Choose – Don’t Chase – Your Career is a powerful, deeply human guide for every woman standing at a professional crossroads, whether you’ve been laid off, burned out, or simply know in your gut that it’s time for something different.

Drawing on the authors’ own career pivots and the honest, unfiltered stories of women who’ve navigated everything from sudden job loss to slow-burn discontent, this book reframes career change not as failure, but as transformation.

We’ve been taught that success is a ladder: climb higher, faster, and don’t look down. But what if the real work of growth happens when you step off that ladder? Shannon and Nicola invite readers to do what few of us are taught to do. To pause, to listen, and to choose with intention. Through narrative, reflection, and research, they reveal how transitions become the most defining chapters of our lives when we honor them instead of rushing through them.

You’ll meet women who left prestigious roles, walked away from “dream jobs,” and redefined what success looks and feels like on their own terms. You’ll hear stories of fear and courage, of financial uncertainty and radical self-trust, of slow rebuilding and rediscovered purpose. From corporate leaders to entrepreneurs, each story is an example of what’s possible when we trade exhaustion for alignment, achievement for authenticity, and hustle for healing.

This isn’t another career-advice book filled with formulas and five-step plans. It’s a conversation that is raw, relatable, and grounded in truth about how we move through the in-between moments that change everything. Along the way, readers are guided through prompts and exercises that help translate reflection into action: how to release outdated definitions of success, quiet the noise of “shoulds,” and build a career that fits who you are now, not who you were told to be.

With empathy, vulnerability, and hard-won wisdom, Shannon and Nicola make one thing clear: you don’t have to chase what’s next. You can choose it. And in that choice lies the power to rewrite not just your career, but your sense of self.

Whether you’re reentering the workforce, questioning your path, or daring to dream of something new, Choose – Don’t Chase – Your Career is the inspiration and roadmap you need for moving through uncertainty with clarity, courage, and intention.

Because your next chapter doesn’t have to look like your last one. It can look like you.

Where Does Your Support Go?

Your support helps us get this book into the hands of women in the in-between what was and what’s next. It’s for the woman who’s questioning the path she’s on, ready for change but unsure where to start. It’s for every woman ready to redefine success on her own terms, not by society’s timeline or anyone else’s definition, but by what truly fuels her.

By donating, you’re helping us bring this book to life. It funds publishing, producing, and sharing it with women everywhere who need to know they’re not alone. Your support builds the momentum we need to inspire women to stop chasing what’s expected and start choosing what’s right for them.

Other Ways You Can Support Us

Spread the word! On Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and to at least 5 women in your orbit. 

When posting, please tag @shannonflanagan and @nicolakinsella @manuscripts and use the hashtag: #ChooseDon’tChaseYourCareer

We can’t do this without YOU! 

Thank you so very very much for all of your love and support!

Shannon & Nicola

Author Bios

Shannon Flanagan is a change-maker and community builder, now focused on helping women navigate life’s most pivotal transitions with courage and clarity. At 25, she discovered her life’s purpose: to create the conditions for people to love what they do every day. That purpose has been the through line of her work ever since.

Drawing from her background in organizational psychology, leadership, and change management, Shannon has dedicated her career to supporting people through reinvention. Whether that means career pivots, layoffs, parenthood, or the personal seasons of life that demand resilience and self-discovery. 

Shannon is the founder of Retail Women in Tech, a global community for women and allies passionate about retail and technology, and founder of Retail Connections, a nonprofit that builds inclusive spaces where women and allies at every stage of their journey can connect, grow, and thrive.

She also serves on the Global Mental Health Taskforce, advocating for affordable and accessible care and helping to break the stigma that surrounds mental health.

As an author, speaker, coach, and mother of three, she brings empathy, authenticity, and a get-sh*t-done mindset to every conversation. Her mission is simple yet powerful: to help women rewrite what success and fulfillment mean on their own terms.

Shannon believes that by sharing our stories we spark the inspiration and change we seek in our own lives and the world around us.

Nicola Kinsella is a strategist, marketer, and self-proclaimed career path disrupter. Currently Chief Strategy Officer at Fluent Commerce, she spends her days shaping the future of retail tech, and her nights plotting how to dismantle the tired old rules about work, success, and identity.

Nicola didn’t follow a straight line to get here. She zigzagged her way across continents, industries, and roles. From implementing technology to running global marketing to shaping corporate strategy, she knows what it feels like to take the path less traveled, and enjoys supporting others to do the same.

Nicola is a huge advocate of hiring based on potential rather than direct experience in a similar role, and actively looks across industry verticals to find great talent. That means letting go of what looks good on paper and owning what feels right.

Whether she’s advising executives, co-authoring a book, or speaking to audiences about AI across ecommerce and supply chains, Nicola is unapologetic about rewriting the rules. This book is her invitation to start writing your own.

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