Finding the Gift in Trauma

• Professional Identity: Angela Howell is a transformation coach, keynote speaker, best-selling author, and abstract artist who bridges the gap between creativity, mindfulness, and healing.

• The Struggle and the Shift: Angela spent years in a high-pressure corporate sales career, where she initially used workaholism to cope with underlying trauma. Her body eventually “broke down” under the stress, leading to a debilitating physical injury that forced her to leave the corporate world.

• Overcoming Trauma: Her journey is marked by overcoming significant challenges, including childhood trauma, “church hurt” (religious abuse), and eating disorders that led to multiple hospitalizations. She describes these experiences as some of her “greatest teachers”.

• Finding the Gift: Her core philosophy, as detailed in her book Finding the Gift: Daily Meditations for Mindfulness, is that hardships often contain hidden insights. She uses the metaphor of a plain brown paper package that, when unwrapped, reveals “life abundant”.

• The “Bridge” to Healing: Angela advocates for 12-step programs and mindfulness as tools to reconnect with a higher power. Through her 12-week coaching program, “A Life Worth Having,” she helps others root out “the junk the world gave us” and find the beauty that was always there.

• Key Message for Readers: No matter how difficult life looks, stay the course. Angela believes everyone has a “seed” of potential that can thrive given the right environment and support.

Finding the Gift