Ep. 35 - What Do You Do When It All Falls Apart with Emily McDowell
Note: Intro ends and our conversation with Emily begins at 11:40.
Hey friends, and welcome back to another episode! We’re so excited that you’re here and even more excited for you to dive into this amazing conversation with Emily McDowell. She is raw, insightful, hilarious, and there is so much wisdom in this episode - you’re going to walk away feeling so inspired.
If you don't know, Emily McDowell is the founder and creator of Em & Friends. After a cancer diagnosis, she learned that sometimes people drift away simply because they don’t know what to say. She also learned that there wasn’t a huge supply of greeting cards available that spoke authentically to complex or nontraditional life experiences.
So in 2012 she started writing and illustrating her own cards, reflecting her real, complicated life—like Valentines for people who are kinda ambiguously dating, Mother’s Day cards for people who aren’t technically your mom, and cards for seriously ill people who might find “get well” messages awkward at best.
Emily is a writer, illustrator, speaker, teacher, and entrepreneur who lives in Portland, OR, and is such a wise voice to a generation who is recovering from hustle culture.
After building a successful and thriving brand, Emily boldly wrestled with what it looks like to truly choose yourself and grant yourself the permission to change your mind.
On this episode, we talk about:
Walking away even when things don't make sense
Finding the courage to stand alone
Trusting your own journey outside of the opinions of others
Being okay with not being liked
Rediscovering the life on the other side of letting go
We can’t wait to hear what you think of this episode, so make sure to say hello on Instagram!
You can find Emily on Instagram @Emilyonlife
You can find Emily’s work here: www.emandfriends.com
You can find Kara on Instagram @bykaraelise
You can find Caleb on Instagram @Caleb_campbell
This Episodes Sponsor: Calibrate :Get $50 when you use the code BLEAV.