Sara Jodoin · My Story
My story is not about staying strong. It is about coming home.
I’m Sara, coach, speaker, author of Journey Back to Self, and creator of The Return to Self Method.
For years, I knew how to keep going.
Learning to hear myself was a different journey.
The beginning
When strength became survival.
My story began in Portugal, amid family rejection and experiences of emotional and physical abuse. I grew up carrying shame and searching for somewhere I belonged.
Moving to Canada was an act of courage and self-rescue. But changing countries did not undo everything I had learned to survive.
I still tried to earn love by being strong, giving more, and asking for less.
The turning point
The moment everything stopped.
At 38, a near-death car accident left me with a fractured spine, a head injury, and other serious injuries.
Recovery meant rebuilding my body. It also meant questioning the identity I had built around carrying on, proving myself, and putting my needs aside.
What did I believe? What mattered to me? What kind of life did I want to rebuild?
The return
Learning to choose myself.
Movement, martial arts, yoga, reflection, and spiritual study became part of my recovery.
Gradually, I began listening differently: to my needs, my limits, and the voice I had so often dismissed.
At 43, I surpassed my pre-accident athletic records and achieved a top-10 finish in a Spartan competition. It was a meaningful personal milestone.
Equally important was learning that my worth did not depend on what I could endure.
The work today
Why I do this work.
Those experiences shaped The Return to Self Method and the way I support women today: with listening, compassion, honest reflection, and practical choices.
Your story does not have to resemble mine. You may simply recognise the feeling of being there for everyone else while losing touch with yourself.
Our work begins with you: what you need, what you want to understand, and what you are ready to choose differently.
Your next chapter