I’m Joanne, and in December 2021, I left my ten-year career as a dentist.

I had savings in the bank, a back that ached from the time I creaked out of bed in the morning to the time I eased myself onto my mattress at night, and a desire to be there for my mom as she battled it out with ALS.

My intention was to amp up my side gig as a launch copywriter, but that didn’t happen because, well, it didn’t feel that important to me as my mom’s illness unfolded.

Instead, I helped my mom finish building an accessible home (which, sadly, she lived in for less than a week before she died), planned and executed my first house flip with my contractor husband, and finally made my physical health a priority.

When my healthy-except-for-ALS mom died at 68, less than a year after my step back from dentistry, it put the uncertainty of my own longevity into focus. None of us is guaranteed to make it to 80, 70, or even through tomorrow, and I saw clearly the irony of contorting myself into uncomfortable positions to care for my patients while ignoring my own physical health, so my hiatus from dentistry became more permanent.

“The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be,” wrote Joseph Campbell. Yet, not having a career has stripped built-in meaning from my life, which is uncomfortable. At the same time, being jobless means I have the freedom to explore what’s meaningful to me, so I’m choosing to view my current status as an opportunity. And I hope it involves reading a lot of fiction, traveling to beautiful places with my family, and doing everything from becoming fluent in French to running a 10k.

Whether you’re currently growing your business, ripening your career expertise, or already on hiatus, I hope you join my adventures and find a corner for your heart and dreams here.

- Jo