There is that in-between space that nobody really prepares you for. The one where your old life no longer fits, but the new one has not fully taken shape yet. Where you are holding responsibility in one hand and possibility in the other, not sure which to trust. This episode is for anyone who has ever lived quietly in that space and wondered if they were the only one.
Author and memoir writer Karina, known by her pen name K.K. Biernath, joins The Mindful Journey for a deeply honest conversation about leaving a career she loved to care for her children with special needs, the guilt of no longer being a financial contributor, and how writing became her way back to herself. Her book, Karina: One Woman's Journey from Fear to Freedom, began not as a plan but as a single two-hour session in her she-shed after an argument. What emerged from that quiet act of writing was a path, a voice, and eventually, a whole new chapter of her life.
About the Guest:
K.K. Biernath is a Polish-born author, yoga practitioner, and storyteller based in Pennsylvania. She moved to the United States in 1999 and spent years building a career in the corporate world before stepping away to become a full-time caregiver for her children, one of whom has cerebral palsy. Her debut memoir, Karina: One Woman's Journey from Fear to Freedom, was published after three years of writing and is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Audible. She hosts regular in-person reader events in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region.
Key Takeaways:
- Transitions are rarely dramatic. Karina spent three years building the courage to leave her job. Real change is usually slow, unglamorous, and full of doubt before it becomes clear.
- Guilt can become the loudest voice in the room. For Karina, the hardest part of stepping away from work was not losing identity but losing the feeling of financial contribution. That guilt kept her from doing even small things for herself, like going to a yoga class, for over a year.
- Writing as a spiritual practice. Karina did not sit down to write a book. She sat down because she was in distress. Writing brought her clarity when nothing else could, and that experience taught her what her truest form of expression actually was.
- Your body speaks before your mind catches up. Years before Karina consciously made any change, physical illness was telling her something needed to shift. Learning to listen to that signal is part of the journey she describes in her memoir.
- Growth and transformation are gradual, not sudden. Even something as small as letting go of the habit of wearing makeup took Karina a full year. That is what honest transformation actually looks like.
- We are the creators of our own lives. Karina's closing message is also her tagline: create your life with love and kindness, beginning with yourself.
Connect With K.K. Biernath:
Website: https://kkbiernath.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kkbiernath/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kkbiernath/
Book on Amazon: Karina: One Woman's Journey from Fear to Freedom Book on Barnes and Noble: also available Audiobook on Audible: also available
Episode Chapters:
[00:00] The In-Between Space: When your old life no longer fits and the new one has not arrived yet
[10:49] Why She Left: A career she loved, a child with cerebral palsy, and three years of gathering courage
[20:08] The Guilt Nobody Names: Not losing identity but losing the feeling of contributing
[24:50] Writing as Homecoming: How a two-hour session in the she-shed became a book [31:20] Passion Finding Its Shape: How writing led to yoga and yoga deepened the writing [36:30] Peeling Back the Layers: On makeup, the corporate mask, and the year it took to take it off
[39:33] Create Your Life: Karina's message to anyone still living in the in-between
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