Dearest Visitors,

I’m a big fan of context, and I’m guessing you’re in need of some. Please allow me to get you oriented.

Most urgently - hi! Welcome. My name is Shannon.

Almost a year ago, I found myself in the murky middle of a major professional transition — no longer where I’d been, with no clear sense of where I was headed next. The kind of moment that cracks things open. Out of that uncertainty came an idea I couldn’t ignore: Second Flight.

At its core, Second Flight is about reinvention — the quiet, messy work of learning to trust your wings again after something ends. I wasn’t ready to build anything right away. I needed to live it first. So I spent months writing, creating, experimenting, and following creative sparks wherever they led. Meaningful, yes — but scattered. All wings, no compass.

That’s where The Monthly Lift comes in.

The Monthly Lift is the structure I didn’t know I needed: part editorial, part reflection, part community gathering. Each issue explores a theme — through essays, voices from the community, media recommendations, and small prompts designed to help you pause, reflect, and reconnect. It’s honest, hopeful, and occasionally a little messy.

This space is for anyone who’s pivoted, paused, burned out, or broken open — and kept going anyway. For people who care about reinvention that’s grounded, human, and real.

I’ve spent years helping others tell their stories. Here, I’m finally building a home for mine — and maybe some of yours too.

Thanks for being here. I needed this. Maybe you do too.

With gratitude - always,

Shannon