Biography
The journey of finding one's own personal truth is one of the most vulnerable and liberating things you can do for yourself.
Mary Helen Frank-Murphy
"I found my light again.
And I realized that I want to help others do the same.
To be happy. And that is why I am a coach."
Growing Up -
I am a real person with difficult experiences.
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I was born on a Navy base and moved across the country several times in my first years. When my parents divorced, my brother and I lived with our mother, who worked hard to make ends meet, leading us to move around a lot. We lived with relatives, in a domestic abuse shelter, and in Section 8 housing.
Eventually, I moved in with my father and attended one high school for the remaining four years after attending eleven schools.
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Creating my adult life
I met my first love, Michael Frank, during my senior year of high school. We married a year after my college graduation and built our house on his family farm a year later. Our daughter, Jordan, joined us in 1997 and made us a family.
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I had suffered from a heart ailment since birth but was healthy. As an adult, I was diagnosed with Lupus, eventually Rheumatoid Arthritis, and worked with Mike to get as healthy as possible - together.
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​Curveballs in life
My mom was diagnosed with dementia in 2009. I took over the majority of her care management with extremely limited funds. She died in June 2020. I am still learning about grieving a parent and finding the grief much more profound and vast than expected.
In 2011, Mike experienced severe pain while playing basketball. He underwent several painful tests and eventually failed back surgery in early 2013. Mike tried many treatments, opioid pain medication, spinal injections, and more, but nothing worked. He continued to suffer from unbearable pain every day. Tragically, he passed away due to an accidental heroin overdose in early 2016.
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Rediscovery
In 2017, I met my coach --- and my life transformed forever. Ken helped me identify the survival mechanisms holding me back and helped me to rediscover my true self and life purpose. I found my voice, sold my home, moved to a new city, started dating, and retired from my HR career.
I married my love, Paul, in Ireland in 2021 in a breathtaking historical church. A dream come true.
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My experience with coaching has inspired me to help others find happiness and fulfillment in their lives. This is why I became a coach and am overjoyed to be here.
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Now
I am surprised that my work is still unfinished several years later. Life keeps throwing me curveballs, and I find myself falling back into old, comfortable, people-pleasing habits. Coaching people and providing a safe space can be daunting, and I worry that I am not meeting their needs. Sometimes, I wonder if going back to a regular job would be easier.
In these moments, I rely on my supportive, heart-filled friends and family, and I revisit tools such as coaching and grounding myself in my purpose. Life is good, but it requires effort to make the most out of it.
While I may not have all the answers for you or myself, I do know how to create a space for you to do the work you need to discover yourself and lead a fulfilling life. I am looking forward to meeting you and working together.
Mary is one of those people who I immediately felt confident in. I had a sense right away from the beginning of our time working together that she was in my corner! What I love about coaching is that I have a person to bounce off the troubling things of life with and I know that together we will find some new solution that was not something I could access myself. Mary is so generous and shares what she is noticing with me in a way that really helps me to reflect and consider new perspectives and to better understand myself. I would definitely recommend that you try her out as a coach!
