Kristen’s 40 Over 40 Portrait Experience: Finding Harmony in Healing
During our first call, Kristen described her life up to this point in three powerful words: healing, balance, and synchronicity.
Her story is one of growth through adversity—navigating childhood trauma, anxiety, and depression before undergoing what she calls her “awakening” about a year and a half ago. Life seemed to unravel all at once: the end of a marriage, her father’s decline and passing, her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and the transition of her son leaving for college. In the midst of this chaos, Kristen leaned into her healing. She discovered EMDR, IFS, and books like The Body Keeps the Score, all while channeling energy and divine messages that she, as a scientific mind, once doubted.
She needed to heal—fast and fully—not just to survive, but to step into the purpose she knew was waiting for her.
From Science to Spirit
Kristen’s inner world is a dance between logic and magic. A naturally curious, scientific thinker, she also receives messages and visions that are hard to explain but impossible to ignore. Feathers show up in her path (often pointed out by her intuitive dog), numbers align in powerful ways and a sense of synchronicity seems to guide her each step of the way.
Embracing the Inner Child
There’s a bright, childlike wonder in Kristen that feels like sunshine in human form. As a little girl, she once said she wanted to be a flower when she grew up—and in many ways, she has. She gravitates to sunflowers, daisies, and rainbow colors.
For her session, she brought a sunny yellow sundress that she lovingly called her “sunnery dress,” a nod to her childhood self. Against a soft pink backdrop, Kristen’s portraits captured the whimsical, wise, and wondrous layers of her journey.
On Aging, Love, and Letting Go
When asked what she finds most rewarding about being over 40, Kristen didn’t hesitate: Love.
“Love is everything,” she said. For her, love is the thread that holds the healing together. Love is pink hearts, paper hearts, hands held in heart shapes. It’s learning to love her body— strong, resilient—even if it bears the signs of change and time.
She calls these changes badges of honor, a reflection of a life fully lived.
A Portrait of Purpose
Kristen’s portrait session was not just about capturing how she looks—it was about honoring how far she’s come, how deeply she feels, and how brightly she shines. We used a dark blue backdrop to reflect the depth of her journey, and paired it with soft feminine colors to echo her inner child and the energy of healing.
And like all participants in the 40 Over 40 Project, Kristen will be featured in our gallery exhibition—one night to celebrate women like her: wise, wild, and wonderfully over 40.
