You keep saying you’re fine.

Six Sundays in the circle, for the woman who is holding it all together on the outside and quietly wondering where she went.

You are the one everyone counts on. You answer the texts, you keep the calendar, you show up, and you show up well.

Lately you have started to notice that showing up well and feeling well are not the same thing.

That gap has a name. It is called the Quiet Fracture™, and it is not the same as burnout. Burnout is the exhaustion. The Quiet Fracture is the slow drift underneath it, the space that opens when what is expected of you keeps overriding what is true for you.

You have not lost yourself. You have drifted. Those are different, and the difference is the whole point of these six weeks.

What the six weeks are

The Wild Grace Book and Barn Series is an experiential book club held at Sunflower Ranch. Twelve women, six horses, eighteen in the circle.

We read one book together, specific chapters at a time, and each week we carry what is on the page out to the herd. The book gives you the language. The women give you support. The horse gives you the practice. A horse will show you in ninety seconds what a couple of chapters are trying to say.

• You do not need any horse experience.
• All of the work is done on the ground.
• You do not need to read a word before you arrive, the readings are paced week by week, and nobody reads ahead.
• You just have to be a little tired of pretending you are fine.

The horses have something to say

Nobody is made to work here, and that includes the horses.

The horses are not tools and they are not props. They are participants. If a horse walks away from you, she is allowed to, and she has just told you something you could not have learned any other way. It is the best part of these afternoons, and you will understand that the first time it happens to you.

How it unfolds

• Week one is arrival. You meet the herd, you meet up to eleven other women, and you leave with your first reading assignment. No book, no pressure, just the circle and the horses and the start of something.
• Weeks two through six, you come having read that week’s chapters, we talk them through in the circle, and then we take them out to the horses. Each week builds on the one before it. By the last Sunday you will have walked something all the way through, and you will know exactly where you were standing when you started.
• During the week you can find your assignments and support in the online Round Pen

The book

We are reading Burnout, The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski. Your copy is included in your registration and will be available on day one. You do not need to start it before we begin. In fact, please don’t. We read it together as I assign it, a few chapters a week, so the book and the work stay in step. 

The details

Sunflower Ranch

16604 County Road 11 SE, Big Lake, MN
Emergency contact: Shawn Paul 612-429-1186

Six Sundays

• Sunday, August 2nd 1:00 - 3:00 pm
• Sunday, August 9th 1:00 - 3:00 pm
• Sunday, August 16th 1:00 - 3:00 pm
• Sunday, August 23rd 1:00 - 3:00 pm
• Sunday, August 30th 1:00 - 3:00 pm
• We will not meet during Labor Day weekend
• Sunday, September 13th 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Twelve women

That is the whole herd. When the twelve seats are gone, they are gone. I will have a waiting list for the next time I offer Track One.

What to bring

• Closed toe boots
• yourself
• Water and light snacks are on me

Facilitated by

Shawn Marie Paul, founder of Wild Grace and creator of The Quiet Fracture.

This is for you if

• You are the capable one, the reliable one, the one who has it handled.
• You are good at your life and are quietly unsure it is still yours.
• The tired does not lift on the weekend.
• You have started to answer, "How are you?" with "fine" before the question is even finished.

This is not therapy and it is not a fix. It is six Sundays, a good book, a circle of women who know exactly what you mean, and a herd of horses who will tell you the truth. This is your way back from The Quiet Fracture.

Your facilitator

I am Shawn Marie Paul. I founded Wild Grace and I named the thing I kept seeing in high-capacity women, and in myself, the Quiet Fracture. I am a trauma-informed, certified women-centered master life & leadership coach with over 20 years in trauma advocacy. I am EAL certified and I run this work from Sunflower Ranch in Big Lake, Minnesota, alongside a herd who have taught me more than any training ever did. I am not a therapist and this is not therapy. However, interacting with the horses is very therapeutic.

As many of you have experienced, I found myself over-giving and overriding my needs and wants until I didn't recognize myself anymore. I wasn't living the life I created. I was physically in the room but mentally checked out.

One day I looked around and said, "I need to go home" and I meant it literally and figuratively. I spent the next two years sitting and processing with my horses. Cass was the first to meet me and he helped pull me back into my body. You will understand what this means, trust me. Then Brady took it from there. 

As my heart horse, he taught me how to get out of my head and into my heart and body. He taught me what it means to be present and while I lost him in October, he was the guiding force behind Wild Grace. He is with us in this work and rejoices when he sees our center reignite. Again, you will understand.

I miss him tremendously, and it is hard to do this work without him, but I keep going because this was his gift to me and he expects me to share it with the world. Welcome to our little slice of heaven.

The invitation

Twelve seats. Six Sundays. One herd.

If you have read this far, some part of you already knows. You do not have to arrive certain. You just have to arrive. Once the spaces are filled, the waiting list is the next stop. Reserve your spot today.  

Questions

Do I need experience with horses?

No. None. All of the work is on the ground, and you will be shown everything you need.

What if I am afraid of horses?

My horses meet you where you are and so do I. You have autonomy here. You have support here. You can do this and we will help you work through the fear on a level that you can handle.

Do I have to read the book first?

No. Please don’t. We read it at the same time, a few chapters a week, so the reading and the work stay in step. If you have read the book before, that is ok. The experiential aspect will take it to another level.

What if I have never done anything like this?

Then you are in exactly the right place. Most of the women in the circle are in the same boat, and the horses do not care how new you are.

Is this therapy?

No. It is a book club with horses to show us the deeper meaning of what we read, led with care. It is not a substitute for mental health treatment, and if something surfaces that calls for more support, I will help you find it. With that said, I am trauma-aware and certified as a Master Coach with over 15 years' experience in crisis advocacy, so I can handle what may come up but will not try to be your therapist.

What if I miss a week?

Life happens, and one missed Sunday will not undo the work. Read that week’s chapters on your own and come back the following week. You will pick the thread right back up, and I will catch you up on anything you need before we begin. Because the seats are limited and each afternoon is built for the specific women in the circle, sessions are not refundable and cannot be rescheduled, but your place is always held for the Sundays that remain.

You will be getting an email with the required paperwork.  Please watch for this and complete it before July 30th. You won't be able to participate without it completed.