The Year That Broke Me and the Year I Became Unbreakable

Hi friend 👋,

I’ve written a lot this year about growth, ambition, leadership, and building a life you can be proud of. But today’s newsletter feels different. It isn’t a strategy guide or a checklist of steps forward. It is a chapter of my life, one I never expected to write, one I did not want, and one that almost swallowed me whole.

2025 was the hardest year of my adult life. I do not say that lightly. I went through two unexpected job losses, one major move with the possibility of another on the horizon, and the painful decision to step away from my immediate family. It was a year filled with instability, grief, loneliness, and emotional exhaustion, all layered together in a way that felt relentless. And yet, despite everything, I made it through. Not polished, not perfect, not untouched, but present. Resilient. Different. Wiser. More grounded. More myself than ever before.

If you are in your own season of unraveling, or if 2025 took something from you too, I want you to know this clearly, you are not alone, and you are not done. So let me tell you my story.

The Year Everything Fell Apart

I walked into 2025 optimistic, focused, and clear about my goals. I had a plan, structure, and a direction. Then everything shifted without warning. The first job loss came suddenly with no signs that it was coming. Even though I kept moving, it triggered something deeper, the fear of starting over again.

The second job loss hit even harder. When you show up fully, when you give your best effort, when you pour your heart into something and it still disappears, it shakes your identity. It rattles your confidence. It makes you question your stability and your place in the world. That moment forced me to realize that something needed to change.

Then came the moves. I transitioned into one new space only to learn that I might need to uproot again. Anyone who has moved understands that it is much more than boxes and logistics. Moving is grieving the version of your life you thought you were building, and it is exhausting emotionally and mentally.

Alongside all of this, I faced the most painful decision of the year, choosing distance from my immediate family. It was not a sudden break, but the result of years of emotional strain and misalignment. Stepping back protected my peace, but it cost me familiarity and comfort. Estrangement is complex. It brings pain, isolation, and constant second guessing, even when you know it is the healthiest choice.

2025 forced me to confront a difficult question, what does choosing yourself truly look like. Little by little, I learned the answer.

How I Survived a Year That Tried to Break Me

I did not survive this year because I was fearless or endlessly strong. I survived because I allowed myself to be human. I stopped pretending everything was fine and let myself feel what I was feeling. I cried. I processed. I let grief, anger, confusion, and disappointment move through me instead of burying it. Strength does not come from denying pain. Strength comes from facing it.

I also had to relearn my worth outside of work. Job loss affects your confidence more deeply than many people admit. It makes you question your value. But your identity is not tied to a paycheck or a title. My worth did not diminish during the instability, and neither does yours. Sometimes I had to remind myself of that every single day.

This year also simplified my priorities. When everything falls apart, what truly matters becomes clearer. Who receives your time, who earns space in your emotional life, what environments support you, what relationships nourish you, and what direction you want for your future become easier to see. The noise faded, the clarity stayed. Sometimes life needs to shake you so it can rearrange you into alignment.

Learning that my family may never become what I hoped for was one of the hardest lessons. Letting go of expectations and still holding compassion is painful, but necessary. Distance was not an act of resentment, it was an act of self protection. Boundaries often feel harsh, but they save your spirit.

And even when everything felt uncertain, I kept investing in myself, reading, writing, volunteering, building Femme Force, nurturing meaningful friendships, strengthening my faith, pursuing my MBA, and showing up for my goals. Self investment became the anchor that steadied me when everything else felt chaotic.

I also learned that perseverance is not glamorous. It looks like crying before a meeting and showing up anyway. It looks like opening another rejection email and still applying to the next opportunity. It looks like unpacking a home alone and making it yours. It looks like choosing kindness toward yourself on days when you feel anything but strong.

Most importantly, I refused to let this year define me. It took a lot, but it did not take my ambition, my integrity, my heart, or my purpose. A hard year is not a hard life. A painful chapter is not your last chapter. And everything I lost created space for what is coming next.

What I Am Taking Into 2026

After a year like this, you do not enter the next chapter the same woman. You walk in with a stronger backbone, softer compassion, clearer priorities, deeper faith, fiercer boundaries, a quieter ego, and a louder sense of purpose. I do not want my old life back. I want the life that is waiting for me ahead.

If You Are Going Through Your Own Hard Year

Please remember this, you are allowed to break down. You are allowed to start over. You are allowed to walk away. You are allowed to protect your peace. You are allowed to want more. You are allowed to rebuild your life from the ground up. Pain is not the end. Pain is a turning point. And one day, maybe sooner than you think, you will look back at the year that almost broke you and see it clearly, it was the year that forged you, strengthened you, refined you, redefined you, and rebuilt you into someone unshakeable.

You are not alone. And you are not finished.

And alignment is how you build a life that actually feels good to live.As we embark on this journey together, I invite you to connect with us on Instagram @femmeforce_co to stay updated with our daily doses of inspiration and Femme Force updates.

P.S. If you ever have questions, suggestions, or just want to chat, please feel free to reply to this email 📧 I'd love to hear from you!