Lena Fein spent most of her life doing everything right, while quietly leaving part of herself behind. It started at seven, when her mother read her private diary out loud and shamed her for it. In this episode, Lena shares what it took to slowly reclaim her voice, her breath, and her story, including the moment at her mother's deathbed that cracked everything open.
Lena is a retired engineer and the author of the memoir Shattering the Mirror. After her mother's death, she began reclaiming pieces of herself she had shut down for decades, taking up dance, singing, and eventually writing her own story down for the first time since childhood.
In this conversation, we talk about:
- The diary moment that taught Lena to hide her heart
- A childhood accident that affected her ability to fully breathe for decades
- What she saw in her mother's eyes in the final days of her life
- Reclaiming dance, singing, and writing later in life
- Finding compassion for a parent who never had the tools to do better
- Why she finally found the courage to publish her memoir
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Lena's book and links: shatteringthemirror.com
Listen to the full episode: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/s5e270
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Timestamps:
00:00 Cold open
01:32 Welcome and who Lena is today
03:58 Painting the picture of her childhood
06:46 The diary moment
09:18 Her mother's death and the deathbed moment
14:28 Living a good life that was not fully charged
19:38 The childhood accident and learning to breathe again
26:26 Reclaiming dance, singing, and presence
41:12 Why she started writing her memoir
49:02 Where to find Lena and her book
