An Inspired Chat with Lisa Happ

We recently had the chance to connect with Lisa Happ and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
Honestly? I’m most proud of living a life no one saw coming.

I’ve had to rebuild everything more than once.

After divorce.

After losing my son.

After leaving an abusive relationship.

Each time, it took a kind of bravery I didn’t know I had, the kind that whispers “get yup”

Honestly? I’m most proud of living a life no one saw coming. 🤍

I’ve had to rebuild everything more than once.

After divorce.

After losing my son.

After leaving an abusive relationship.

Each time, it took a kind of bravery and raw determination I didn’t know I had, the kind that whispers “get up” when no one else is cheering you on. When no one truly knows what you going through

What I’m most proud of isn’t the business, the travel, or the success.

It’s the quiet moments no one saw.

The nights I sat alone, choosing not to give up.

The mornings I was exhausted, my body shaking from depletion I showed up anyway..The way I turned pain into purpose and chaos into clarity.

Now, I get to wake up to a life that feels peaceful, passionate, and free.

I get to help others find that same sense of strength and calm in their own storms.

Every few years, I write a letter to my future self, and lately, I’ve been smiling reading them. Because I’ve created the exact life I once prayed for.

peace and laughter with my daughter

deep friendships

travel, wellness and adventure

meaningful work that never feels like work

That’s what I’m most proud of.

Rebuilding my life, again and again, and still finding joy in it.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Lisa Happ, a trauma-informed Certified Divorce Coach, Somatic Coach, and Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Coach. I help women (and the attorneys who support them) move from chaos to calm during high-conflict divorces and toxic relationship recovery.

My work is unique because it’s concierge-style coaching — high-touch, deeply personalized, and grounded in nervous system healing. My clients don’t just “book a session”; they have full access to strategy, emotional support, and a space to breathe again.

I’ve rebuilt my own life more than once, after divorce, after loss, after starting over, and that lived experience fuels everything I do. My clients trust me because I’ve been where they are, and I know the way through.

Right now, I’m expanding my practice in beautiful ways: hosting retreats, creating more spaces for healing and rebuilding, and bringing former clients who’ve done their own deep work into my team as new coaches.

Because healing isn’t a finish line, it’s a ripple effect.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that needs to be released is the one that believed I had to keep pushing to work harder, to do more, to hold it all together no matter how empty I felt.

For a long time, that part was trying to prove I was enough. It kept me striving, serving, giving to everyone else, even when it meant abandoning my own needs.

It served me once it helped me survive but it’s not who I am anymore.

Now I’m learning that rest doesn’t mean weakness. That slowing down, honoring my body, and choosing myself first isn’t selfish… it’s how I stay whole.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me how to breathe again.

For most of my life, I was the “good girl” the fixer, the helper, the one who made sure everyone else was okay. I never gave myself permission not to be okay. I wore the smile, carried the weight, and powered through.

But pain has a way of stripping away everything that isn’t real. It taught me that it’s safe to stop performing. That I don’t have to be perfect, productive, or endlessly giving to be worthy of peace.

It taught me to slow down. To receive. To protect my energy like it’s sacred — because it is.

I learned to be intentional about who I let in, and to stop expecting someone else to rescue me.

Suffering taught me what success never could:

that the real win is peace, boundaries, and self-trust.

Now, I no longer chase being “fine.” I choose being free.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
That the family law system needs a complete reset.

It’s outdated. It’s patriarchal. And it continues to retraumatize the very people it’s supposed to protect.

Victims of abuse especially emotional and psychological abuse are too often dismissed, misunderstood, or labeled “difficult.” The system mirrors the abuser’s playbook: minimize, gaslight, and discard.

I’m deeply committed to changing that.

Through somatic coaching and trauma-informed education, I’m working to help both clients and attorneys understand how trauma actually shows up in real time in courtrooms, negotiations, and daily decision-making.

Because until the legal system learns to recognize nervous system responses as human, not “hysterical,” we’ll keep failing the people who need protection most.

This work is long-game change. But I’m here for it all the way.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What will you regret not doing? 
When my son passed in 2020, everything about how I live shifted.

I stopped waiting for the “right time.” I stopped saying “someday.”

Life got very raw and real, very quickly and I realized how much of it I’d been saving for later.

Now, I live a life I truly love living. I travel. I laugh. I work in a way that feels meaningful. I make memories with my daughter. I say what I mean, and I love the people in my life out loud.

Losing my son taught me that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow — and that most of the things we worry about truly don’t matter.

So no, I don’t have space for regret.

Only for gratitude. And for living fully, while I’m here

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