In October of 2023 I was laid off. It was not fun. On the outside it was my dream job, but on the inside the burnout had gotten so intense. I was no longer taking care of myself, I was exhausted, and I needed a push from the universe to get me off the “right path.” The path we are all told that we are supposed to follow.
For the first time in my life I was sitting still. I had no plan. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. So naturally I went to the store to get myself a sketchbook and some new markers. (There isn’t anything that can’t be improved with some new office supplies right?) When I got home I sat down with my spoils and I opened the first page. In the middle of the page I wrote “Who am I?” You see, in all the hustle and bustle of being on the corporate ladder, I forget myself. Around the question written in dark grey ink, I wrote my answers in a sea of colors. Then I flipped to the next page, and wrote “Who do I want to be?” in dark grey, and added my answers with colors.
I asked myself a few new questions a day for days, after about a week I found myself sitting with one of my best friends and she asked me, “What are you curious about?” I dramatically sighed and said, “Curious? I don’t have time to be curious! I’m exhausted!” She raised an eyebrow at me, “Hannah, you’re one of the most curious people I know, if you don’t have time to be curious that’s the problem right there.” I had to admit, begrudgingly, that she was correct. So while she headed to work, I headed to a coffee shop to contemplate this new question. I sat in this coffee shop for an embarrassingly long time, and I was proud to say I came up with 6 things.
1. Non-alcoholic beverages
2. Energy healing
3. Personal finance
4. Professional development for women
5. Helping people live healthy lives
6. Rental property
I had no idea what to do with this, but the one thing that did resonate with me was curiosity. Curiosity became the portal through which my life changed.
I decided that this would be a growth period for me, I would spend my time learning and being curious, I would spend time moving slowly while I learned to heal myself from the burnout that had so depleted me. So I started listening to audiobooks, I soaked up Eat, Pray, Love and I thrived on Big Magic. I started the Artist’s Way Creative Journey, and for the first time in my life had consistent journaling and creative practice. I started taking classes on writing, intuition, and yoga. I remember at one point during this time my Mom asked, “How are you going to fit all of these new hobbies in when you go back to work?” and I said “I have no idea, I just know that I’ve never felt better so I’m going to have to find a way.”
I’ll admit between Eat, Pray Love and the Artist’s Way I felt like there was so much more I could discover and heal within myself if I was a bit more guided, rather than just continuing this journey on my own. So I decided to go on a retreat. I found one that came highly recommended for helping people change their perspectives and their lives, it was a silent meditation retreat in Yorkshire, England. A laughable premise for someone who had consistently been scolded all of her life for never shutting up.
Four weeks later I was handing over my devices and vowing to stay silent for an entire week. I can’t even begin to explain the healing or the growth that I experienced that week. I can tell you that it changed everything. I found myself. I healed parts of myself I previously wasn’t willing to admit were broken. I got comfortable with silence. I reacquainted myself with feeling my feelings. I embraced the digital detox. I enjoyed the time to deepen my own thoughts. I identified my values. Courage. Connection. Integrity. Authenticity. Pleasure. Expansion. I figured out how to live a meaningful life. I identified my why. It was magic.
I came home a much different version of myself. One who wanted to make the world a better place. One who wasn’t afraid of the bold moves that I wanted to make. One who wanted to bring the community that I just experienced abroad home to Boston. One who wanted to do something different, totally off the corporate path.
When I returned home I started to see the threads of how I could build something that I so desperately wanted to exist. The truth is Presence&Co is a culmination of all the things that I so deeply care about. It’s not exactly like any other business models. Digital Detox spaces aren’t that common. Alcohol-free spaces aren’t that common. Third places to be in community aren’t that common. Places focused on health literacy aren’t that common. Yet all of these things matter to me deeply. After a decade in traditional healthcare I knew I wanted to help people live their healthiest lives in a totally different way, from outside of the healthcare system.
I pitched this idea to my parents and asked them “Is this fucking crazy?” and my dad responded “It’s not fucking crazy, maybe just a little crazy, but I think you can do it.” So I decided that was all the permission I needed. I found a business coach with a similar enough business in Rhode Island and I started looking for spaces, I started talking about adult loneliness, and I started telling people I was building a well-being focused social club.
It took wayyy longer than I wanted it to, and I was about to give up when I finally found the perfect space in February of 2025. After weeks of contracts, I finally got the keys on March 15, 2025, and got to work! Luckily the work was cosmetic and not structural. We got our occupancy permit on May 1st, just in time for our first office rental tenant to move in, and we held our Grand Opening on June 16, 2025 where we welcomed over 80 attendees into the space.
Since opening the space we have had so many amazing events that have gathered people in genuine human connection to build community, and honestly it feels even better than I imagined it would. There is so much laughter! So much fun! So much curiosity! It’s been amazing. I am so grateful to be able to do this important work and build this community. If you can relate to any part of my story I would love to meet you and have you visit us at Presence&Co in Reading, MA.
Conclusion
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