Sophie Lewis

About

The person who usually finds me is someone everybody else describes as brave. They made a large change, they were congratulated for it, and they have not been able to admit to anyone since that they are frightened and occasionally regretful. That trap is very common. Starting over attracts a lot of admiration, and admiration makes it socially difficult to say that it is not going well. So people perform contentment for an audience that has already moved on to other things. We drop the performance here. It is usually the first hour in months where nothing has to be spun. For years I worked in group settings before going solo, and the most valuable thing in that room was always someone admitting the unglamorous truth first. It gave everybody else permission. If you have been performing, come and stop. Bravery and difficulty are not mutually exclusive, whatever the congratulations implied.