About
Hi, I'm Lucy.
I'm 28 and have spent the past half a decade in finance, but right now I'm in the middle of the most important transition of my life: the one from the life I thought I wanted, to the life I actually do.
The idea for The Architecture of Grace found me on a two-week solo holiday in Indonesia, a year and a half into a new job, staring at a life that looked and sounded great on paper while I felt deeply unhappy but unable to say why. I'd just been through two back to back bouts of burnout and watched my spark go out whilst living the dream, and for the first time I understood this wasn't a one off. I'd been cycling through the same mismatch of choices for the past ten years.
That pattern started early: picking the middle whenever a guidance counsellor asked "this or that" because I could always argue both sides, choosing law because it sounded impressive, because my dad looked proud, and because seven-year-old me loved wearing blazers. I followed most of my peers to a university town I'd never liked, studying something impressive, and lasted the year.
My first real pivot stuck for a while: new degree, new city, a grad role I stayed in two and a half years, until it felt wrong the way your clothes stop fitting even though nothing's changed. Then on a two hour call with my sister one sunny Saturday, I decided to quit. I handed in my resignation Monday, booked flights Wednesday, and spent the next few months driving tractors and travelling Europe, learning how to breathe again.
I went back to finance, in a different country, certain it would be different. It wasn't, and the same pivot happened again more than once, a stint on a Northland dairy farm among them, before I landed in the fast paced world of investment banking.
What I'm trying to say is I've been where you are, more than once, and every time I've thrown in the towel and turned my back on what looks good, I've landed exactly where I was meant to: new people, new skills, some of my best memories.
So here's my offer. I'm here to help you navigate the pivot, the yucky feeling of the deep knowing. I'm here to be your architect. I'm here to be your advocate, whenever you need either. The Architecture of Grace is the bridge between the version of you that's been optimising for external validation, and the version learning to optimise for internal alignment, agency, and unconventional success.