Real talk. Real life. No apologies.
I’m Shirl — writer, strategist, and a Black woman who says what she means.
I'm Shirl.
I’ve spent 30 years in boardrooms and community spaces watching people dance around the truth. Say It Lady is what happens when I stop doing that.
New here? Start with these three.
Three essays that tell you exactly what this place is.
Latest
The Second Act. On Reinvention After Fifty and Why It Is the Most Powerful Career Move Available to You.
Nobody tells you that fifty feels like a beginning. The fear changes. The tolerance changes. The clarity arrives. This is the second act- and it is the most powerful career move available to you.
The Grandmother Archive. What We Forgot to Ask.
The recipe she never wrote down. The remedy she learned from her mother. The family story that lived only in her. The grandmother archive closes quietly and most of us do not know we needed it until it is already gone.
The Solo Dinner. A Wonderful Night Was Had by All. Meaning Me.
I get the good bra on, make a reservation somewhere that requires one, and take myself to dinner. I order the wine I like, the steak medium rare, and I tip well on the way out. A wonderful night was had by all. Meaning me.