How I Found My Way to Utah (and Back to Myself)
If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be living in Utah—sharing morning coffee with women who’ve become my chosen family, skiing through winter, camping and backpacking in the summer, and laughing about our Hinge adventures—I would’ve smiled politely and thought, not a chance.
But life has a funny way of unfolding when you start listening to your heart.
My journey here began back in 2018, long before I ever packed a moving truck. I started meditating—just ten minutes a day at first. I didn’t know it then, but that small act would change everything. Meditation became a doorway back to myself. It helped me slow down enough to see what I had been avoiding: the parts of me that were hurting, the ways I’d been living for others, and the deep longing for something more honest and peaceful.
Over time, that practice helped me begin to heal old wounds I’d carried since childhood. It gave me the courage to face truths I had ignored for too long, including the realization that my marriage—though it had lasted decades—was no longer a place where I could flourish and grow. Transitioning that family unit was gut-wrenching. It felt like everything I had worked so hard to create was dissolving. Yet even through the heartbreak, something inside me whispered: stay connected to your heart; trust where this is leading.
Six months before I moved to Utah, I took a “sample trip” to see what life might feel like here. The night I arrived, I went straight to a dinner at my daughter’s house that she and her roommates were hosting for the moms. Around that table, I met women who would soon become my roommates—my daily companions in morning coffee rituals, mountain adventures, backyard gardening, and heart-to-heart conversations.
That night, as we got to know each other, we quickly discovered something uncanny—three of us were not only recently divorced, but had each been married to men named Mark for over twenty-five years. It was unreal. We all just stared at each other and burst out laughing.
In that moment, I knew something greater was happening here. My “part two” was visible—the light at the end of the tunnel was finally in front of me.
Though our friendships were brand new, they were already meaningful and life-giving.
I left that night with hope for the new beginning I had been seeking.
That visit planted the seeds of curiosity, possibility, and courage—the very things that meditation and coaching had been awakening in me for years. And today, living among these women, sharing both adventure and the ordinary, I feel held, supported, and more aligned with my heart than ever.Moving here wasn’t about running away—it was about stepping toward a more purposeful, heart-led life. It’s what I now help others do through my coaching work: pause long enough to listen, notice where they’re stuck, and find the courage to follow what feels true.
This blog, Head to Heart, is an invitation—to myself and to you.
To keep showing up with curiosity.
To trust the quiet nudges.
To live a life that feels aligned from the inside out.
So wherever you’re reading this from—Traverse City, Utah, or somewhere in between—take a breath, listen inward, and aWhat might happen if I trusted my heart a little more?
