Who Am I? (A Six-Year Answer)
Two books, three careers, 15,000 new followers, and a question I still couldn’t answer… until now. 🤯
Note: The recording above is a reading of this newsletter, the content is no different. If you’re someone who needs or prefers to hear their news, I hope you enjoy my melodious voice.
Yoo-hoo! I’m Caroline Davis, a YA sci-fi author represented by the agency behind The Hunger Games and currently preparing my first book, MAY WE PLEASE THE SEA, to pitch to publishers.
Represented by the agency behind Ender’s Game and currently preparing my first book, MAY WE PLEASE THE SEA, to pitch to publishers.
Not currently represented by anyone, but I finished my 2nd book! This newsletter shares my latest author updates & creative process musings.
Who am I?
It’s a running joke in my family, dating back to that time in college where I semi‑accidentally dyed my very blonde hair…black. (And not my eyebrows.) It was a tragic era for my appearance and yet, at the time, I shockingly did not care.
I’d gone to the hair salon, finally embracing that I no longer was a Florida girl basking in the sun, but a college student in Boston—ok ok, fine, it was Cambridge! I went to Harvard!!
Whew, sorry, don’t know what came over me there.
Anyways, I asked the discounted assistant-to-the-regional-hairstylist (because that’s all I could afford) to “please match my roots”, which I will always claim are dirty blonde, but one might describe as light-brown, and well, some time later, I looked into the mirror and…I had black hair. Dark black hair.
With no money left to fix it, and my hair now too badly fried to do more to it even if I could, I said “thank you” in my best people-pleasing tone and scuttled back to my dorm room, where I then scared the shit out of my roommates because they thought a stranger had broken in.
The best (or worst?) part of this was…I just accepted it. Unplanned black hair, light brown eyebrows, and oh yeah, this was during the recruitment process for Harvard’s final clubs (which are like sororities or secret societies). Not the best timing.
Almost every club cut me. I assume because they were like, “Who’s that random chick with black hair?” (But it also could have been because they didn’t like me. Whatever.)
For the one club that didn’t cut me, it was because an upperclassman I worked with was kind enough to inform everyone of my new black hair.
Thus, I successfully joined the Isis (which was named for the Egyptian goddess of fertility, just so you know) and I got some really great sweatshirts and hoodies that boldly proclaimed ISIS all over them. Sadly, we had to rebrand shortly after, for obvious reasons, and those clothes had to go.
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The “Who am I?” family joke was born because I truly looked like I was going through an identity crisis.
I wasn’t then.
But I kind of am now…minus the eyebrow mismatch.
Who am I? I studied Mandarin Chinese from age 13, took upper-level Business Chinese in college as a freshman, moved to Hong Kong after graduation, where I emailed about real estate investments in Chinese. Now I speak more Spanish than Chinese. (Duolingo on Day 641!!)
Who am I? In Hong Kong, I studied and passed all three levels of the CFA exams (That stands for Chartered Financial Analyst, and it’s one of the hardest finance designations you can get). Then I left the finance industry, which means over 900 hours of studying and I can’t even force you to call me “Caroline Davis, CFA.” (But I would respond.)
Who am I? At LinkedIn in San Francisco, I won a cross-functional MVP award for my 3-year massive change management project in operations and analytics. Then I quit to write a book.
Who am I? I wrote that book, heck I wrote two books, both in the dystopian sci-fi genre, and I got literary representation from the agency that repped The Hunger Games. Then again with the agency that repped Ender’s Game. Those are both keystone books in my genre! Yet there’s a voice that whispers, “it’s been six years since you left the corporate world…and you still don’t have a book published.”
Who am I? I invested in building an Instagram presence for my future author platform. One reel went big, grew my following by 15,000 people, and even landed me an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered.
But then I stopped.
Was I an influencer? Of what? My dog? My garden? My still-not-publicly-available book? Why was I on here and what was I doing it for anymore??
I didn’t know. So I paused.
Who am I? Even on my entrepreneurial side (aka how I make money, which we all know isn’t coming from book sales), I don’t talk about it, but I have clients who pay me for fractional Chief of Staff and COO work. How cool is that?
Except, because everyone I’ve worked with has come to me versus me selling my services to them, I’ve never truly felt like an entrepreneur.
Yes, I make money that’s not through a full-time employer, but I don’t have a long, fancy sales page with a big blinking “Book a Call with Me” button, so…
Who am I?
Growing up, I always heard my dad talk about “all the pieces of the pie”— the idea of attending to all the aspects of a well-balanced life.
If I was stressing out over an exam, he’d say, “Don’t forget to work out! Work out your brain, work out your body.”
If I was feeling guilty about not studying Chinese so I could go to a party (which was with Isis, but you know which one), he’d remind me, “Social breaks are important too. All the pieces of the pie.”
So…what if, instead of agonizing over this, I applied that life motto now? What if, instead of trying to pick one version of myself, I embraced all my different pie pieces?
Because the truth is: I am multi‑passionate. I am someone who builds many things at once—creatively, professionally, personally….slowly.
Maybe I don’t need to be the Writer, or the COO, or the Influencer.
Maybe the answer to “Who am I?” isn’t a title at all.
Maybe I’m the person intentionally building a life made of many pieces.
I’ve been sitting on this draft for months now, simmering with my pieces, and finally, I feel ready to release this into the world. I have things I’ve put into action, and I can’t wait to bring you along for this next stage in my journey.
Sneak-peek into the first of The New Things:
In the past six years since I left LinkedIn, all of my clients have come to me—a surgical facility group, an interior design studio, an author on book tour, a real estate agency, a dog trainer.
Different industries, different problems, same thing every time: someone smart and capable who needed help getting clear and getting moving.
It always ends the same way. At the close of our meeting, they exhale and say some version of: “Whew. I feel so much better.”
That moment’s my favorite part :)
So here’s my new part: I’m finally doing this entrepreneur thing on purpose.
For the first time ever, I’ll be opening up coaching. And instead of waiting for people to find me, I’m inviting them in.
Inviting YOU in!
It’ll be built around exactly what I’ve been doing for these founders for years: helping you get clear on what you want, and actually making it happen.
So if you’ve ever wanted my brain on your goals, your stuck points, your “I have too much going on and I don’t know where to start”—just reply to this email. I’d love to tell you more.
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And if you’re not looking for coaching, fear not!
This newsletter is not becoming a sales pitch. I’ll still show up here the same way I always have—with my stories and deep-dives and the occasional identity crisis.
Coaching is just one of my new pieces of the pie. If it’s not for you, no worries at all—in this world of shortening content and shortening attention spans, how amazing that you choose to share your precious time with me.
Like I said, there’s more excitement to come!!
But don’t worry…it won’t involve dying my hair black again. 😉
🌊❤️,
Caroline
Since starting this journey,
+843 people have joined my newsletter
+204 virtual teas have been sent to me on Ko-Fi, yummy! Thank you, friend! 🍵
I love coming along on this journey with you and love the photos!