Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
By Jasmine Browley
Dr. Sonja Stribling said she was left emotionally and financially bankrupt after her divorce from her husband in 2014.
After 18 years of marriage, the pair parted ways, making her a single mother of three and terrified of what was to come. The timing couldn’t have been more pivotal because she was also retiring from the military simultaneously after 21 years of service.
“I was incredibly depressed and so lost,” Stribling shared with Essence. But she said her military training wouldn’t allow her to rest in that space, so she decided to pivot.
“I made a shift when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, so I went to school, got a PhD in clinical counseling, thinking that was going to help me do more,” she shared.
Soon after becoming a clinical counselor, she began to heal from the painful divorce and realized she wanted to help other women do the same.
“I made a decision to venture into divorce coaching, which was incredibly fulfilling but I started seeing that my clients needed a boost in their professional lives as well but lacked the confidence to take their career to the next level while reeling from their personal challenges.”
Much like her clients, surprisingly Stribling had to admit to herself that she doubted her ability to reach financial success without a marital partner by her side.
