(APOLOGIES FOR THE HOST'S AUDIO. UNEXPECTED TECH ISSUES ON HIS MIC, BUT RAÏSSA'S AUDIO IS FINE.)

Raïssa refers to her childhood growing up as ‘the little fat girl with the unusual name.’ Although she was named after the wife of one of her mother’s favorite philosophers, Raïssa had a fairly normal Midwest upbringing, but she felt that her unusual name gave her a certain freedom to just be whatever she wanted to be because others already considered her odd.

Raïssa developed the creative introvert within and made her own happiness along the way. She used art and writing as her escape. After college, she made her way into the corporate world and spent years climbing that preverbal corporate ladder. But after that length of time, the corporate world started to drain her mental health.

She and her husband made the decision that it was ok to ‘retire’ early and step into her creative passions and step OFF that corporate ladder. Today she is an author, painter, and entrepreneur. Raïssa has redefined what life should look like for herself and is living her authentic self to this very day.

If you would like to connect with Raïssa, here is her information: www.linktr.ee/artfulbeing