730 days of stalling, 30 minutes to reclaim myself.

Two years. One courthouse visit. Everything changed after that.

The Grief Nobody Talks About

At first, I figured the excitement would come later. But as the day went on, the real thoughts started creeping in.

This wasn’t just about a name. It was about finality.

I will never again carry a married name.
I will never again be legally tied to anyone.
I will never again belong to someone—not on paper, not in name, not in the way society told me I should.

For the first time, I was fully, completely, legally unattached.

And that realization didn’t just feel like freedom—it felt like grief. I have since come to realize I felt the grief because I was grieving not meeting social expectations. That’s one helluva burden to carry and now some 10 months later I see the utter freedom in this important step. I claimed my sovereignty! And that’not nuttin. Actually it is everything. To live embodied with the very truth of your own nature is not only delicious, it is empowering.

And Then the Artist Revelation Hit

As I sat with all these thoughts, something else hit me like a ton of bricks.

My art.

For years, I’d called myself an artist. I got good at it. I taught myself how to paint. I built a career around it. But it never felt natural.

I don’t think about art. I don’t buy art. I don’t go to galleries. I never have.

And suddenly I knew why.

I wasn’t an artist because I needed to create—I was an artist because my ex-husband was a concert pianist, and he wanted a creative wife.

So I became one.

I latched onto it like it was mine, when in reality, it was survival. I painted because I thought I had to. Because I thought if I didn’t, I’d lose him, the marriage, the life I thought I couldn’t survive without.

But that life was gone. And now, standing in this fully reclaimed identity, I realized—I didn’t have to carry that, either.

What Happened Next (This Is the Part I Didn’t Tell You in March)

I wrote that essay. I published it. And then I waited to see what would happen.

What happened was this: Everything shifted.

Not overnight. Not with fireworks. But steadily, undeniably, the universe started rearranging itself around the truth I’d finally spoken.

Within weeks, I stopped calling myself an artist. I started calling myself a writer. And not just any writer—a community builder. Someone who shows up every day to tell the truth and invite women to do the same.

My art studio? Still a mess. But I’m not in there anymore, pretending to be someone I’m not. Yes, I still paint. But only when I feel moved to do so.

I’m here. Writing. Building. Connecting.

The Daily RE-WIRE stopped being a newsletter and became a practice. A movement. A place where women come to reclaim what they’ve been told to set aside.

And the woman who sat on those courthouse steps crying?

She’s gone. I barely recognize her.

Why I’m Telling You This Now

Here’s why this matters right now, in this moment, in February 2026:

We are all being asked to reclaim ourselves.

The world is showing its hand—the Epstein files, the system closing ranks, the realization that no one is coming to save us. And in the face of that, we have a choice.

We can keep carrying identities that were never ours. We can keep performing for systems that will never protect us. We can keep waiting for permission to become who we actually are.

Or we can walk into the courthouse—metaphorically or literally—and take back what’s ours.

Your name. Your dream. Your identity. Your life.

What Are You Still Carrying That Isn’t Yours?

I put off reclaiming my name for two years. Not because it was difficult, but because it meant fully stepping into the next version of myself.

And that makes me wonder—what are YOU putting off?

What identity have you carried that was never really yours?
What dream have you set aside because someone else needed you to be smaller?
What are you still holding onto—not because you love it, but because you’re afraid to let it go?

Here’s what I know now, ten months after sitting on those courthouse steps:

Transformation isn’t just possible—it’s the entire point.

It’s what we’re here to do. To shed, to reclaim, to rise.

You don’t wait for it. You create it.

And when you finally take that step? When you finally stop putting off the thing you KNOW is yours to claim?

You won’t just change your name.

You’ll change your whole damn life.

I did it. I took the step. And not only did I survive—it cracked open a flood of clarity, courage, and purpose I didn’t know was waiting.

What does that mean? It means I’m no longer dragging around energy weighed down by the past. Progress isn’t harder than it needs to be anymore.

So I’ll ask you again—what are you waiting for?

Because if you need a sign? This is it.

My daddy told me every single day: “Monica Rose, life is too short for a nap.”

So don’t nap on your dreams. Wake up and go get them.

An Invitation to the Inner Circle

If you’re reading this and feeling the pull—if you’re standing at the doorway of your dreams but not quite sure how to step through—then you’re ready for what happens inside Monirose Soul.

This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s not content you consume and forget.

It’s the inner circle of women who’ve decided they’re done carrying identities that were never theirs.

Women who’ve buried the old selves. Who’ve reclaimed their names, their dreams, their lives. Who show up every day to do the work—not perform it, but actually LIVE it.

Inside Monirose Soul, you get:

💗 Direct connection with me - Not as a guru with all the answers, but as someone walking this path alongside you
🎁 Exclusive resources and guides to support your reclamation journey
✨ Significant discounts on future workshops and offerings
📬 Weekly truth-telling essays that don’t sugarcoat, don’t perform, and don’t apologize

But here’s what you really get: A community of women who won’t let you hide.

Who will call you forward when you’re stalling. Who will witness you when you’re scared. Who will celebrate you when you finally take the step you’ve been putting off for two years.

Join Today and Receive:

20% off your annual subscription (offer ends February 7th)

PLUS the Breakthrough Guide (FREE) - Perfect for the woman standing at the doorway of her dreams, wondering if she’s brave enough to walk through.

This guide will show you:

• How to identify what you’re still carrying that isn’t yours

• The exact practices I used to move from paralysis to action

• What to do when fear tries to convince you it’s “not the right time”

This isn’t about inspiration. This is about transformation.

And transformation requires more than reading beautiful words. It requires community. Accountability. Witness.

It requires you deciding: I’m done waiting. I’m ready.

This 20% discount ends February 7th. After that, it’s gone.

Click here to join the inner circle

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