with that.