“ I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
— Louisa May Alcott
Hello, and welcome. I’m Esther Brandon.
I first saw these words on the wall of the pond boathouse near my home. They felt like a quiet reminder whispered through time — that resilience is not about avoiding storms, but learning how to meet them with steadiness, compassion, and both strength and softness.
Finding Your Way is a trauma-informed space for women to gently tend the wounded places, notice their strengths, and reconnect with themselves.
✨ A Window Into My Story
Why Attachment Matters
Through my own trauma recovery, I came to understand how profoundly early relationships shape the way we feel, connect, and grow.
I grew up longing to feel emotionally safe and connected. My parents were good and loving people, and yet I experienced insecure attachment. Over time, I came to see this as part of a larger truth: the impacts of trauma can be carried through families and across generations.
Even with loving parents, insecure attachment can affect development—leaving a child caught between a deep longing for connection and safety, while the nervous system works to protect against the pain of not feeling seen or safe. In these early conditions, patterns of inner-blame can quietly take shape. Over time, this may be experienced as shame, self-doubt, and a sense of unworthiness carried forward.
What transformed my healing was learning that attachment is not fixed. Through mindfulness, trauma-informed understanding, and supportive relationships, it can be repaired at any time. This understanding became the foundation of the path I now offer: a path toward healing, connection, and the possibility of coming home to yourself — your strength, your worthiness, your wholeness."
At the heart of this work is a simple and deeply grounding framework drawn from attachment science — what Dr. Dan Siegel describes as the 4 S’s of secure attachment: Safe, Seen, Soothed, and Secure.
A Framework For Healing
The 4 S’s of Attachment
Safe
Feeling safe grows from caregivers who
avoided actions that frightened or hurt us.
As adults, it allows us to
express our emotions and gently trust ourselves and others.
Seen
Being seen comes from
caregivers who perceived us deeply and empathically.
As adults, it nurtures
belonging.
Soothed
Being soothed arises from caregivers
who comforted us in times of distress.
As adults, it helps us regulate,
build resilience, and offer comfort to others.
Secure
Feeling secure develops from consistent care
and attunement.
As adults, it fosters a steady sense of well-being
and inner balance.
♡ I often describe the 4 S’s as the water and nutrients that nourish the soil of well-being.
💛 A Turning Point
Ten years ago, a breast cancer diagnosis brought me into a time of profound vulnerability. Old attachment wounds resurfaced. Grief moved through me. And slowly, so did clarity.
Beneath the pain, I discovered seeds of resilience — compassion toward myself and others, a reclaimed sense of agency, and a deep capacity for connection.
What I’ve Learned
More than 35 years ago, a mindfulness workshop with Jon Kabat-Zinn shifted the course of my life.
Since then, I’ve deepened my practice through Jewish mindfulness, Buddhist teachers, other wisdom traditions, and trauma-informed science.
Through the study and practice of Interpersonal Neurobiology and Polyvagal Theory, I came to understand the critical role of our nervous system in expanding our capacity for healing, growth, and well-being
How This May Relate to You
You may have arrived here in a season of change — through illness, grief, trauma, or life transition.
In a session, we will listen softly to the body’s natural wisdom, intelligence and rhythms~
This is the heart of my work: holding space for women to reconnect with their strengths and wholeness. Over time, softly being with what is difficult builds resilience — much like a tree in strong winds. The tree doesn't brace or harden. It moves with the force, and grows stronger, more rooted. This is what mindful awareness and trauma-informed understanding make possible — medicine for the nervous system.
When the nervous system is soothed, settled, regulated something tender becomes possible — not fixing ourselves, but softly reconnecting with ourselves. Trauma recovery is its own quiet heroism: a soft and steady walking toward the light of our own wholeness.
“The places in which we are seen and heard are holy places. They remind us of our value as human beings. They give us the strength to go on.”
Kitchen Table Wisdom~ Stories that Heal
Trainings & Accreditations
M.S.Ed., Leadership in Early Childhood Education – Wheelock College, Boston
Retired Director of Undergraduate Field Placement – Lesley University, 1993-2012
Co-Active Coach Training (CTI), Part of ICF Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP) (completed November 2016)
ICF Certified Coach (ACC)
Certificate of Completion: The Mindsight Approach to Well-Being — A Comprehensive Course in Interpersonal Neurobiology, taught by Daniel Siegel, MD (completed May 2021)
Healing Trauma with Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB )– Dr. Dan Siegel
Jewish Mindfulness Teacher Training – Institute for Jewish Spirituality ( completed August, 2011)
Completed Mindfulness-Informed Professional Training — PESI, Dr. Richard Sears, December 2025
Certificate of Completion, Neuroscience of Change – Coaches Rising (completed December 2022)
Certificate of Completion, The Academy of Inner Science, Connect, Restore, Reclaim – Thomas Hübl & Dr. Richard Schwartz (completed, June 2023)
Certificate of Completion: Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery — Somatic, Movement, & Polyvagal Techniques for Clinicians, taught by Arielle Schwartz, PhD (completed December 2025)
The Spiritual Healing Journey – Thomas Hübl
Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra Guide
“Serving makes us aware of our wholeness and its power. The wholeness in us serves the wholeness in others and the wholeness in life.”
— Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D