A woman with gray hair smiling and gently touching the face of a black and white horse.

Meet Nancy McKay

Trauma-informed recovery, guided by horses and lived experience.

I’ve always believed that recovery is about more than overcoming challenges—it’s about reclaiming your life and rewriting your story with courage, grace, and purpose. My work is rooted in the belief that your strength comes from within, and I’m here to help you see that, too.

My Journey & Why I Do This Work

My path to this work wasn’t linear, polished, or pretty — and frankly, that’s the point.

I’ve been in recovery from alcohol use disorder since 2009 and an ovarian cancer survivor since 2015. Along the way, I’ve navigated grief, burnout, identity loss, and the bone-deep exhaustion that comes from being “the strong one” for far too long. Those experiences didn’t break me — but they did dismantle a lot of bullshit, including the belief that healing should be quiet, graceful, or done without making anyone uncomfortable.

Here’s what I know for sure:

You don’t need to be fixed.
You need space to stop holding your shit together.

Over time, my personal recovery became my life’s work.

As a Certified Equus Coach, Certified Wayfinder Life Coach, and SHE RECOVERS® Coach, I’ve supported women navigating the messy intersection of addiction recovery, trauma, grief, illness, and major life transitions. I don’t believe recovery is about fixing what’s broken — because you’re not broken. I believe it’s about remembering who you are beneath survival mode, over-functioning, and years of putting yourself last.

That belief is what led me to create The BRAVE Recovery Method™, a trauma-informed, body-based framework designed specifically for women — and the foundation of how I work with clients today. It’s grounded, practical, and real.

No spiritual bypassing.
No toxic positivity.
No pressure to “heal faster” or be more grateful.
And absolutely no pretending everything’s fine when it’s clearly not.

This work is not about becoming someone new.

It’s about reclaiming the woman you buried under responsibility, resilience, and everyone else’s expectations.

Horses are a core part of this work for a reason. They don’t care how insightful you sound, how many books you’ve read, or how convincingly you’ve learned to hold it together. They respond to presence, honesty, and nervous system regulation. In partnership with horses, women experience clarity, trust, and breakthroughs that talk alone often can’t reach — gently, powerfully, and without judgment.

I’m also the author of The BRAVE Recovery Method™ and a contributor to multiple multi-author books, including Phoenix Rising: Powerful Women Who Rose From the Ashes to Claim Their Place and Corporate Dropouts: From Employee to Entrepreneur. Writing, like coaching, is another way I help women feel less alone — and more possible.

Consider this your permission slip:

You don’t have to earn rest by suffering first.

You are allowed to tell the truth.

You are allowed to want more than just “coping.”

And you are absolutely allowed to say fuck this to systems, stories, and expectations that were never built for you in the first place.

At the heart of everything I do is this truth:

When women are given safe, supportive spaces to stop performing strength and start listening to themselves, healing happens. Not because someone fixes them — but because they finally remember they were never broken to begin with.

Core Values:

Courage: Finding strength to rise, even when it feels hard.
Compassion: Creating space for grace, not perfection.
Connection: Knowing you’re not alone.

Coaching Credentials

I’ve completed extensive, specialized training to provide the tools and support women need to navigate life’s challenges and heal.

I hold certifications from Martha Beck, Inc., The Center for Equus Coaching®, and the SHE RECOVERS® Foundation.

My coaching approach is rooted in collaboration, guiding clients toward lasting transformation. My goal is to help women overcome obstacles, reclaim their power, and build lives filled with purpose and fulfillment.