I can Help you Birth your Project.

Is there something important you want to do in 2026?

Have you already decided it’s not gonna happen, that the conditions aren’t right, that you don’t have what it takes?

FUCK THAT!

I’m Sarah Shourd, Somatic Coach and Narrative Change Leader—through Somatic Coaching I can hold you to your potential, and steward your work from dream to completion.

I’m a natural finisher. At 47, I’ve never had a boss, yet I’ve lived comfortably, traveled the world, and always gotten paid. I’ve created and produced large-scale, award-winning, socially relevant art—theater, film, books, journalism, and podcasting—and had significant impact. Consistency, structure, and follow-through are not just second nature—they’re part of my spiritual practice. That’s why I’ve never started a project that didn’t end in success.

Journalists, writers, artists, and change-makers: Is there a creative, professional, or activist project you’re longing to complete?

Through weekly somatic coaching sessions (online or in person in my office in Oakland, CA), we’ll work with the wisdom of your body and the cycles of your nervous system without shame or force—cultivating a positive, dynamic tension that is both challenging and non-judgmental, understanding yet firm.

“Sarah is a badass accomplice in your creative endeavors. She is deeply empathic, nonjudgmental, encouraging, and highly experienced with birthing sacred work into the world.”– Hallie Swan, Client

Let me help you birth your project. Let’s bring your unique offering—something beautiful, necessary, and powerful—into the world where it belongs.

In Community,

Sarah Shourd

Narrative Change Leader

Actualized Women Somatic Coaching

WHO AM I?

Sarah Shourd | Somatic Coach, Narrative Change Leader & Social Justice Advocate

Sarah Shourd is an award-winning journalist, playwright, author, producer, and somatic practitioner. She is the founder of The End of Isolation Project, a nonprofit using storytelling, theater, and film to reimagine justice outside prisons and elevate communities in resistance to mass incarceration.

In 2009, Sarah was captured near the Iran-Iraq border and held in solitary confinement for 410 days, an experience that became the catalyst for her life’s work in trauma transformation, collective healing, and justice.

Over the past 15+ years, Sarah has:

• Authored three books, including her memoir A Sliver of Light.

• Written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and more.

• Won multiple journalism awards and a Stanford John S. Knight Fellowship.

• Produced and co-directed The End of Isolation Film and subsequent national theater tour.

• Helped pass legislation to end solitary confinement for children in California.

• Raised over $1 million for art and storytelling projects that reimagine justice.

• Served as a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and embodiment coach, guiding leaders and activists through trauma healing and embodied leadership.

Sarah combines trauma-informed storytelling, somatic practice, and social justice movement strategy to support individuals and organizations in transforming trauma into action, resilience, and systemic change.