I personally identify as bisexual/omnisexual and non-binary, and I have several immediate family members and MANY bonus children who are various flavors of queer.  I am very immersed in the LGBTQ+ community and am no stranger to the multifaceted life struggles this population has to navigate simply to exist.   I understand that every aspect of health and wellness is hugely impacted by sexual orientation and gender identity in a predominantly hetero-normative, binary-, and cisgender-normative society.    

One of my core values is authenticity, and it brings me great joy to walk with others on their personal journeys to find and honor their most authentic selves.

"Talking with Rachel about sexual orientation and gender identity was honestly such a refreshing experience. These are topics that can sometimes feel heavy, confusing, or overwhelming, and in a world of pressure and fear, Rachel brings this light, curious, and nonjudgmental energy that makes everything feel safe and okay to explore. Even in just one conversation, I felt so validated and understood. She helped me realize that there’s no one way this journey has to look, and that you don’t need a clear label or final answer to feel peace or clarity. 

"Since our session, I actually hear her voice in my head saying, 'Follow the happiness!' and I’ve since shared her exact message with others in my life. It’s such a simple, yet powerful reminder to lean into what feels good, rather than getting stuck in what doesn’t. I would recommend Rachel to anyone looking to feel more grounded and seen in their process. She creates a space that feels genuinely safe, because she shows up as her full, authentic self, and that energy invites you to do the same."

Lindsey Duda, 32, Pennsylvania          https://itsnurseduda.com       https://www.tiktok.com/@nurseduda             

I've never ascribed to the stigma surrounding sexuality.  I create a truly safe space for my clients to be able to have conversations with me regarding all aspects of sexuality.  

This can include a wide variety of topics, such as:

• Discussing sexual orientation and gender identity. 

• Sexual health for everyone, including preventing, treating, or living with STDs, emotional aspects of healthy sexuality, discussions surrounding consent, or any other area of your sexuality where you are interested in making healthier decisions.

• Any conversations about sex / sexuality connected to conception/contraception and/or pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

My connection to the birth world goes back to 1991.  I logged about 300 hours shadowing the OB residents at a local hospital the summer between high school and college through the Medical Explorers program.  I gained true insight into how doctors think regarding labor and birth that summer.  This insight turned out to be highly valuable as I proceeded to have many children of my own and then during my career as a doula.

I gave birth 6 times from 1993 - 2010 (all vaginal, varying degrees of natural), including being a surrogate mother once.  I breastfed all 6 for a cumulative 11 years of breastfeeding.

I began my doula career in 2006.  I attended approximately 150 births over the next 8 years.  My focus as a doula was empowering birthing individuals / families with education and information so that they were confident that the decisions they were making were the best decisions for them.  Preventing any decisional regret was very important to me.  I also helped talk families through the development of their birth plans with an eye for setting them up for success.

I worked full time as a Labor and Birth nurse and as a home-visiting Postpartum Nurse at a freestanding Birth Center run by Nurse-Midwives from 2022-2024.  I have also been a Labor & Delivery nurse at a couple of small hospitals.

I attended graduate school for 2.5 years from 2022-2024, working towards my APRN in Nurse-Midwifery.  I completed 7+ semesters out of a 9 semester program before withdrawing for health reasons.

In addition to empowering pregnant individuals to have healthy pregnancies and safe births, I am also interested in and knowledgeable about fertility / infertility, the conception months, contraception, breastfeeding, and postpartum depression.

MY STORY

I am a domestic violence survivor and I understand how complex these situations can be.  My narcissistic husband did not physically assault me, so it was too easy for me to write it off as not being abuse.  I didn't come to terms with the fact that I had been in an abusive relationship for 25 years until I'd been away from him for almost a year.  Then the denial I'd been living in began to wear off.  During my years with him, I suffered financial exploitation, manipulation, unyielding control, belittling, gas-lighting, and incessant screaming that I just really wished wasn't happening within ear-shot of the children.  I went to great lengths to hide what was happening at home.  I was an accomplice to my children growing up with severe neglect and consistent emotional / psychological abuse.  Although I was also a victim, I have had to acknowledge to my adult children that I was the only person who realistically could have rescued them from that environment.  These conversations were difficult but I have taken accountability for failing to remove them from that situation.  I am moving forward positively with most of my adult children but it's a journey that we can only walk one day at a time.

Many of us have a similar story.  MANY are MUCH worse than mine.  Some might be more mild.  There are many things that can leave a trauma imprint on our emotions, minds, bodies, and souls.  Sometimes these could be things that not everyone would think of as traumatic.  The traumatized person (you) is the only person that gets to decide whether or not there was trauma and how severe it was.    

I'll never understand exactly what you went through, and no one will ever understand exactly what I went through.  There are some common threads though.  Enough common threads that we can speak the same language.  How & why we get into these relationships and when or if we get out of them is a very personal and individual journey.  

I would love to have some respectful conversations with you about your experience with your past or current abuse and trauma.  I would love to brainstorm with you ways that you can move toward increasing your health and happiness, no matter where you are on this journey.

"You are exceptionally sensitive and responsive to people who have endured trauma, and you easily lend your own resilience, bravery and optimism to anyone facing a difficult time.  There are so many different populations who would benefit form your coaching: people who struggle with challenging family dynamics, people sorting out identity issues, people who have endured and  survived various forms of abuse are just a few examples of folks for whom you are uniquely positioned to help find their own way back to balance and optimal health."

-Heather Barr, 68, Washington

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"I'm a domestic violence abuse survivor. 

"Miss Malone was able to provide me with key insights and a new way of thinking about some of the trauma that I have experienced.  I felt comfortable speaking with her.  She has a very polite and respectful manner.   I'm planning to continue with a DV survivor therapist when I can get that started again.  But I would also look forward to more sessions with Miss Malone as I value her ability to be objective.  She offered practical solutions and actions I could take to start making changes in my life and my situation."

-Michael Lee Storli

• I believe there are a few core components to healthy relationships:  honesty, open lines of communication, shared values, mutual respect.  There are others but I think this is a good start.

• These components can apply to romantic partnerships or friendships.

• Parent-child relationships can be a particular challenge but also a particular blessing.  As children transition into young adulthood, the parent-child dynamic needs to evolve.  This evolution doesn't always come naturally.  My children are in their 20s and 30s now and our relationships are continuing to evolve.  I would be honored to walk this journey with you as you navigate learning how to parent an adult child.

• A recent study revealed that nearly half of Gen Z says monogamy is outdated.  https://www.newsweek.com/nearly-half-gen-z-says-monogamy-outdated-study-2078097, published May, 2025.  Therefore this relationship model, previously extremely secretive, may be something that you've encountered.

• Whether this is a lifestyle that you have been in for some time, a lifestyle that is new to you, or a topic that you are trying to understand for other reasons, I would be happy to have respectful conversations with you surrounding ethical non-monogamy.  

• The most important word here is ethical.  Non-monogamy can only be ethical if EVERYONE involved is fully consenting regarding the specifics of the non-monogamy.  Open and honest communication is essential.  The rules of what is permissible and what is not must be fully spelled out and agreed upon.  If that is not the case, then this relationship model moves out of the realm of ethical and simply becomes cheating.

• I can coach couples or polycules surrounding detailing-out their agreed-upon rules.  I can provide a safe space for exploring this topic.  I can facilitate discussions that will bring clarity to what each member of the relationship desires and what rules might collectively meet everyone's needs.

• Having the capacity for compersion is imperative.  This is "a feeling of happiness caused by another person's happiness, especially by seeing one's romantic or sexual partner interacting positively with another one of their partners" (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/compersion).  This doesn't come naturally for everyone.  I would love to work with you on cultivating a mindset shift that moves you away from jealousy and moves you closer to compersion.

• I've lived with complicated grief for many years.  I understand that the grief process is very individual, sometimes differing greatly from person to person.  I also understand that The Stages of Grief are not always in a certain order and are not always linear.  We can bounce back and forth from Denial to Anger to Bargaining, for instance.  And the Acceptance stage can be extremely elusive for some people.  In these cases, we learn to redefine "normal" and discover one day at a time how to live with grief instead of waiting for the grief to pass.

• I've also had close loved ones who've experienced the opposite - sometimes anticipatory grief gets us almost all the way there during a loved one's terminal illness for instance, and these people might be ready to "move on" much more quickly than some people might consider "normal."

• Now let's talk about pets.  There isn't enough societal acknowledgement for how devastating it can be to lose a pet.  Our fur babies love us unconditionally, and they don't talk back.  They're just always there for us when we need them.  Until they aren't.  This can often lead to extended, complicated grieving and can contribute to a worsening of our mental health.

• No matter what it is that you are grieving, I would be honored to walk this journey with you.  Figuring out a path forward after a devastating loss can seem impossible at first.  What's weird about time though, is that it continues to pass.  As it continues, day by day, we begin to find or create our new normal.

“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

― Mark Twain

• I know that having a job that you enjoy, or even love, is not most people's reality.  I lived that life of dissatisfaction, sometimes to the point of misery, for multiple decades myself.  I love having conversations surrounding workplace or career changes you might want to make to bring your life to a higher level of happiness and fulfillment.  This could be exploring the possibility of eventually changing career paths, finding a different employer, or simply making small changes to increase your happiness where you currently are.

"Bloom where you are planted."     - Saint Francis de Sales

• I have also coached multiple clients surrounding steps they are taking to open their own businesses, particularly on a shoestring budget.

• I have also coached multiple clients surrounding situations & events that negatively impacted their career trajectories and self-confidence in the workplace.

• When something negative happens to you in your workplace, whether it is a write-up, termination, or anything else that shakes your self-confidence, this can have a ripple effect that touches every aspect of your life.

• I provide a safe, judgement-free space in which you can tell your story, reflect on what happened, and explore what you might be able to learn.  

• I'll help you form a plan to reclaim your self-confidence and regain an empowered future in your career.

• My experience with education:

  • • • I've completed 2 Bachelor degrees

      • I was a successful graduate student.  I completed 7+ semesters out of a 9 semester program and withdrew in good standing for a variety of personal reasons.

      • I have engaged in several certificate-level educational endeavors in a variety of fields (finance, communications, nursing).

• As a life-long student, I am well-equipped to discuss challenges with you that you may be experiencing.  It would also bring me great joy to have conversations with you surrounding seeking clarity about what educational trajectory aligns best with your desires, skills, and your vision for your future.

• I will refrain from going into detail about my own religious/spiritual beliefs, because even among those who share the same faith or even attend the very same church, there can be vast differences in what their exact beliefs are.

• I will say that I was immersed in Christianity during my upbringing, so this is one of the religions that I'm most conversant in.  Within Christianity, I am the most knowledgeable about the beliefs of Methodists (Free and United), Lutherans, Catholics, Wesleyans, Nazarenes, Southern Baptists, Pentacostals, and Assembly of God.

• Other religions that I have studied formally or informally include Buddhism, Islam, Hindu, Jainism, Wicca, Paganism, among others.

• Whatever you believe, I won't judge you for it.  I provide a safe space where private and personal religious/spiritual beliefs can be discussed without becoming emotionally charged, political-type conversations.

• I believe that spirituality and religion overlap but are distinctly different concepts.

• I believe that different beliefs are right for different people.  Again, there are vast differences in HOW peers even within the same religion practice and in exactly WHAT they believe.

• What I aim to do with my coaching conversations surrounding spirituality and religion is to assist you in create goals related to your beliefs.  These might be goals surrounding things like: 

  • • • how you practice your faith, 

      • integrating your faith more fully into your marriage/partnership, 

      • exploring your faith:

        • • • • learning more deeply about what you already believe, 

              • or trying to figure out what it is that you believe, and/or 

      • teaching your beliefs to others. -

The thing about being a giver is that we usually have such a heart for service that we will give and give until there is nothing left.  This can be a trap though, because you can't give from an empty cup.  

Finding balance here can be a challenge.  I know this quite well from first hand experience.  I spent years living in survival mode - working multiple jobs while trying to be a mom and a wife.  I put myself last, and my body, mind, and soul all paid the price.     

I would love to help you shift your mindset towards prioritizing yourself at least within the top 2-3 slots on your priority list.  So many of us spend YEARS putting ourselves last, and this only leads to burnout, depletion, and even illness.

We can co-create realistic action items you can take - sometimes just baby steps - to start to incorporate some self-care into your life.  

"It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change."

-Queen Elizabeth II

I'll say it again.  You can't give from an empty cup.  Take care of yourself so that you can continue caring for those you love.

• I have been an RN (BSN) since 2013.  

• Several years prior to becoming a nurse I completed a pre-med Bachelor's degree but did not pursue medical school due to unforeseen life circumstances at that time.  

• I came from a long line of nurses.  I had my sites set on a career in healthcare since elementary school.  Caring for others in times of sickness, injury, or vulnerability has always been a driving force in my life.  Gaining knowledge and skills that would allow me to do these things even more effectively has always been my motivation.

• Most American healthcare workers, if they are being honest, will admit to you that our healthcare system is broken.  Americans are sick.  The healthcare system is overloaded.  People are stuck in the revolving door of re-hospitalizations.  Medications have side effects which require additional medications.  Procedures sometimes have unpleasant ripple effects.  We are just getting sicker.

• Research shows that at least 80% of chronic diseases can be managed, reversed, and sometimes cured entirely by lifestyle changes.  Yes, diet and exercise.  Healthy foods, moving your body, reducing stress, reducing or eliminating harmful substances. 

• I have also coached several people surrounding improving their insomnia issues by looking at sleep-hygiene habits such as environmental factors and changing the timing of electronics use immediately before bed or during the night.

• Electronics fasting overnight or going offline occasionally during the waking hours can lead to powerful changes.  It's a big step, and it was SO difficult the first time I tried it myself. 

• I would love to explore the possibility with you of "turning off" occasionally, even as a tentative experiment.

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We all know at least some basics about healthy lifestyles, but how do we get there?  Change is hard.  Change is so hard.  This is human nature.  We stay with what's familiar, even if we know it's not great, because of the fear of the unknown.  This is also human nature.  

"The devil you know is better than the devil you don't."  - John Taverner, 1539

OR IS IT?

The thing is, stepping into a powerfully improved future for yourself requires leaving your comfort zone and being willing to try something different.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  

- Rita Mae Brown (apparently this is NOT an Albert Einstein quote after all!)

This is where an RN Life Coach comes in.  You are not alone.  New things are scary.  Taking risks can be scary.  

I know you want a healthier future for yourself.  So we'll work together to figure out baby steps you can truly implement to start moving yourself towards a healthier you.  The decision is the powerful first step.  Then after a couple of successfully implemented action items, you'll start to gain confidence in your ability to change.  And the momentum takes over from there.  

Let's get you happy.   Let's get you healthy.