When Women Exhale

In a world that often demands constant hustle and unrelenting strength, Lisa Hurley’s debut book, Space to Exhale: A Handbook for Curating a Soft, Centered, Serene Life (May 6, 2025), is nothing short of revolutionary.

With wisdom rooted in lived experience and practical strategies, Lisa invites Black women—and all women—to remove their superhero capes and embrace rest, authenticity, and joy. This book isn’t just a guide; it’s a call to action for a global movement toward softness, sisterhood, and self-care.

As an activist, Reiki master, community builder, and career creative, Lisa, who I met a number of years ago via LinkedIn, has long understood the complexities of navigating spaces that demand so much while offering so little in return. Her deeply personal journey to shedding the “superhero cape” informs every page of this book.

Through anecdotes, tools, and transformative practices, Space to Exhale serves as both a balm for the spirit and a roadmap to a more fulfilling life.

The Wake-Up Call: Letting Go of the Cape

Lisa’s message is clear: the narrative of the “strong Black woman,” while empowering in some contexts, has also been a heavy, unyielding burden.

In her book, she recounts a pivotal moment that shifted her perspective. While balancing a demanding full-time job with multiple unpaid side hustles, Lisa realized that she was giving her all to everyone but herself. Her request for time off was denied, and when she set boundaries, her professional relationships abruptly ended.

“I realized that people were perfectly okay with benefitting from my labor but had issues with me prioritizing my own needs,” she shares. “That was my wake-up call.”

This moment of reckoning became the foundation for Lisa’s gospel of rest, boundaries, and self-prioritization. She began to see the necessity of curating her circle carefully, advocating for herself, and, most importantly, removing the cape that had long defined her identity.

Navigating Workplaces While Black

Lisa’s book speaks to the unique challenges Black women face in majority-white workplaces. She calls this the “Working While Black Effect,” a relentless navigation of microaggressions, hypervisibility, and the constant need to prove one’s worth.

As a Reiki master, Lisa draws attention to the toll these environments take on one’s energy body.

“Being in these spaces can leave us in a constant state of hypervigilance, fraying our energy fields and depleting us physically and emotionally,” she explains.

Through her practices in Reiki, mindfulness, and community building, Lisa found ways to counteract these effects. She emphasizes the importance of not waiting until burnout sets in to start healing. Instead, she advocates for proactive self-care practices like breathwork, meditation, and even the simple act of being in nature.

Lisa’s role as a community builder has also shaped her understanding of balance and rest. “Sisterhood reminds us that we’re not alone,” she notes. “When we share our stories, we validate each other’s experiences and create powerful systems of support.”

Embracing the Beauty of Underdrive

One of the most radical concepts in Space to Exhale is the idea of “underdrive”—a rejection of hustle culture in favor of rest and intentional living. Lisa acknowledges that this mindset wasn’t easy to adopt, especially in a society that equates productivity with worth.

“Embracing underdrive required letting go of external rewards like titles and accolades,” she admits. “It felt like an ego death. But once I realized that hustle culture was robbing me of joy, the switch became necessary.”

Lisa encourages readers to start small: schedule mindfulness breaks, take random days off, and find like-minded communities that support a restful lifestyle.

Her mantra, “Rest is the new success,” encapsulates this ethos, reminding us that our well-being is not negotiable.

Living Authentically

A central theme in Space to Exhale is the journey toward authenticity. Lisa describes her early career as a time of code-switching, self-silencing, and disconnection from her passions. It wasn’t until she reconnected with her Blackness, heritage, and neurodivergence as a late-diagnosed autistic woman that she began to embrace her full self.

“Authenticity isn’t a destination; it’s a continuous journey,” Lisa explains. “It’s about honoring your truth even when it’s uncomfortable.”

She offers practical advice for readers struggling with authenticity: start with small changes, cultivate a supportive community, and practice self-compassion. By embracing her own imperfections, Hurley discovered a sense of freedom and joy that had long eluded her.

The Ripple Effect of Rest and Self-Love

Lisa believes that the practices outlined in Space to Exhale—breathwork, mindfulness, affirmations—have the power to transform not only individual lives but also broader societal narratives about Black womanhood.

“When one person heals, it influences those around them,” she says. “I envision a global movement where Black women prioritize themselves and reclaim their worth beyond productivity.”

This movement, which Lisa dubs the “Era of the Soft Black Woman,” challenges the stereotype of the strong Black woman by celebrating gentleness, ease, and joy. As more women embrace this shift, Lisa believes it will reshape how Black women are perceived and treated, highlighting their complexity and humanity.

A Handbook for Transformation

Space to Exhale is more than a book; it’s a toolkit for transformation. Through affirmations, meditations, journaling prompts, and practical strategies, Lisa provides readers with the resources they need to curate a soft, centered, and serene life. Her warmth, wit, and wisdom shine through on every page, making the book both inspiring and deeply relatable.

For Lisa, this work is about more than individual healing. It’s about creating a collective recalibration—a shared experience of rest, joy, and authenticity that ripples outward to influence families, workplaces, and communities.

A Soft Revolution

Lisa Hurley’s Space to Exhale is a revolutionary guide for Black women—and all women—seeking to shed the weight of societal expectations and embrace the beauty of rest. It is a clarion call to prioritize self-love, authenticity, and community in a world that often demands otherwise.

In the words of Lisa, “Let’s embrace the energies of gentleness, ease, and joy. It is time.” With this book, she not only offers permission but provides the tools to do exactly that, heralding a new era of softness, strength, and serenity.

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