Grace Williams grew up in Buckinghamshire, the eldest of three, watching her father build a career in banking through long hours – an early blueprint that welded success to hard work. She followed a version of that blueprint into law, training as an arbitration lawyer and measuring her days by billable hours and how late she stayed at her desk. At 21, on the eve of her first legal internship, she woke up numb down one side of her body and was diagnosed with MS.

She kept working. In 2019 her mother, Amanda, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, and six months later her father was diagnosed with cancer too. For three years Grace worked full-time as a lawyer AND cared for her mother, refusing to let anything visibly slip – an armour, she says now, that let her avoid ever asking how she actually felt until in 2021, an MS attack coincided with full burnout. Her mother passed away in the summer of 2022 and a year later, still working the same hours, a blunt conversation with her aunt on a Friday night ended with Grace handing in her notice the following Monday.

Now re-trained as a Health Coach and Nutritionist, Grace specialises in high-performance wellbeing, working with corporate women to help them reconnect with the bodies they've learned to override.

In this episode we cover:

• Early definition of success built on hard work and long hours 

• Being diagnosed with MS at 21

• Why answering ”I'm exhausted” is armour

• Her mother's terminal brain tumour diagnosis, and caring for both parents through COVID

• Why work became the easiest place to hide from grief

• The Friday night conversation with her aunt that moved her into action 

• Building her new coaching business and relearning her own boundaries

• Redefining success as peace, and what legacy means to her

Mentions:

The Way (2010), dir. Emilio Estevez, starring Martin Sheen

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/g_documented/

This season of The Slow Down is sponsored by female-founded, Greek swim and resortwear brand Kiohne. The Slow Down listeners can use code theslowdown for 20% off their first shop on kiohne.com. Enter their world, explore their collection and buy beautiful pieces designed to be enjoyed while slowing down this summer.