Most people live their lives two steps ahead of themselves - rushing, bracing, solving, absorbing. They carry pressure that isn’t theirs, soften truths that matter, and abandon themselves in the moments they need presence the most.
This book is an invitation to do something different.
The Strategic Self is a guide to the quieter work of emotional resilience, the kind that begins inside the body and reshapes the way we lead, love, and move through the world. With a rare blend of psychological depth and human clarity, Rae shows readers how to build the internal architecture that makes steadiness possible even in the moments that feel most fragile.
Through honest storytelling, clinical insight, and grounded reflection, this book teaches you how to stay with yourself - in conflict, in uncertainty, in pressure, in ambition, and in intimacy. You will learn how to recognize the patterns that drain you, how to hold your boundaries with integrity, how to notice the early signs of self-abandonment, and how to return to yourself with compassion rather than critique.
This is not a book about perfecting your emotional life.
It is a book about inhabiting it.
If you have ever felt too responsible, too depleted, too attuned, too overwhelmed, or too invisible inside your own story, The Strategic Self offers a way home.
A way of living from alignment rather than fear.
A way of leading without losing yourself.
A way of belonging to your own life again.
Contents
Chapter 1 - The Lie of “Fine”
Chapter 2 - The Motion Beneath Motivation
Chapter 3 - The Lens We See Through
Chapter 4 - The Courage of Self-Honesty
Chapter 5 - When Pressure Gets Loud
Chapter 6 - The Architecture of Resilience
Chapter 7 - The Shape of Emotional Bandwidth
Chapter 8 - The Weight We Carry
Chapter 9 - The Boundaries That Shape Us
Chapter 10 -The Practice of Staying with Yourself
Chapter 11- Living from the Strategic Self
Prologue
Chapter Questions
Index
This is a pre-order. Shipping Begins February 2026. Pre-Order includes a signed copy from Rae.
**Cover is in final production and may look slightly different.
Why Pre-Order?
Receive a copy of the book signed by Rae
Receive the book a month ahead of the start of sales
Receive surprise RFC additional products
Most people live their lives two steps ahead of themselves - rushing, bracing, solving, absorbing. They carry pressure that isn’t theirs, soften truths that matter, and abandon themselves in the moments they need presence the most.
This book is an invitation to do something different.
The Strategic Self is a guide to the quieter work of emotional resilience, the kind that begins inside the body and reshapes the way we lead, love, and move through the world. With a rare blend of psychological depth and human clarity, Rae shows readers how to build the internal architecture that makes steadiness possible even in the moments that feel most fragile.
Through honest storytelling, clinical insight, and grounded reflection, this book teaches you how to stay with yourself - in conflict, in uncertainty, in pressure, in ambition, and in intimacy. You will learn how to recognize the patterns that drain you, how to hold your boundaries with integrity, how to notice the early signs of self-abandonment, and how to return to yourself with compassion rather than critique.
This is not a book about perfecting your emotional life.
It is a book about inhabiting it.
If you have ever felt too responsible, too depleted, too attuned, too overwhelmed, or too invisible inside your own story, The Strategic Self offers a way home.
A way of living from alignment rather than fear.
A way of leading without losing yourself.
A way of belonging to your own life again.
Contents
Chapter 1 - The Lie of “Fine”
Chapter 2 - The Motion Beneath Motivation
Chapter 3 - The Lens We See Through
Chapter 4 - The Courage of Self-Honesty
Chapter 5 - When Pressure Gets Loud
Chapter 6 - The Architecture of Resilience
Chapter 7 - The Shape of Emotional Bandwidth
Chapter 8 - The Weight We Carry
Chapter 9 - The Boundaries That Shape Us
Chapter 10 -The Practice of Staying with Yourself
Chapter 11- Living from the Strategic Self
Prologue
Chapter Questions
Index
This is a pre-order. Shipping Begins February 2026. Pre-Order includes a signed copy from Rae.
**Cover is in final production and may look slightly different.
Why Pre-Order?
Receive a copy of the book signed by Rae
Receive the book a month ahead of the start of sales
Receive surprise RFC additional products
