I felt trapped in a life that looked successful on the outside, but was suffocating me from the inside out.

You see, I was a “Good Girl”. I followed the traditional success path expected of me - you know…I went to a top private University, had a 6-figure career in Washington, DC, bought my own house on a golf course, and got married.

I was published in Ebony magazine as a Young Leader Under 30 and received continual promotions to the point of “Deputy Director”, but I hit a glass ceiling, along with burnout and loss of hope for happiness.

I dreaded going to work every morning so much that I had to force a smile when I walked into my department. I was so burned out at age 35 that I needed months of sick leave to survive. I fell into despair living in this profound disconnect from myself that I would lay under the covers, alone, crying and strategizing ways to end my life.