Emotional Alchemy
This book isn’t about endings — it’s about transformation that leads to new beginnings.
About Sara Davison
The Divorce Coach
Founder of The International Divorce Coach Centre of Excellence (IDCCE)
Sara Davison is a multi-award-winning coach, 3x bestselling author, podcaster, media commentator, and patron of The DASH Charity (Domestic Abuse Stops Here). She is the founder of The International Divorce Coach Centre of Excellence (IDCCE), where she trains and certifies Break-Up and Divorce Coaches across 27 countries worldwide.
Through her training programmes, resources, and corporate initiatives — including specialist breakup and divorce support for employees — Sara’s work extends far beyond coaching. Her mission is to change the way the world experiences breakups and divorce, empowering individuals to turn emotional pain into personal power.
This is a perfect little book for motivation. It's simply laid out and laden with fantastic quotes making it great to just pick and read for a few minutes here and there or just breeze through the whole thing from time to time to keep up your motivation to take your project from beginning to end! Highly recommended.
Dawn Rose
Isabel has written a winner for sure. Don’t trust my word- buy your own copy and you can see for yourself.
Cevin Ormond
Meet The Co-Authors
Britt J Harrington
Britt J Harrington is a certified coach and founder of Harrington Flow, a practice dedicated to guiding individuals through separation, divorce, and major life transitions. Drawing on her own lived experience, she offers private, discreet support to help clients regain clarity, confidence, and direction during life’s most challenging moments.
With a global career in IT, retail, and finance at senior leadership level, Britt has worked alongside leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals operating at the highest levels, and understands the reality of performing under constant scrutiny. Her coaching is uniquely designed for those who must maintain their “A-game” in boardrooms, negotiations, and public arenas, even while navigating deeply personal challenges. Combining empathy with strategy, she helps her clients protect their reputation, sustain performance, and move forward with strength and discretion.
A passionate advocate for heritage restoration, Britt is also the founder of True Britt Properties, where she develops distinctive residential and commercial spaces through strategic acquisitions and renovations. She also curates Letters from the Lane, a reflective writing series exploring resilience, change, and finding flow when life feels most uncertain. She lives in North Yorkshire with her two children.
Maria Steene
Maria is a certified Breakup, Divorce and Relationship Coach who helps clients navigate the emotional and practical challenges of separation, toxic dynamics, and life transitions with clarity and confidence. With a background in education spanning over 25 years, including leadership roles in the UK and Middle East, Maria brings deep empathy, structure, and insight to every client she supports.
Rooted in empathy and emotional intelligence, Maria believes growth comes from understanding, not judgment. She is passionate about empowering others to rewrite their stories and embrace the truth that, as Tony Robbins says, “Life is happening for you, not to you.”
When she is not coaching, Maria enjoys reading, live music, and wellness practices. She is most proud of her two sons and her grandson, Rafael, whose love and support continue to inspire her work and life.
John Hardy
John Hardy is a divorce coach who helps individuals break free from toxic relationships and rebuild their lives with clarity, courage, and faith. With over 30 years of experience in industrial mechanics and construction safety, and two decades as a volunteer firefighter, John’s life has been defined by service and resilience. The loss of his father in the line of duty continued to shape his commitment to help others, even through his own struggles.
John’s personal journey includes overcoming an alcohol addiction and healing from a 24-year long unhealthy and extremely toxic marriage. These experiences gave him firsthand insight into the impact of trauma bonds, the difficulty of leaving unhealthy relationships, and the courage it takes to begin again. Guided by faith and supported by mentors, John found sobriety, clarity, and purpose.
Stella O'Shea
Over time, Stella chose to realign her priorities, focusing on her health and wellbeing and exploring new ways to make an impact. That decision led her into the health and fitness industry, helping herself and others reclaim balance and vitality through her groundbreaking training programme. As she guided clients on a path towards a new life, she noticed that many were also struggling with relationship challenges, breakups, and divorce. Wanting to add to her support armoury, she chose Sara Davison’s highly acclaimed coaching programme, ultimately qualifying as a Master Practitioner.
Kate Martin
Kate Martin is a Life and Personal Development Coach based in Kent,
England, who helps clients rediscover confidence, clarity, and purpose
through inquiry and self-awareness. She draws on her background in
education, history, and coaching to support individuals in creating meaningful
change in their personal and professional lives. Currently working towards
certification as a Break-Up and Divorce Coach, Kate’s particular focus in this
area is on recovery from infidelity and ‘grey divorce’.
Born and raised in London, Kate’s career has spanned diverse roles, including
parenting, business partnership, university lecturing, and training in personal
development coaching. She holds a Master’s degree by Research in Social
History, with a particular focus on narratives of women in society. Kate was
awarded the prestigious Longman History Today Award in 2009 for her
research on The Politics of Demobilisation of 1945.
Over the past thirteen years, Kate has travelled across the UK with a coaching
organisation, working with adolescents, university students, and professionals
in education and local government. Her work is grounded in the belief that
curiosity and reflection are powerful tools for transformation, empowering
clients to discover their own path to freedom and choice. Now divorced and the proud mother of four grown children, Kate has embraced a new chapter in life that blends her love for coaching with her creative passion for restoring and renovating furniture. She lives in Kent with her three Miniature Schnauzers, finding joy in the balance between meaningful work and mindful living.
Louize Yafai
Louize Yafai is a Divorce, Breakup and Domestic Abuse Emotional Recovery Coach, speaker, and thought leader who supports individuals, athletes, and organisations rebuild confidence, clarity, and performance after life’s toughest transitions.
With a degree in counselling and psychotherapy, multiple coaching accreditations and lived experience of overcoming an acrimonious divorce, co-parenting challenges and a toxic relationship, Louize brings both depth and compassion to her work.
Her mission is simple: to turn crisis into catalyst and empower others to rebuild stronger, both personally and professionally.
Emma Carpenter
Her teaching career has taken her across the UK and abroad, guiding children and adults both on and off horses while also training instructors in running, hockey, and girls’ cricket. Over the last decade, Emma has specialised in Pilates and intrinsic biomechanics, helping clients develop strength, balance, and resilience to prevent and overcome injury.
Beyond sport and coaching, Emma values family and countryside life. She is a proud mother to Harriet and Henry, shares a farm with her partner Peter and their children, and finds joy in her horses, dogs, and rural community. Her life reflects a deep connection to resilience, adventure, and the natural world she calls home.
Christa Skinner
Christa Skinner is a Canadian Breakup & Divorce Coach, who offers guidance to clients navigating the emotional, practical, and personal challenges of divorce and major relationship transitions. After 22 years of marriage and raising three daughters, she faced the reality of divorce herself. The experience left her depleted but also revealed a profound truth: life after divorce can be deeply fulfilling and empowering.
Determined to support other women through similar journeys, she became a certified Health and Life Coach through the Health Coach Institute and an accredited Breakup and Divorce Coach trained by Sara Davison, the world’s leading Divorce Coach. She is a member of the International Divorce Coach Center of Excellence (IDCCOE) and is completing her Masters Practitioner certification in domestic violence, as well as collaborative law training toward IACP certification.
Outside of her coaching practice, she is a devoted mother, enjoys traveling with her partner, and cherishes time with family. Christa embraces each stage of life with curiosity, gratitude, and a commitment to creating a meaningful, fulfilling future.
Jennie Sutton
As founder of Untying the Knot, Jennie’s mission is that no one should face the life-changing experience of separation or divorce alone. Drawing on her personal experience from a 30-year marriage, she provides support from the point of decision, through separation, and beyond, empowering clients to manage anxiety, build confidence, and make informed choices about their next chapter with clarity.
Jennie offers a range of resources, including the interactive Midlife Marriage Maze Quiz for clarity on staying or leaving, a weekly ‘Just Pause’ newsletter covering topics from chaos to calm, downloadable guides on workplace divorce and communicating with a partner, and the free SOS (Stay or Separate) programme, designed to provide control and insight during difficult decision.
Denise Coffey
Kerstin Thode
Kerstin Thode is a principal solicitor, collaborative family lawyer, and accredited divorce coach dedicated to guiding families through separation with dignity and clarity. With more than 20 years of experience practising family law in both Coffs Harbour, Australia, and Germany, she brings a wealth of international expertise. Her background as a mediator, German barrister, and certified Break-Up and Divorce Coach Practitioner trained by Sara Davison (UK) allows her to combine legal knowledge with emotional insight and a unique cross-cultural perspective.
Beyond her professional work, she is deeply involved in her community. She has spoken at women’s business network events and plays a leading role in organising her region’s International Women’s Day celebrations. Known for her empathetic and pragmatic approach, she empowers individuals to find healing, hope, and a confident path forward.
Joy Gwatkin
Joy Gwatkin is a Divorce, Breakup & Relationship Coach, working with clients to navigate the emotional and practical realities of ending or redefining a relationship. With a particular focus on the impact of ADHD, whether self-identified or formally diagnosed, she helps clients understand how neurodiversity shapes communication, connection, and decision-making.
Through her coaching, she guides clients to release emotional weight, clarify their goals, and confidently decide whether to stay or go. She equips them with practical tools and strategies to move forward, helping them step into the next chapter of their lives with clarity, resilience, and renewed confidence.
Sarah Pike
A former international fashion model, her journey from the glamour of London, Paris, and New York to the grounded strength she embodies today shapes her work. After overcoming personal trauma, mental health challenges, and a life-changing transformation through coaching, she discovered her calling to help others find peace, clarity, and purpose on the other side of upheaval.
Through her coaching, keynote talks Owning Your Voice and Grabbing Life By The Curveballs, and online resources, she continues to inspire women worldwide to live with integrity, clarity, and renewed confidence, guiding them toward transformation and self-empowerment.
Kim McLean
Kim McLean is a certified coach and founder of Aftershite, a coaching practice and community that supports individuals navigating separation, divorce, and major life transitions. Inspired by her own lived experience, Kim empowers clients to regain clarity and confidence as they rebuild after life’s most difficult chapters.
Through coaching and community, Kim speaks openly about the realities of breakups, divorce, and life’s big upheavals. Honest conversations, practical tools, and a focus on what comes next. She lives in Hertfordshire with her twins.
Michelle Donoghue
Michelle Donoghue is a certified Divorce and Separation Coach and the founder of Mrs Divorce Coach, a private practice based in Kent, England. Drawing from both personal experience and professional expertise, Michelle provides compassionate support to clients navigating the complex emotional and legal challenges of divorce and separation.
Michelle began her professional career as a legal secretary in London where she worked over 10 years for the world’s largest law firm Baker & McKenzie, before stepping away to raise her 3 sons.
Michelle’s path into coaching was shaped by her own life journey. Surviving the chaos of marriage to an alcoholic and enduring a difficult divorce, Michelle rebuilt her life only to be pulled into the emotional grip of a narcissistic relationship. Turning personal pain into purpose, Michelle trained with renowned coach Sara Davison and now helps others rebuild their lives with confidence and resilience.
Michelle continues to work within the family legal system, uniquely positioning her to offer both emotional and practical guidance. She is passionate about empowering others to take control of their lives and believes that life is short and should be lived with purpose, courage, and authenticity.
Celia Donne
Celia Donne is an accredited Breakup and Divorce Coach, working with men and women navigating the emotional and practical challenges of significant life transitions. With 25 years in a senior corporate role, she has led training and coaching programs, delivered exceptional customer service, and resolved complex issues, earning multiple awards that recognize her commitment and expertise.
