Kathleen's Story | Kathleen Fox Redmond

MY PERSONAL STORY

Childhood Formations

I hold deep affection for the little girl I once was ~ the seventh of eight children in a large Irish Catholic family. I was playful, kind, and emotionally sensitive, shaped by the lively energy of my home and family life. Summers spent in the Adirondack Mountains remain some of my most cherished memories ~ carefree days in nature that nurtured my spirit and became lasting influences in my life.

Being the little sister among five brothers, along with the cultural teachings of the time ~ especially those from Catholicism ~ and the social upheaval of the 1960s, profoundly shaped my early understanding of myself and the world. My parents modeled kindness, hospitality, faith, and integrity, instilling in me values that continue to guide my life. Yet, alongside these gifts, I also absorbed the unspoken messages from family, church, and society that told me I was somehow both not enough and too much.

As an emotionally sensitive child, I carried the weight of doubt ~ questioning my worth and my belonging within my family, who valued intelligence over emotion. My response was to become the “good girl” ~ trying desperately to get everything right, avoid mistakes, and fit in. This often meant taking on the pain and fear of others, hoping that in doing so, I would receive the love and acceptance I longed for. Like so many in my generation, I learned to equate love with pleasing others, adapting to their expectations while silencing my own needs.

All part of the foundation and unfolding of the divine design of my life.

My Planned Path (aka...Make a plan and God laughs)

My adulthood followed a fairly traditional path ~ college, a career in education, marriage, motherhood, and eventually homeownership. These were all beautiful aspects of my life, milestones that I believed would secure my happiness, well-being, and sense of worth. Yet, beneath it all, I carried the perceptions, memories, and wounds of childhood, shaping the unconscious stories I told myself about who I was and what my life should be.

For much of my adult life, I felt the need to strive for more, to fill an internal void I couldn’t quite name. The story I had created about being the seventh child, the little sister, made it easy to play small—to build a life that felt planned, contained, and safe. And yet, something within me stirred—a force that would not be confined by the comfort of certainty (perhaps my Aries energy at work). My deep curiosity about spirituality and metaphysics became my portal to expansion. I devoured every book I could find, each one offering me new perspectives on myself, the world, and the deeper meaning of life.

My career in education was primarily in girls’ schools, where I spent years immersed in the growth and development of young women. After nearly a decade at one school, I accepted an unexpected role as Dean of Students at a larger institution ~ an opportunity that stretched me beyond my perceived limitations. The leadership and responsibility required in this role forced me to confront the inner conflict between my desire to stay small and my deeper calling to step into my strengths. During this time, I became involved in a research study, 21st Century Athenas: Aligning Achievement and Wellbeing (Liang & Spencer, 2013), which examined the relationship between achievement, stress, and well-being in adolescent girls. The study revealed a startling truth ~ nearly every student in these high-achieving environments struggled with deep-rooted feelings of not being enough ~ not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, thin enough, talented enough.

This finding shook me to my core. These were extraordinary young women, yet they were burdened by the same unworthiness that had subtly shaped my own life. What could be more essential to our well-being than a deep, unshakable knowing of our innate worth?

Little did I realize at the time that this study was not just about the girls I worked with ~ it was also a mirror, reflecting back to me the inner work I had yet to do. It was a turning point, a shift in the trajectory of my life.

All part of the divine unfolding of my journey.

Dismantling and Awakening

Much like the students in the study, I realized that my achievements were not aligned with my well-being. The accumulated stress had begun to take a toll, manifesting in troubling health concerns that forced me to pay attention. My eyes opened to the ways I had sacrificed my own self-care in service to others, a pattern deeply ingrained in me. But fear has a way of demanding change. For the first time, I chose myself and my needs ~not in a tentative way, but with a newfound strength, despite the objections and expectations of others.

One of the first bold steps was leaving my high-stress job ~ a decision I made in hopes of slowing down and making space for the work and passions that had long been calling me. But what began as an intentional shift soon became something far greater. It set off a domino effect, culminating in what I would later call a “perfect storm” ~ a confluence of upheaval that dismantled the very foundation of the life I had carefully built. Just as I was preparing to navigate the changes I had anticipated, life delivered unexpected blows ~a divorce and the painful loss of family ties after a long marriage. What had felt like an exciting new adventure suddenly turned into an overwhelming tsunami, threatening to pull me under. I had thought I was ready to ride the wave of transformation, but this was something far greater than I had imagined.

Was there a greater purpose to all this loss and dismantling? Or was I being punished for past mistakes ~ an old, deeply ingrained belief from my Catholic upbringing? This storm unearthed buried layers of unworthiness I hadn’t realized were still there, shaking my confidence and clouding my vision of the next chapter.

Who was I without the roles that had defined me for so long?
What was my worth and identity if I was no longer filling my life with doing?

Everything I had believed to be solid ~ my work, my home, my identity ~ was gone. I found myself in the depths of a true dark night of the soul, where even the grief I had carried for my mother, who had passed years before, surged forward with greater intensity. She had been one of my anchors, and without her, I felt even more untethered.

At the time, I could not yet fully see the gift hidden within the wreckage. I did not realize that this dismantling was not a punishment ~ it was a catalyst. What felt like losing everything was, in truth, an invitation. It was the unbecoming of what no longer served me ~a necessary shedding, making way for awakening, new perspectives, and the becoming of who I was truly meant to be.

Photo by Suzanna March

The ongoing research and teachings in positive psychology, neuroscience, spirituality, and quantum physics, along with groundbreaking studies on the power of the heart, fueled my excitement about the larger forces at play during this time of great awakening on our planet.

I could feel it ~ this was not just my journey; it was part of something far greater. Life was cracking me open, pushing me beyond the limits of who I had been, and though it was painful, I sensed that it was an essential part of my heroine’s journey. I didn’t have to figure it all out at once ~ I only had to take the next step, one moment at a time.

Through it all, I was not alone, although there were many days that this was my deepest fear. With each new revelation, I was realizing that I was part of something vast and beautiful, woven into the fabric of a collective transformation, guided by a universal field of Love. Signs of that love appeared in unexpected ways, including the arrival of my dog, Willow, at precisely the moment I needed her most. She was a gift ~ a companion and a reminder that I was being supported in ways beyond my understanding. Even in my hardest days, I felt something bigger holding me up.

Finding meaning in the pain, the messiness, and the awakening became my North Star. If I was meant to teach about Love, worthiness, and well-being, could it be that the universe, in its infinite wisdom, was calling me to first embody them at the deepest level? The unbecoming and the becoming, the breaking down and the healing, were all leading me home to myself.

All part of the unfolding of the divine design of my life.

Writing My Own Story

Every piece of my story has served a purpose, revealing the common threads that have woven together to bring me to where I am now. I have come to understand that I can shape my story, choosing how to see and interpret it with ongoing awareness and meaning. In the aftermath of my perfect storm, I envisioned myself rising like the phoenix ~ triumphant within a year, transformed by my hardships, ready to be a guiding light for other women. But life had a different plan ~ a wiser, more profound unfolding.

At the time, I unconsciously wanted to package my pain neatly, to navigate my struggles the "right" way, avoiding too much messiness while achieving the outcomes I thought I needed. But my journey has been anything but tidy ~ and thankfully so. I have learned that the messiness and the pain were never obstacles; they were the very gifts I needed to embrace. True healing, I discovered, is not linear but a spiral path, unfolding in layers, each one revealing itself at precisely the right moment ~ when we are ready.

Layers of healing my wounded inner child.
Layers of releasing ancestral and collective pain.

Layers of moving from my small, egoic self to my larger, soul Self.
Layers of awakening to my truth.

Over time, my approach to healing has shifted from trying to "fix" myself ~ to erase my perceived imperfections ~ to instead bringing deep self-love and compassion to every part of me and allow the unfolding. With this shift, I have learned to accept what is and to surrender ~ to higher wisdom, to uncertainty, to true safety, and to the faith that I am guided and held in love. My aligned connections with my true self, with others, and with divine energy have been essential. When I am aligned, life flows with greater ease, clarity, and grace. When I fall out of alignment, I feel the tension of my mind and thoughts ~disjointed, anxious, doubtful. Learning to recognize this, and realign with love and the light within has been one of my greatest lessons.

A transformative and helpful part of this journey has been practicing Heart Integrity, a practice that came to me as an intuitive insight years ago, and has continued to evolve ever since. This practice has been foundational to my own growth, self-love, and well-being, and it has strengthened my mission with women. It is a powerful tool for personal and collective transformation, and I feel called to share it so others may experience its impact on their own journeys. I deeply believe that when women awaken to the heart of who we are and when we live in deeper alignment with our truth, we are able to respond to the challenges of our daily lives with more compassion, ease, and grace ~not only transforming ourselves, but expanding our light and making a difference to those around us.

We are each learning to be an authentic "me" within a connected "we." This is our purpose and why we are here.

A few weeks after my mother passed, while out jogging, I had a vivid image of her in front of me, passing back a baton ~ like in a relay race. I knew, in that moment, that she was entrusting me to continue the journey she had begun. In her later years, I had watched her step more fully into her worthiness, wisdom, and authentic self, sharing her light in profound ways. Now, it was my turn to carry that light forward ~ with her still by my side every day ~ until, one day, I could pass the baton to my daughter as well.

Generational healing ~ breaking old, outdated ancestral patterns ~ is a vital part of the work we are all called to do. Carolyn Myss teaches that we can either “pass down wisdom or suffering.” Suffering is what lingers when we refuse to face our pain, when we silence the wisdom of our souls. My mission is clear: to help transform suffering into wisdom, to illuminate the truth that each of us is more than enough, and to remind women that their light is so deeply needed ~ both in their own lives and in the world.

I am profoundly grateful for the entirety of my story ~for every challenge, every lesson, every breakthrough. And I am equally grateful for the chapters still left to write.

All part of the unfolding of the divine design of my life.

MY PROFESSIONAL STORY

My work is a dynamic integration of education, spirituality, energy healing, guiding, consulting, and personal and collective transformation. With a deep commitment to women's well-being and integrity, I create spaces where awareness, healing, and growth flourish.

For over twenty-five years, I worked in girls’ private schools as a teacher, campus minister, dean of students, and consultant. My passion was supporting the well-being of young women and helping them navigate the intense pressures of achievement, external expectations, and self-worth. I was honored to contribute to the research study, 21st Century Athenas: Aligning Achievement and Well-Being (Liang & Spencer, 2013), which revealed the profound impact of stress on young women’s confidence, relationships, and sense of self. The findings affirmed what I had long observed: the belief in unworthiness ~ though often unspoken ~ is at the root of much of our stress, struggle, and suffering.

Motivated to explore solutions, I initiated Moment to Be, a six-week faculty experiment integrating intentional silence and breathwork at the start of each class. This simple yet powerful practice affirmed the transformative impact of slowing down and tuning inward. It deepened my conviction that reconnecting with the heart is essential to healing, self-awareness, and authentic well-being.

Since transitioning from schools, I have expanded my work to support women in one-on-one and group settings, guiding them in awakening to their own worth, wisdom, and wholeness. My approach blends education, coaching, energy medicine, and spiritual mentoring, offering a holistic pathway to personal transformation. I hold space for women to deepen their self-awareness, release limiting patterns, and embody greater alignment, integrity, and empowerment.

I am the creator of Heart Integrity, a practice designed to help women reclaim their authentic selves through identity, intention, and integration. This transformative approach offers a pathway home ~ one that relieves disconnection, stress, and suffering while enhancing resilience, growth, and true well-being.

Alongside my strong background in education, I hold an MA in Pastoral Ministry and certifications as an Energy Medicine Practitioner, Reiki I & II practitioner, and spiritual coach. As a natural connector and lifelong learner, I weave together education, spirituality, science, and personal experience to create safe, compassionate, and inspiring spaces for women’s transformation and healing.

At my core, I am passionate about awakening the heart of women ~ the courageous, vulnerable, intuitive, compassionate, fiery, and creative essence that has the power to transform not only our personal lives but the world itself.

CONTACT

I DO THIS WORK ...

Because I passionately believe in awakening the hearts of women ~ so that they may fully experience their worth, wisdom, and light and step into a new way of living.
To embrace my inner child, whom I have not always treasured, protected, or loved as she deserved. It is my ongoing practice to be the wise and loving parent she has always needed, honoring the innocence within my heart and aligning with her in wholeness.
To honor my mother, one of my most formative teachers and role models. In her passing, she handed me the baton ~ to continue the ancestral healing she began and to carry forward her legacy of being a force of Love in the world.
To exemplify courage to my amazing and wise daughter, to whom I unknowingly reflected old beliefs of unworthiness and self-judgment. My hope is that, together as adult women, we continue to uncover, embrace, and embody our profound value, beauty, strength, and light.
In gratitude for my two grandsons ~ one of whom was born with a congenital heart disorder, his heart quite literally open to the world. Perhaps this, too, is part of the divine unfolding of my life. They have opened my own heart in ways I never imagined, reminding me of the innocence and playfulness within me and reflecting back the brilliance of love and joy.
As a testimony to my siblings, who have been some of my greatest teachers and challengers ~ guiding me, in their own way, to step into my authentic self.
In deep appreciation for the many girls and women who have graced my life and continue to do so. For all they have taught me, for the love they have shared, I am forever grateful. May they always know their truth, their divinity, and their power. May they dare to be their authentic selves, luminous beacons of love and transformation in this challenging, yet profoundly beautiful, world.

Photo by Genevieve Babineau