I’m Laura.

I’ve lived through some things. Chronic pain. Loss. Emotional neglect. Divorce. Starting over. I’ve moved across the country and rebuilt a life from scratch three times, in three different states, in three different decades. I’ve learned how to sit with grief and pain and still show up.

I don’t claim perfection. What I care about is steadiness. Stability.

The Real Life Project grew out of a simple realization: Surviving is not the same thing as living. At some point, we get the chance to choose who we want to be beyond the crisis. That’s the work that interests me now.

I write about clarity. About capacity. About becoming more human, not more impressive.

I care about presence, agency, alignment, and the quiet rebellion of being mostly fine in a world that rewards spectacle.

Professionally, I’ve spent years in nonprofit work and public service, helping build systems that support real people with real lives. Personally, I’m a photographer, a reader, a music lover, a woman in her late fifties who is finally comfortable taking up space.

This space is not about “fixing” anything. It’s about offering permission to exist as you are — and grow from there.

Still here.
On purpose.