The Bravely Examined Life: A Philosophical Coaching Program
One year to achieve your big goal—without losing your soul.
Next cohort starts April 23, 2026
There must be something more
You’ve done everything you were “supposed” to do. You got the job, the house, the kids.
And still—something feels off.
You’re tired of striving.
Tired of carrying invisible standards.
Tired of doing everything right and quietly wondering what it’s all for.
You worry your life is passing you by while you’re busy holding it together. You feel a dullness inside—a loss of vitality you can’t quite name. You find yourself wondering:
Is this really it?
What am I aiming toward?
When do I get to feel at home in my own life?
You are not broken.
You are not ungrateful.
You are a thoughtful, ambitious, deeply intelligent woman living inside systems that reward overfunctioning and punish rest, presence, and truth.
And something in you knows there must be another way to live.
You Don’t Want to Quit
You Want to Live on Purpose
You don’t want to opt out of your life.
You don’t want to numb out.
You don’t want another vague promise of “healing” with no traction.
You want:
To trust yourself again
To feel alive in your body
To stop earning your worth through exhaustion
To move toward something meaningful—without self-betrayal
You want ambition without abandonment.
The Real Problem Isn’t You
It’s That You’ve Been Carrying This Alone
You’re smart. You’re educated. You understand how patriarchy, capitalism, and white supremacy shape our lives. You know the system is broken.
And still, you keep trying to think your way out of an existential problem.
You research.
You analyze.
You optimize.
But what you’re actually longing for isn’t more information.
It’s a center.
A place inside yourself—and in community—where you can tell the truth, orient your life around what matters, and move forward without losing yourself.
The Bravely Examined Life is that Center
The Bravely Examined Life is a yearlong philosophical coaching experience for high-achieving women who are done drifting, done hustling, and done living on borrowed values.
This is not a productivity program.
And it’s not endless introspection.
It’s a structured, grounded year in which you will:
Clarify what you actually want
Choose a meaningful, attainable goal
Examine the forces shaping your choices—internal and external
Learn how to pursue what matters without burnout or self-abandonment
Build trust in your own inner authority
Take real, sustainable steps forward
This is philosophy in service of life.
Reflection in service of action.
This Is Not a Year of Pushing
It’s a Year of Alignment
In The Bravely Examined Life, you are not asked to override your nervous system, bypass grief, or “rise above” reality.
Instead, I guide you through a year of:
Reconnecting with your body and emotional intelligence
Learning the difference between thoughts, feelings, and needs
Naming and honoring your values
Practicing clear, compassionate communication
Letting go of impossible standards
Building a life that can actually hold you
We meditate.
We write.
We reflect.
We grieve.
We practice telling the truth.
And we do this in community, so you no longer have to carry these questions alone.
Imagine, One Year From Now
You feel grounded in your body and guided by an internal compass you trust.
You stop endlessly questioning whether you’re in the right job, relationship, or life—because you’ll know.
You wake up lighter.
Calmer.
More alive.
You’re present for your life:
smelling the carrots as you chop them,
listening instead of bracing,
enjoying what you’ve built instead of racing past it.
You trust yourself.
You lead from wisdom instead of fear.
You feel like a grown-up—becoming an elder, an ancestor.
2 Live 90-minute Zoom calls each month with Danielle and small pod of fellow travelers
2 private one-on-one coaching sessions with Danielle (30 minutes each)
Recordings of all the sessions
A resource library of readings, prompts, and exercises (and extended access for 3 months following the program)
An intimate cohort of no more than 12 people
A WhatsApp text thread with Danielle and your crew
A rotating assigned buddy from your crew
Alumni events
What you’ll get
Meet your instructor
Danielle LaSusa Ph.D.
Danielle is a Philosophical Coach, writer, speaker, and mother with a Ph.D. in philosophy, helping high-achieving women to find meaning and identity beyond their accomplishments. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Motherly, and on the TEDx stage. Her memoir about her experience with postpartum psychosis is seeking a publisher.
Free Informational Session
Get detailed information and your questions answered in real time with Danielle.
Once you register, you’ll get an email with the Zoom link and replay details.
Questions? Email hello@daniellelasusa.com
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“Danielle showed me that I can actually make good money doing what I love as a writer and writing coach, instead of continuing to work nine-to-five. She's helped me value my time and my wisdom—not just as a paid professional, but as a mother and a human being.”
— Sarah Orman, Writer, Lawyer Coach, Mother of teens
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“Before I started working with Danielle, I had been ‘trying to be a writer’ for almost two decades. By the end of our first six-month program, I had gotten several publications, (including one in a major paper), a grant to write, and, most importantly, my MIND had been radically changed; my anxiety levels dropped, and I was able to show up to my creative work with an attitude that felt excited, empowered, and playful. By the end of our third program, I’d quit my job, finished a book draft, and within a week, I had agents fighting over it! I am awash in tears of gratitude. Thank you, Danielle. You changed my life.”
— Kelly Ramsey, Author of Wildfire Days and mother of 1
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“Danielle has become an incredibly important person in my life, guiding me to where I am today. Thanks to her coaching, I actually opened an art studio that I'd been dreaming about for years! She transformed not just my professional path, but my entire understanding of myself.”
— Victoria Nikitina Chala, Rising Heart Coaching, Mother of 2
@risingheartcoach
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“I was trying to mentally prepare myself for the arrival of my second child, after really struggling postpartum with my first. After a year in traditional therapy, I still felt frustrated, stuck, and overwhelmed. Danielle cut straight to the heart of the limiting thoughts and stories I was caught in. Through her gentle encouragement, she helped me fully honor my pain while also challenging my negative self-talk. After a lifetime of feeling doomed in motherhood, I am now so much more confident, capable, and patient with myself. I never thought, at six-weeks postpartum, I could feel this good.”
— Meg B. , Mother of 2
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“Danielle helped me when a decade of therapy couldn’t touch my incapacitating existential dread, fueled by my discarded religious upbringing, lack of sense of self, and loss of hope in humanity. She showed me that my ‘educated’ view that the world is a terrible place was really just a way of giving up. She seemed to have a quote, book recommendation, and/or Buddhist teaching for literally every single situation, and through them, she taught me how to draw comfort from the world, and more importantly, from myself.”
— Dani Smith, Writer and Actor
You’re not broken—you’re becoming.
Everything you need is already inside of you.
Let’s go find it.
Next cohort starts April 23, 2026