top of page
Search

April 2026 - Endings, beginnings, Barbie, and the room that changes everything.

Graduating, gathering, and what's coming next.


April, then.


I’m finding these monthly reflections genuinely useful. I do things and then completely forget them, simply moving on to the next thing. So taking a pause - actually looking back at what happened - turns out it’s really flipping useful.


Here’s what happened.


This month, I finished two things I have been building for a very long time.


The first-ever public Rise Above cohort - 28 women, seven months, one complete R.I.S.E. A.B.O.V.E. journey - came to a close. I want to say something simple and adequate about what that was like. I don’t have the words yet.


What I can tell you is that women left that cohort in different jobs, different relationships, with different relationships to themselves. The data show that 19 of 22 reduced their Good Girl conditioning scores. The stories will tell you something the data can’t. Keep an eye out for these.


And Elevate, the corporate version of Rise Above, twelve women at AND-E, also completed.


That’s our first-ever corporate cohort. Done. Graduated. A 44% average reduction in conditioning scores and 100% saying they’d recommend it.


Two firsts. In the same month. I sat with that for a while. Basking in the brilliance of all these women.


This is how the public Rise Above participants described the programme…



I wrote about Barbie. Again. Still crying.


If you haven’t read my blog about watching that film the same day I handed my manuscript to my publisher - the Gloria speech, Billie Eilish asking what was I made for, the full-body recognition that this is exactly what I’m here to do - read it here.


Some things you feel before you understand them. That was one of those things.


I also got angry. Productively. In public.


Because this month, I watched certain very powerful people try to frame women meeting together as a threat. A discrimination case. Something to be stopped.


And I had some thoughts about that.



The short version: if women's gatherings were actually powerless, nobody would bother trying to stop them. The fact that they’re trying tells you everything.


April also brought the Elevate Impact Report into the world - the data from our first corporate cohort, written up properly, sent to organisations that need to see it. We have been submitting it for awards too, because we should, and because the evidence is extraordinary and deserves to be seen.


We also found out that we’d been shortlisted for The Training and Development Award at The British Insurance Awards. I may have done a little squeal of joy when I found this out!


And then there were the Sovereign Mirror ceremonies.


The final sessions of both Rise Above programmes. We ran it across online calls to reach women in the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and the US. Each woman reflecting back to the group what they see - not the conditioned version, the real one.


I’m not going to try to describe it. You either know what that kind of thing does to a room, or you’ll find out when you’re ready.


There were tears of joy.


And then there was the day I went to AND-E and made myself largely redundant.


Pamela Avornyo, Head of OD, world’s first certified Good Girl Deprogrammer™, launched the second corporate Rise Above cohort this week. I was there. Backup. Safety net. Mostly unnecessary. Absolutely delighted about it.


Pam didn’t just come through cohort one as a participant. She came as a co-creator. The plan was always for her to own this completely. So for the last twelve months, I’ve been working to replace myself.


Yesterday was the proof that it worked.


When I asked her what this work means to her, she said:

“Education and the opportunity to learn are the greatest gifts you can give someone. Knowing that you’ve contributed towards a fairer, more equitable society where everyone is valued for who they are and what they bring, that’s a beautiful thing. A thing you cannot place a value on.”


She’s not wrong.


Congratulations, Pam. You are flipping epic.


Our Community Alchemist


When you build a community, you need someone who understands what community actually means. Not just the logistics. The human bit. The making-other-women-feel-seen bit.


I found that person in Rise Above.


Rachel Way has just completed Cohort 1 - and she’s now joining me as Community Alchemist for the Good Girl Deprogramming Community. Her Rise Above sisters said it best:


“You are the beating heart of this whole process.”


“Shine - Rachel is beginning to stand in the light after being stuck in the shadow of others for too long. And by God, does she shimmer.”


The community is open. Rachel is in there. If you’ve been thinking about joining, this is another very good reason.


I joined Jelani Gonzalez on his Behind the Story podcast, and we got straight into it.

Good Girl conditioning. Workplace identity. What it actually takes to lead without losing yourself.It's a good one. You can catch it here.






What’s coming in May:


The read-along - a 12-week guided journey through the book, together, in community. If you’ve been meaning to properly work through it, this is the format it was built for.

Starts 6th May. Join us.


The September Rise Above cohort. We’re aiming for 100 women. If you know someone who needs this, please send them to me. I will be scheduling in some webinars to tell you about all of this soon - so watch this space.


The Retreat. October. North East England. Fifteen women. Five places left. Details here.

And more from my Love, Sex and Relationship Coaching training. Because the homework isn’t going to do itself.


Sooooo much homework… 😬😂


Big love,

Mx



 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page