Hey there, friend—
Have you ever stood in the middle of your life and wondered… “Who am I now?”
It’s a disorienting, hollow place—the moment when the roles that defined you fall away, and you’re left staring at an empty space where your identity used to be.
I see this all the time with women who are in a season of rediscovery as they’re navigating big life changes.
Whether it’s the death of a parent, the end of a marriage, or watching your last child leave home, the loss isn’t just about the people or roles you’ve released—it’s about the loss of you.
Because, when your identity has been built around others for so long, their absence leaves a gaping void.
The Grief, the Liberation, and the Uncertainty
Grief in this season is layered.
You might be grieving the loss of a mother who was never truly nurturing, like one of my clients. She felt relief when her mother passed—a liberation from the constant demands—but then the grief snuck in. Not just for her mother, but for the version of herself who had spent decades being in service to someone else.
Another client, now an empty nester, feels paralyzed between pride and fear. Her daughter’s chosen path is nothing like she imagined, and now, without the day-to-day role of “Mom,” she’s asking herself, “What do I do with my life now?”
Grief and liberation often walk hand in hand. There’s the freedom of no longer being tethered to those roles… but also the haunting uncertainty of who you are without them.
Why Identity Work Matters Now More Than Ever
In these moments, many women start searching—reading books, signing up for workshops, diving into self-help podcasts. But often, it leads to more spinning, more seeking, without ever landing.
Why? Because they’re searching out there when the answers are in here.
Identity work is about turning inward—peeling back the layers of who you thought you were and rediscovering the woman beneath.
Because without a grounded sense of self, the void will only grow larger.
How to Begin Rediscovering Yourself
- Acknowledge the Void. It’s real. It’s scary. And it’s not going away on its own. Sit with it. Breathe through it. Name it. Journal about it. The void holds wisdom.
- Honor Both Grief and Freedom. You can mourn the loss of your roles while also feeling relief. There’s no “right” way to grieve. Let both emotions exist, allowing each of them to be true and real for you.
- Start Listening Inward. Set aside 10 minutes daily—just for you. Meditate, journal, walk in nature—anything that helps you tune into what’s stirring beneath the surface.
- Ask Better Questions. Instead of “Who am I now?” try “What have I always loved but set aside?” or “What makes me feel most alive?”
- Get Support. This is deep, tender work, and you don’t have to do it alone. I, for one, am here for you if you need a trusted coach, guide, and facilitator of the inner work.
Some women choose to work with me 1-1, while others enjoy a group container where they meet and journey with others who are moving through the same season.
If the latter is you, keep an eye out for my upcoming 3-month program, WITHIN: The Inner Work, launching this April. We’ll explore the hidden narratives that keep you stuck, uncover the deeper truths beneath your fears, and gently guide you back to the woman you’ve always been.
It’s a journey of coming home to yourself.
If this speaks to where you are right now, I invite you to reflect on this:
What part of me has been waiting patiently to be seen?
And when you’re ready, I’ll be here to walk this journey with you.
With love and grace,
Tris
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An International Bestselling Author, Lifestyle and Leadership Coach and speaker, Tris Thorp is one of today’s leading experts in the field of personal growth and leadership development, specializing in emotional healing, women’s empowerment and shadow work.
Having spent a decade traveling the world, being trained by and sharing the stage with Dr. Deepak Chopra in the field of social emotional learning, consciousness and mindfulness-based practices, Tris has a real gift for integrating the ancient spiritual teachings with modern-day science and mindfulness to help people all over the world let go of their past and create an empowered new future.
During her tenure at the Chopra Center, Tris apprenticed under the Chopra Center’s co-founder Dr. David Simon, co-facilitating the Healing the Heart and Emotional Freedom workshops alongside him. Prior to his passing in 2012, Dr. Simon appointed Tris as the person to carry on his teachings in the field of emotional healing. In addition, Tris was fortunate to be mentored by the late Debbie Ford prior to her passing in 2013, which is where she continued her extensive studies of the unconscious mind and concepts of the persona and shadow. After the loss of her two mentors, Tris went on to become certified through the Ford Institute as a coach specializing in Shadow Work and reconciling mental and emotional issues stemming from past experiences. She continues to share the gifts of emotional healing and facilitating this work in the footsteps of her former mentors.
Tris is the International bestselling author of Healing Your Heart: Rewrite Your Story with Awareness and Intention. A guide book to understanding your emotions, how we create our story and workable tools and techniques to heal from the past, Healing Your Heart stewards you through the process of releasing mental and emotional baggage, forgiving yourself and others, setting and enforcing boundaries and consciously communicating your needs in a loving and effective way so you can be who you’re meant to be, do the things you want to do and have all that you deserve to have in this life.
Tris is also the co-author of bestseller Mental and Emotional Release® with Dr. Matt James. Written in a language both professionals and non-professionals can understand, Mental and Emotional Release® offers real life case studies, an overview of MER and its foundation, step by step scripts to follow, and clinical efficacy studies comparing MER to other therapies.
Clearly in her dharma, Tris’s passion and dedication to gently guide people on their inward journey through personal growth is evident in her work as a Lifestyle and Leadership coach, Trainer of Mental and Emotional Release and workshop facilitator. She teaches various courses on leadership development, personal empowerment, social emotional learning and higher states of consciousness – both in online courses and her certification programs, live workshops, VIP retreats and 1-1 clients.
Tris Thorp is Board Certified by the Association of Integrative Psychology as a Trainer of Mental and Emotional Release ®, Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming, Hypnosis, and Mental and Emotional Release ®, a Certified Reiki Master, and an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance.
Tris is devoted to inspiring and empowering others to cultivate and maintain mindfulness-based lifestyle practices that lead to greater clarity, purpose and fulfillment. Through one-on-one coaching, online programs and live events, Tris specializes in helping people to fully release negative emotions, limiting beliefs and unconscious patterns, enabling them to make quantum leaps into the life they are truly meant to be living.