Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherry Samuels.
Sherry, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Thinking about where I started and where I am today is always an interesting walk down Memory Lane. There are so many things that quietly shaped how I moved through the world, and depending on the season of life I am in, some stand out more than others.
Today, my thoughts turn to one of the statements my mother regularly repeated to us as she raised two children on her own: “Children are to be seen and not heard.” Looking back, that early lesson was a double-edged sword.
As the child who stayed close to her mother’s side, I was regularly in rooms with adults talking about adult things. I sat quietly, listening to what was shared, watching body language, and sitting with my curiosity about the ins and outs of everything I saw and heard.
I believe this taught me how to hold space for people’s thoughts and feelings without rushing to fix, answer, or center myself. That capacity is still a meaningful part of who I am and how I show up in my work today.
On the other hand, I see how deeply I internalized the idea that my voice did not have value. That it was safer to fade into the background than to risk being too visible, too vocal, or too much. I did not have the words for it then, but I learned to disappear. I learned to silence myself in order to feel safe.
In my mid-to-late 20s and early 30s, I faced several difficult seasons that forced me to get honest about how disconnected I had become from my own voice. I did not always know how to name what I wanted or needed. I struggled to trust myself. I had become so practiced at listening outwardly that I had to relearn how to listen inwardly.
That healing process led me to therapy, coaching, and energy work that helped me begin reconnecting with the younger version of myself who learned silence was safety. It also helped me turn my quiet curiosity into a way to support others in their own growth.
Eventually, my coach encouraged me to explore a coaching certification program, not just to become a coach, but to deepen the self-growth work I had already begun. As I moved through that process, I realized that the very things I had spent years healing – reclaiming my voice, trusting myself, quieting old stories, and learning to live with more intention – were the same things I felt called to help other women navigate.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A smooth road? No. Not always.
There have been times when the effort to grow felt more daunting than the idea of staying the same. Along the way, I have had to walk away from relationships that once held deep meaning and value for me. I have dealt with people questioning my decisions. I have had ideas in business that fell flat. I have wrestled with fear, uncertainty, and the very human question of whether I was capable of building what I said I wanted.
That said, I am grateful for the shifting terrain. It has taught me to pay attention to myself, to set boundaries with others and with myself, and to honor the work I have done and continue to do. I have learned to pause, to remind myself how far I have come, and to trust that even in the most challenging seasons, I can find my way through.
The bumps have also created space for deeper compassion and empathy in my work with clients. I know what it feels like to question yourself, to feel stretched by change, and to wonder whether the next step is worth the risk. Because of that, I can often see and honor my clients’ humanity in ways they may not be able to access in the middle of their own transitions.
That ability to connect, listen, and hold space helps people feel seen and heard. And when people feel seen and heard, they are often better able to move their lives forward with more clarity, courage, and ease.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Chrysalid Coaching is rooted in the belief that growth does not require us to abandon ourselves. In fact, the most meaningful transformation often begins when we learn how to come back to ourselves with more honesty, compassion, and trust.
I support high-achieving women leaders and entrepreneurs who are navigating personal and professional transitions, redefining success, and/or realizing that the way they have been moving through life no longer feels sustainable or aligned. The women I work with are deeply capable, the ones others look to for answers, support, leadership, or steadiness. And still, beneath all of that capacity, they may be carrying self-doubt, decision fatigue, perfectionism, over-functioning, or the quiet ache of feeling disconnected from themselves. My work helps them slow down and learn how to listen inwardly again.
I specialize in mindset, self-trust, communication, leadership development, and personal transformation. Whether I am coaching one-on-one, facilitating a workshop, speaking to a group, or creating guided tools for reflection and growth, the heart of my work is helping people reconnect with their voice, strengthen inner trust, and make decisions that feel honest and aligned.
What makes Chrysalid Coaching unique is the combination of depth, warmth, and practical strategy. I am not interested in surface-level inspiration that feels good for a moment but does not create real movement. I care about helping people understand what is shaping their choices, where they may be silencing themselves, what stories they are ready to release, and what kind of support they need to move forward with more clarity and courage.
I am also known for seeing what others often miss, hearing both what is said and not. I listen for the thing beneath the thing – the quiet pattern, the unspoken hesitation, the place where someone’s words and truth may not yet be fully aligned. That ability to listen deeply and reflect honestly helps my clients feel seen, but it also helps them take meaningful action.
My coaching practice offers one-on-one coaching, leadership and personal & professional growth workshops & retreats, and guided self-reflection tools, including my journal, Permission to Feel: A 30-Day Guided Journal for Deep Self-Discovery.
When I think about my brand and what makes me proud, I think about how often we are taught to perform success or pushed to become some polished version of what others say we should be. Chrysalid Coaching is not that. My work centers the authentic human in front of me and focuses on helping people live, lead and choose from a place that feels authentic
If you are reading this, I want you to know that my work is for people who are ready to stop moving on autopilot and start listening to themselves again. It is for those who want their lives, leadership, relationships, and decisions to feel more aligned with who they really are and who they are becoming.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
As I sit here today, one of the things that makes me happiest is my great-niece. She is six years old and truly the light of our lives.
Raising her brings me a kind of joy and healing that is hard to fully put into words. She is curious and kind. She is smart and funny. She is confident in the most beautiful, unfiltered way. She reminds me that we are born believing we are capable, worthy, creative, and unstoppable, and that part of our work as adults is learning how to protect and return to that place within ourselves.
She makes me happy because she invites me to be present. To laugh more. To slow down. To see the world with fresh eyes. She reminds me that joy does not always have to be complicated. Sometimes it is found in a silly joke, a random dance break, a big question from a little person, or the privilege of being trusted to help shape a young life.
At 48, I can honestly say she is everything I aspire to be in so many ways: curious, expressive, honest, playful, and fully herself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chrysalidcoaching.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrysalidcoaching/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrysamuelslifeandleadershipcoach/
