Emotional Alchemy

This book isn’t about endings — it’s about transformation that leads to new beginnings.

Emotional Alchemy brings together certified Break-Up and Divorce Coaches trained by Sara Davison, The Divorce Coach — experts who have turned their own experiences of heartbreak, separation, and reinvention into powerful guidance for others. Each story reveals how personal transformation can spark strength, clarity, and hope.
In Emotional Alchemy, readers learn from the trials and triumph of these Breakup and Divorce Coaches, who have turned their pain into power. These are not ordinary coaches; they are highly trained professionals, certified through Davison’s International Divorce Coach Centre of Excellence, who support clients through every stage of separation and recovery.
Each contributor brings both professional training and lived experience, often specialising in high-conflict and complex situations involving post-separation abuse, narcissistic relationships, coercive control, and financial or emotional manipulation. Some act as McKenzie Friends, providing guidance and reassurance in court, while others lead support groups and transformational retreats that help individuals rediscover who they are and rebuild their lives with strength and clarity. Together, they demonstrate that healing after heartbreak isn’t just possible, it can become the foundation for an entirely new life.

This isn’t just a book, it’s a movement. One that redefines what it means to heal, to rebuild, and to rise.

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About Sara Davison

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.

Sara’s passion is helping people around the globe cope better with their breakups. Having experienced her own marriage breakdown, she developed a proven toolkit of techniques and strategies to help others manage emotional pain, navigate practical challenges, and move forward with confidence.

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
Rated 5 out of 5

Isabel has written a winner for sure. Don’t trust my word- buy your own copy and you can see for yourself.

Cevin Ormond
Rated 5 out of 5

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Meet The Co-Authors

Meet Rhonda

Britt J Harrington

Britt J Harrington is the founder of Harrington Flow, a space born from her own story and shaped by her professional and personal experiences. Her career spans two chapters. The first was a corporate career at global leadership level, working with high-net-worth individuals in high-pressure environments defined by scrutiny, pace, and performance. These roles involved complex projects, significant budgets, and elite brands, alongside cultures where expectations were high and failure was rarely acknowledged.

Her second chapter led her into a multi-million-pound family business, bringing front-line responsibility, autonomy, shifting roles, and complex infrastructures. Working alongside family introduced additional commercial and operational challenges. Alongside her professional life, Britt navigated significant personal challenges that informed the creation of Harrington Flow. Rather than a traditional coach, Britt’s approach is to work as a power shadow, supporting others to stay upright and deliver their A-game when it matters.

Britt also owns True Britt Developments, where she renovates and develops property, building her portfolio alongside a personal ambition to create safe housing for people navigating personal conflict. She curates Letters from the Lane, a series of conversations exploring resilience and change. She lives in North Yorkshire, with her work anchored in London, and shares life with her two children.

Maria Steene

Maria is a certified Breakup, Divorce, Narcissistic Relationship Recovery and Domestic Abuse Coach. She helps clients navigate the emotional and practical challenges of separation, toxic dynamics and major life transitions with clarity and confidence. She works one-to-one with clients and small groups, in person or online, and is Platinum certified to run the immersive Sara Davison Heartbreak and Divorce Recovery Retreats.

With a background in education spanning more than 25 years, alongside earlier corporate roles in the UK and Middle East, Maria brings empathy, structure and insight to every client she supports. Her journey into coaching began after a 32-year relationship ended just before the pandemic, inspiring her to transform personal adversity into purposeful change. A special interest in the psychology of human behaviours behind relationship breakdowns led her to Davison’s IDOCCE programme. She also holds advanced qualifications in Coaching and Mentoring and Special Educational Needs.

Maria supports clients in rebuilding self-worth, recognising patterns and rediscovering emotional independence. Her specialist areas include mid-life grey divorce and professionals required to maintain a strong exterior while experiencing private emotional turmoil.

Outside her coaching work, Maria enjoys reading, travelling, live music, dance, theatre and wellness activities. She is most proud of her two sons and her grandson, Rafael.
Meet Ondi
Meet Rhonda

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.

Today, John draws on his lived experience and deep spiritual conviction to walk alongside clients navigating divorce and toxic relationship recovery. His coaching combines empathy, practical strategies, and faith-based encouragement to help others reclaim their lives. John’s mission is simple: to offer hope, healing, and a reminder that even in life’s darkest moments, there is a path toward freedom and renewal.

Stella O'Shea

Once an international business consultant and entrepreneur, Stella O’Shea brings a unique approach to coaching, empowering clients to embrace a new chapter in life by combining wisdom, experience and a passion for personal growth. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Stella moved to London in her twenties, working as a business consultant and establishing a string of companies across multiple industries. Her success led to a feature on the cover of a leading business magazine, recognising her as one of the rising lights in a competitive commercial world.

Over time, Stella realigned her priorities, focusing on her health and wellbeing and exploring new ways to make an impact. That decision led to the creation of her groundbreaking training programme, helping individuals reclaim confidence, purpose and balance in their lives. Seeing many clients navigating relationship breakdowns, she trained with Davison and became a Master Practitioner.

Today, Stella’s practice focuses on breakup and divorce recovery, guiding clients through the complex emotional landscape of separation, family change and renewal. She works with clients through one-to-one coaching, leading retreats and workshops, and partners with law firms to support their clients, as well as with companies supporting their employees. Her work helps people move from heartbreak to hope and towards a stronger, more confident future.
Meet Ondi
Meet Rhonda

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.

Having previously co-owned a successful business and having to rebuild her life from the ground up, Louize founded Louize Coaching – an independent practice supporting people and organisations through emotional recovery and resilience and helping employers strengthen their wellbeing frameworks and policies.
 
She also partners with corporate leaders, family law professionals, and sports organisations to enhance wellbeing initiatives and address the silent relationship struggles that often go unseen. Featured on the American Negotiation Institute podcast with Kwame Christian, Louize speaks widely on resilience, leadership, and emotional recovery.
 
Her mission is simple: to turn crisis into catalyst and empower others to rebuild stronger, both personally and professionally. Louize is a mother to three grown daughters with whom she shares her life.
Meet Ondi
Meet Rhonda

Emma Carpenter

Emma Carpenter is a Breakup & Divorce, Performance, and Resilience Coach who has spent more than 40 years inspiring others through sport, education, and personal example. She works with clients navigating life transitions, creating a safe, supportive space while helping them build resilience, grit, and emotional strength.

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.
Emma’s own athletic journey is a testament to perseverance and courage. In her forties, she completed two full Ironman events, including the notoriously challenging Ironman Wales, and for her fiftieth birthday she achieved a lifelong dream by completing the Marathon des Sables, one of the world’s toughest endurance races.

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.

She offers guidance that helps women rediscover balance, resilience, and confidence before, during, and after divorce. Her approach combines practical strategies, emotional insight, and a compassionate space for growth, enabling clients to reclaim their lives and step into their next chapter with clarity and strength.

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.
Meet Ondi
Jennie Sutton
Meet Rhonda

Jennie Sutton

Jennie Sutton is an award-winning Master Practitioner in Divorce and Domestic Abuse Coaching, a Women’s Coach, and a Financial Coach, brought together in her role as a professional McKenzie Friend (Courtroom Coach). She offers guidance to women navigating separation, divorce, and the complex emotional and practical decisions that come with these life changes.

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.
With 20 years of coaching experience, she blends practical strategies with deep empathy, emphasizing that choices around marriage and divorce should prioritize building a joyful, fulfilling life rather than being limited by fear or past commitments.

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

Denise Coffey is a Transformation and Life Coach who supports women in rediscovering their confidence, purpose, and inner strength, with a specialisation in navigating divorce and relationship breakups.

Having experienced her own journey of deep personal growth and a challenging divorce, Denise understands what it feels like to reach rock bottom. She helps women rebuild themselves from their lowest point of pain and desperation, guiding them to rediscover who they are and create a life filled with confidence, clarity, and self-worth.
A Master Practitioner and Coach in NLP, Hypnosis, and Time Line Therapy®, Denise combines these powerful tools with energy and healing practices to help women release emotional blocks, rebuild self-belief, and rise into a life of strength, empowerment, and renewed purpose.

With over 11 years of experience as a permanent makeup artist, Denise has long been passionate about helping women feel good about themselves on the outside. Now, through her coaching, she empowers them to transform from within.
Meet Ondi
Meet Ondi

Victoria Snoddon-Pegley

Victoria Snoddon-Pegley is a counsellor, coach, teacher, trainer and author with a strong commitment to making emotional and educational support accessible to all. With three degrees spanning health care, social care, education and training, Victoria brings a broad interdisciplinary background to her work and continues to develop innovative, bespoke approaches that meet the needs of individuals and organisations.

Her professional experience includes work across hospitality, education, counselling and specialist coaching, where she has supported people through a wide range of life transitions. Victoria has completed advanced training in bereavement, suicide prevention, anger management, domestic abuse and break-up and narcissistic abuse coaching through programmes led by Sara Davison and Caroline Strawson.
As a member of The International Divorce Coach Centre of Excellence, Victoria combines therapeutic insight with structured coaching to guide clients through periods of significant change. Her approach is person-centred, grounded in honesty, clarity and practical support that helps individuals regain confidence, reconnect with their identity and move towards a more empowered future.

Alongside her coaching and counselling work, Victoria contributes to educational and training initiatives and writes to broaden understanding of emotional wellbeing and recovery. She is dedicated to helping people find renewed hope and purpose, even in the most challenging chapters of their lives.

Karen Cordingley

Karen Cordingley is an Identity and Life Reinvention Coach, Author, and Transformation Specialist who helps people rebuild their lives after major transitions, particularly divorce and times of personal reinvention. Her unique coaching framework blends neuroscience, psychology, and behavioural change techniques to guide clients through rediscovering who they are, breaking unhelpful habits and patterns, and creating a future that feels authentic, confident, and purpose-driven.

With over 25 years of senior corporate leadership experience, Karen has designed and delivered large-scale transformation programmes, guiding thousands of people through complex personal and organisational change. Her work spans coaching senior executives, managing large complex organisations through transformation and supporting individuals navigating profound life shifts.
Karen’s approach blends strategic clarity with emotional intelligence. Drawing on decades of study in psychology, neuroscience and human behaviour, she helps clients understand identity, break unhelpful patterns and take confident steps towards rebuilding their lives. Clients describe her as insightful, empathic and practical – someone who turns confusion into clarity and self-doubt into momentum.

She offers one-to-one coaching and monthly countryside retreats in Dorset for small groups ready to reset, recharge and redesign their next chapter. With her structured and compassionate guidance, Karen supports clients in transforming endings into meaningful new beginnings.
Meet Ondi
Kerstin Thode
Meet Rhonda

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 Master Practitioner, allows her to combine legal knowledge with emotional insight and a unique cross-cultural perspective.

As the founder of Smart Choice Law and Re-Charge Divorce Coaching & Retreats™, she offers a holistic approach to divorce. Through Smart Choice Law, she is committed to keeping families out of court wherever possible, helping clients resolve disputes respectfully through collaboration. Through Re-Charge Divorce Coaching & Retreats™, she provides online coaching, practical courses, and immersive divorce recovery retreats that help individuals move forward with resilience and confidence.
 
Known for her empathetic and pragmatic approach, she empowers individuals to find healing, hope and a confident path forward. Beyond her professional work, she is community focused, speaking at women’s business network events and playing a leading role in organising her region’s International Women’s Day celebrations. Kerstin enjoys Pilates, exploring the nearby waterfalls and time with her spouse, two children and dogs.

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.

With more than 25 years of experience in project management, Joy combines strategic thinking with a holistic, client-centered approach. She holds certification as a Sara Davison Divorce & Break-Up Practitioner Coach and a Master in Domestic Violence 2025, and has received multiple awards for diversity, inclusion, and innovation from the Institute of Project Management and the Mental Health First Aid Team.

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.
Joy Gwatkin
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Sarah Pike
Meet Rhonda

Sarah Pike

Sarah Pike is an Accredited Divorce Coach Practitioner and Transformational Positive Mindset Coach, working with women navigating emotional recovery after divorce and major life transitions. With compassion and insight, she supports clients to break cycles of self-sabotage, rebuild confidence, and create lasting positive change through small, intentional shifts in mindset.

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.
She regularly contributes to Living Magazine and Luxe Magazine and has appeared on BBC Radio Tees and BBC Radio Newcastle as a commentator on divorce, domestic abuse, and single parenthood. She has delivered empowering workshops with Aston Martin and collaborated with Solas Coaching and the Frolo single-parent app on digital wellbeing initiatives.

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.

With a global career spanning Risk Management, Operations, and Strategy at senior leadership levels, Kim has worked alongside C-suite leaders, entrepreneurs, and senior professionals in Financial Services and Fintech. She understands the high-stakes pressure of leading in boardrooms while managing personal upheaval. Her coaching uniquely blends empathy with strategic insight, helping high-performing individuals sustain their professional reputation and performance while addressing deeply personal challenges.

Kim is also a passionate advocate for financial inclusion and speaks on panels and podcasts to raise awareness of its importance. Through her reflective Substack writing series, she shares insights and survival strategies for those navigating the aftermath of a breakup or divorce, and the often unseen domino effect that follows.

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.
Kim McClain
Meet Rhonda
Meet Rhonda

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.

Clare Norton

Clare Norton is a breakup and divorce coach, business consultant, and mentor, drawing on both lived experience and professional expertise. A solo parent and step mum, she found Emotional Alchemy through her own difficult divorce, an experience that now informs her grounded, practical approach to supporting others through major life transitions.

Alongside her coaching work, Clare is a seasoned business coach and operations specialist, working with founders and leadership teams to turn ambition into traction through clearer strategy, stronger operations, and sustainable growth. She works with selected businesses across the UK and Europe and is proud to be part of the Sara Davison Operations team.
Clare has grown, built, and supported businesses through periods of change, including due diligence processes and business exits. Known for her calm, no-drama style, she guides teams through complexity with clarity and focus. An Aston Help to Grow alumna, she facilitates the Help to Grow Business Management programme at Aston University and is an active mentor within multiple university business incubator programmes. She also speaks regularly at mentoring, entrepreneurship, and Women in Business events.

In addition, Clare is a Trustee of a Wolverhampton-based charity providing professional services to support local people into employment and self-employment.
Meet Rhonda

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.

Drawing on this extensive professional background, she works with clients to balance career demands, parenting responsibilities, and personal growth after separation or divorce. Known for her empathetic and practical approach, she tailors guidance to each individual, helping clients build confidence, clarity, and resilience during difficult times.
 
She believes every transition presents an opportunity for transformation. By combining insight, encouragement, and actionable strategies, she guides clients through each stage of the process, enabling them to navigate change with strength and self-assurance. Her goal is to empower individuals to move forward with purpose, reclaim their sense of agency, and embrace the next chapter of life with confidence.
Celia Donne
Meet Rhonda
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