#183 She Left Everything to Find Her Voice

Apr 16, 2026

Rachel Radway, a former corporate leader turned certified coach and author who reclaimed her life after burnout. She discusses leaving a high-pressure career, living abroad to recover, discovering neurodivergence, and helping perceptive leaders lead authentically. The conversation explores masking, midlife revelations, and how intuition guides courageous change.

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ANECDOTE

Childhood Creativity Silenced By Teasing

Rachel Radway describes being creative and outspoken as a child but getting mercilessly teased after moving to New York City before age eight.
Teasing about her Midwestern accent, clothes, and arts-and-crafts lunch projects led her to retreat and speak up less in school.

INSIGHT

Masking In Corporate Life Causes Dual Strain

Rachel realized she wasn't fitting into corporate culture and later understood she had been 'masking' for years to meet expectations.
That dual operating system of masking and performing eventually led to severe burnout requiring drastic life change.

ADVICE

Watch For Hidden Burnout Symptoms

Recognize burnout signs beyond fatigue: chronic pain, brain fog, lost empathy, cynicism, and loss of humor.
Treat these as serious signals rather than normal stress to prompt rest and recovery actions.

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Today, I interview Rachel Radway who spent years in corporate leadership, showing up, performing, and doing what was expected, while quietly carrying the sense that something about it did not fully fit. Like many who struggle with confidence and speaking up, she learned how to adapt, even when it meant holding parts of herself back.

As she was growing up, she was creative and expressive, using her voice freely. But after moving frequently and being teased for being different, she began to feel that she did not quite belong. Even as she continued to show up, there was an inner tension between wanting to be accepted and knowing she experienced the world in her own way.

Over time, she reached a point where she could not continue in the same way. She could not take another job, and that led her to make a bold decision to quit her work, sell her home, and move to Peru without a plan. Living in different places gave her the space to step back and listen more closely to herself.

Since then, she has come to understand her neurodivergence and the patterns of masking she lived with for years. Today, she supports others who think and feel differently to build confidence, speak more authentically, and express what is true for them.

__________________

Rachel Radway is a certified leadership & executive coach, mentor, speaker, and award-winning author with more than 25 years’ experience in corporate leadership roles at startups, national nonprofits, Fortune 100s, and global enterprises.

With compassion and a deep understanding of all the disconnects between the corporate world and brains that are wired differently, Rachel helps high-achieving, highly perceptive, and neurodivergent clients lead with confidence, clarity, and authenticity—and without burning out.

Her book, Perceptive: Insights for leaders who feel more, process deeply, and think differently, reframes misunderstood and stigmatized neurotypes, including HSP and AuDHD, as a set of strengths—and leadership assets—accompanied by challenges, the other side of the coin.

__________________

Find Rachel here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/reradway/

https://www.rercoaching.com/

Support the show

I’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com.