A deeply personal exploration of how life's greatest challenges forge inner strength. This article follows one woman's journey from seeking external validation to discovering her own worth, revealing how invisible battles shape resilience and transform pain into purpose.
Her Story
About Amber
She is a healthcare operations, physician relations, and practice management professional with experience in provider liaison work, medical practice operations, business administration, and healthcare team support. She currently serves as Physician Liaison at WellSpan Health in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where she supports communication and relationship-building between physicians, practices, and healthcare stakeholders. Her background also includes nearly five years as a Practice Manager with WellSpan Health, supported by business administration and MBA education from Capella University.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Amber
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to resilience, faith, and the decision to keep moving forward even when life didn’t go as planned.
Some of my greatest achievements happened during seasons when I was carrying heartbreak that no one else could see. Those experiences taught me that success isn’t about avoiding hardship—it’s about refusing to let hardship define you.
Most importantly, I’ve learned that my worth isn’t determined by other people’s approval. My greatest success hasn’t been a title or a degree. It’s been becoming a woman who chooses growth over fear, purpose over pain, and hope over hopelessness.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was simple: “Never stop learning.”
That advice has shaped every step of my career. It taught me that growth doesn’t come from staying comfortable—it comes from being willing to learn, adapt, and embrace new opportunities. Whether pursuing my MBA, taking on new challenges, or building relationships, I’ve learned that your greatest investment is in yourself.
I’ve also realized that success isn’t just about what you know—it’s about how you treat people. Skills may open doors, but integrity, humility, and genuine relationships are what create lasting impact.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be curious. Ask questions. Find mentors who will challenge and encourage you. Build your reputation on integrity, kindness, and consistency, because people will remember how you made them feel long after they forget what you accomplished.
Most importantly, don’t wait until you feel confident to pursue opportunities. Growth happens when you’re willing to step outside your comfort zone. Believe in your abilities, trust your voice, and never let self-doubt keep you from the table—you’ve earned your seat there.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
As healthcare continues to evolve, collaboration, innovation, and trust are more important than ever. We have an incredible opportunity to break down barriers to care, expand access through technology and partnerships, and focus on delivering a better patient experience.
The greatest challenge is keeping healthcare personal in an increasingly complex environment. No matter how much technology advances, patients will always remember how they were treated, how they were heard, and how they were cared for. That’s why relationship-building and compassionate leadership will continue to be essential to the future of healthcare.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I believe in treating every person with kindness and respect, leading with authenticity, and doing the right thing even when no one is watching. My experiences have taught me that resilience isn’t about avoiding challenges—it’s about growing through them with grace and purpose.
Above all, I value relationships. Whether in healthcare or in life, I believe the greatest impact we can make is by helping others feel seen, heard, and valued. At the end of the day, success isn’t just about what we achieve—it’s about the lives we touch along the way.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Amber
Becoming Her
How losing everything I never truly wanted became the pathway to finally finding myself.
The Strongest Woman You’ll Ever Become Is Often Born From the Life You Never Wanted
A Life That Looked Stable
If you had met me a few years ago, you probably would have said I had it all together.
I had spent nearly two decades building a career in healthcare that I loved. I was a mother. A leader. The person people counted on. The woman who smiled, encouraged others, solved problems, and kept moving forward no matter what.
From the outside, my life looked stable.
But appearances can be incredibly deceiving.
Because while everyone else saw a successful woman, I was quietly fighting a battle that had begun long before my marriage ended.
The Truth Is, My Story Didn’t Begin With Divorce
It began with a little girl who looked in the mirror and wondered why she never felt pretty enough.
It continued with a teenager who compared herself to every other girl in the room, convinced someone else would always be chosen first.
It followed me into adulthood, where I believed that if I loved hard enough, sacrificed enough, gave enough of myself, and became everything everyone else needed me to be, then maybe—finally—I would feel chosen.
I spent decades chasing a feeling I didn’t realize I had been missing all my life.
Not perfection.
Not success.
Not money.
I was searching for something much simpler.
To feel loved.
To feel wanted.
To feel like someone looked at me and thought, “Out of everyone in the world, I choose you.”
For years, I thought that if I could earn enough love, I would finally believe I was enough.
Instead, I lost myself trying.
Choosing Approval Over Truth
I never truly wanted to marry my ex, but I did because I felt like I needed to please everyone else. I thought saying yes would keep the peace, make other people happy, and somehow make me feel like I was doing the right thing.
But deep down, I was ignoring my own voice and choosing approval over truth.
Then my world fell apart.
The marriage I entered for everyone else ended.
People I thought would stand beside me walked away—or judged me without ever asking what I had lived through.
There were seasons when the loneliness was so overwhelming that I questioned whether life was worth living. I wasn’t looking for attention. I wasn’t trying to escape responsibility. I simply couldn’t imagine carrying that much pain forever.
Invisible Battles
Yet every morning, I still got up.
I still went to work.
I still cared for patients, built relationships, supported physicians, led meetings, and smiled at people who had no idea I had cried the night before.
That’s the thing about invisible battles.
The strongest people in the room are often carrying the heaviest burdens.
Then came another decision that would forever shape my life—one that brought profound grief and love at the same time. It was a decision few people could understand, and many were quick to judge.
They saw the outcome, but they didn’t see the countless tears, prayers, and impossible choices that led there.
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is that people often judge chapters they were never invited to read.
They see a decision.
They don’t see the heartbreak.
They see your smile.
They don’t see the healing it took to wear it.
They see your success.
They don’t see the nights you questioned whether you had the strength to keep going.
Resilience Is Something Much Quieter
For a long time, I thought resilience meant surviving tragedy.
Now I know resilience is something much quieter.
It’s choosing to believe that your story isn’t over when everything you planned falls apart.
It’s showing up when your heart wants to hide.
It’s believing that your value isn’t determined by who stayed, who left, or who failed to love you the way you deserved.
The Greatest Realization of My Life
The greatest realization of my life came when I finally admitted something I had never said out loud:
It was never about turning forty.
It was never really about my marriage.
It wasn’t even about divorce.
It was about spending forty years believing I wasn’t enough.
That realization changed everything.
Because once I understood the wound, I could finally begin healing it.
I Started Choosing Myself
Healing didn’t happen because life suddenly became easy.
Healing happened because I stopped waiting for another person to convince me I was worthy.
I started choosing myself.
I continued building my career.
I pursued my MBA.
I became intentional about my faith, my growth, and my future.
Slowly, I stopped asking, “Who will choose me?”
Instead, I asked, “Who am I becoming?”
That question transformed my life.
Today, I Know This
The people who couldn’t love you well do not get to define your worth.
The people who judged you without knowing your story do not get to write your ending.
Your hardest season does not become your identity unless you allow it to.
And the woman waiting on the other side of heartbreak may become the strongest, wisest, and most compassionate version of yourself you’ve ever known.
You Are Becoming
If you are reading this while carrying a pain no one else can see, I want you to know something I wish someone had told me years ago:
You are not behind.
You are not broken beyond repair.
You are not too much.
You are not unworthy of love.
You are becoming.
One courageous decision at a time.
One hopeful morning at a time.
One faithful step at a time.
Because sometimes the life that falls apart is simply making room for the woman you were always meant to become.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.