Meet Nancy McKay of Women Empowered Recovery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy McKay.

Hi Nancy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in a high-functioning alcoholic home shaped me into a people pleaser who walked on eggshells, trying to feel valued and loved. This childhood trauma led to unhealthy coping mechanisms, particularly with alcohol.

My relationship with alcohol deteriorated until a devastating wake-up call on March 13, 2009 – a failed suicide attempt that became my turning point. With the help of a neighbor in recovery, I attended my first AA meetings, found a sponsor, and began the challenging but worthwhile work of sobriety.

As my recovery progressed, I secured a good job and life improved. Then, at 58, I was diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer. During chemotherapy, I lost my hair but discovered unexpected inner strength that changed my perspective on life.

Growing dissatisfied with my corporate career and armed with newfound resilience, I began training for a coaching career in 2017. My personal experiences with addiction and cancer, combined with professional certifications from Martha Beck, Inc., The Center for Equus Coaching®, and the SHE RECOVERS® Foundation, uniquely position me to guide others through their own transformative journeys.

I’ve contributed to three multi-author books sharing my story of overcoming adversity, and served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance from 2018-2022.

Today, I help women overcome obstacles, reclaim their power, and build fulfilling lives – because recovery isn’t just about overcoming challenges, it’s about reclaiming your life and rewriting your story with courage, grace, and purpose.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No meaningful journey is ever completely smooth, and my path to building this coaching practice has certainly had its share of obstacles.

Early on, I made the costly mistake of not seeking business management advice from experienced professionals. I believed my passion alone would sustain the business, but quickly learned that entrepreneurship requires specific skills and knowledge. I tried to bootstrap the entire operation without a realistic budget, leading to financial struggles that could have been avoided with proper planning.

Perhaps my greatest challenge was depending on others to define my success. I often found myself thinking, “Just tell me how to be successful and I’ll do it,” rather than trusting my own instincts and experience. This mindset kept me searching for external validation rather than recognizing the wisdom I already possessed.

These struggles became my greatest teachers. Through them, I learned to establish clear financial boundaries, seek appropriate guidance while honoring my unique vision, and most importantly, to trust myself. I discovered that my worth isn’t determined by others’ approval but by my own courage to keep showing up authentically.

What I now understand is that these challenges weren’t roadblocks – they were redirections toward a more sustainable and authentic path. Every financial setback taught me resilience. Every moment of self-doubt eventually led me back to my inner strength. These struggles didn’t weaken my business; they strengthened it by forcing me to build a solid foundation based on reality rather than wishful thinking.

Today, I’m grateful for these challenges because they’ve equipped me to guide others through similar terrain with genuine empathy and practical wisdom.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I specialize in guiding women through life’s most challenging transitions – particularly recovery from alcohol addiction and navigating major life changes. My approach integrates evidence-based coaching techniques with deep personal understanding, creating a practice that addresses both practical challenges and emotional healing.

What sets my coaching apart is my unique combination of lived experience and specialized training, particularly my certification from The Center for Equus Coaching®. Equus Coaching harnesses the extraordinary power of horses as partners in the healing process. Horses, as prey animals, have evolved an acute sensitivity to their environment and those around them. They respond authentically to our authentic selves – not to the masks we wear or the stories we tell ourselves. When you stand before a horse, your true emotional state becomes immediately evident through their reactions, creating profound moments of self-awareness that talk therapy alone cannot achieve.

This horse-human connection creates a powerful mirror, reflecting back our internal state without judgment. Where we might fool ourselves or others, horses respond to our authentic energy, creating immediate, honest feedback that cuts through denial and self-deception – crucial elements in recovery work. This embodied experience allows clients to physically feel shifts in their emotional state rather than just intellectually understanding them.

My comprehensive certifications from Martha Beck, Inc., The Center for Equus Coaching®, and the SHE RECOVERS® Foundation create a holistic approach that honors each woman’s unique experience while providing proven tools for transformation. Having walked through addiction recovery and cancer survival myself, I bring authentic empathy and practical knowledge to my clients’ journeys.

I’m most proud of creating a practice centered on empowerment rather than dependence. Unlike approaches that position the coach as the ultimate authority, I help women recognize and trust their inner wisdom. This philosophy stems from my own journey of learning to value my inherent strength over external validation.

My offerings include personalized one-on-one coaching programs, transformative Equus Coaching sessions where clients work directly with horses in a safe, supported environment, group workshops and retreats focused on recovery challenges, and speaking engagements where I share my story as a catalyst for others. Each service is designed with the same core belief: that every woman contains within herself the power to transform adversity into purpose.

What I want readers to know is that recovery isn’t just about surviving. It’s about reclaiming your authentic self and discovering that your deepest wounds often reveal your greatest gifts. By incorporating the wisdom of horses into this journey, clients experience healing that engages body, mind, and spirit – creating transformations that are not just understood intellectually, but felt deeply and integrated completely.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most profound lesson I’ve learned is that true power comes from embracing vulnerability rather than fighting it. For years, I attempted to control my life circumstances – numbing pain with alcohol, seeking external validation, and trying to project an image of having everything together. I spent enormous energy maintaining facades instead of facing my truth.

When I finally surrendered – first in recovery, then through cancer, and later in building my business – I discovered that what I thought was weakness was actually my greatest strength. Acknowledging my struggles, limitations, and fears didn’t diminish me; it connected me more deeply to myself and others.

I’ve learned that healing doesn’t happen in isolation but in authentic connection. Working with horses has reinforced this lesson powerfully. Horses respond not to our carefully crafted personas but to our authentic presence. They’ve taught me that true leadership isn’t about dominance or perfection but about congruence between our inner state and outer expression.

This understanding transformed not just my personal healing but my entire approach to business. Success isn’t about following someone else’s formula or achieving external markers of validation – it’s about aligning with my own truth and serving from that place of authenticity.

The journey from desperation to grace has shown me that our wounds, when acknowledged and tended with compassion, become the very gifts we offer the world. This lesson guides everything I do now – as a coach, as an advocate, and as a human being continually learning to embrace both her strength and vulnerability.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.womenempoweredrecovery.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancymckay/

Image Credits
Mariah Ehlert (professional head shot)