A few Saturdays ago, Cam was walking with a woman named Sarah.
She'd been carrying something heavy for years. A betrayal. A fight she couldn't win. A chapter she couldn’t seem to close.
Cam listened. Then asked the one question nobody had thought to ask her:
"What was the fight actually giving you?"
She went quiet for a long time.
By the end of the walk, she had her answer, and it changed how she saw the last decade of her life.
That's what this week's story is about. The gifts that don't arrive looking like gifts. The ones disguised as the hardest thing you've ever been through.
Cam wrote about their conversation. It's worth the read. 🧡
First, snapshots from our walking villages:
A moment of pure joy from Atlanta Walk #9 this week!
Atlanta from a different angle. Host Sohil in the safety belt. 😭
Detroit Walk album cover just dropped. 👀
“London Walk #21! This walk left me with more questions than answers and I loved that. It felt like we could have gone so much deeper if time allowed.” — Cristina, in London
(Don’t see your city? We post the photos in each Meetup group after the walk. Otherwise this email would be longer than a CVS receipt.)
🏆 Sohil in Atlanta got the whole squad to put their hands in a circle and shout "ATL!” to end the walk. Officially the best video in my camera roll.
🏆 Shoutout to Micah, who moved from Pittsburgh to Detroit and found the walk on his first week in his new home. Already a regular, bringing joy to the group each week.
🏆 A London regular showed up to the walk with homemade cinnamon rolls. Fresh baked, brought with gratitude for host Cristina and the space she holds every Saturday. 🧡
Some gifts arrive wrapped in the worst thing that ever happened to you.
A few Saturdays ago, Cam was walking alongside a regular named Sarah who always brings great energy to the group.
She started talking about a charity she'd poured nearly a decade into: trips to Asia, fundraising calls, introductions to wealthy donors. Work that felt like it mattered.
Then she found out the founder had built himself a mansion with the money.
She went to war. Lawyers. Flights back and forth. Years of fighting a system stacked against her. Then, about a year ago, she let it go.
Cam listened. Then asked one big question:
"What was the fight actually giving you?"
Five miles has a way of loosening things. As they walked, the real answer surfaced: a husband who passed, sobriety she was navigating, family relationships under strain. The fight had become the thing she could pour herself into instead of facing the grief.
By the end of the walk, she'd traced the whole thread: the guilt beneath the giving. The grief beneath the fighting. Patterns she'd been running for decades, finally visible.
She said she was happier now than she'd been in years.
"What if everything I went through can serve as a stepping stone for other people?"
That's the gift. The one she never asked for.
This week on The Board Walks, people brought these topics:
"What’s a challenge you faced that, in retrospect, you're glad happened?"
“When life doesn't go to plan, how do you find your footing again?”
"What belief do you hold that you wish you didn't?"
“What's a piece of advice you didn't take, and now wish you had?”
"Is suffering necessary for growth — or is avoiding it the whole point?"
Screenshot these. Steal with pride. Bring one to your next dinner party to shift the conversation from “meh” to marvelous.
Quick hits:
🎉 Boston Friends: We’re looking for our next host! If you know anyone who’d be the perfect fit to keep the momentum going, send them our way. More info →
✨ Expansion News: The walks are headed to Sacramento, California! Share the good news with anyone you know out there. We’ve just accepted 3 more hosts, bringing us to 14 cities. Stay tuned. Host with us →
✍️ Got a story? If you’ve had a standout conversation on the walks, I’d love to hear it. We’re interviewing people for a new project. 👀 Share here →
🔐 The Board is on its way. The inner circle of the walks. Global, curated, application-only. Join the waitlist.
Is there something in your past that you've only ever called a failure?
A fight you couldn't win. A loss you couldn't justify. A season you'd rather skip over when you're telling the story of your life.
What if it was also doing something for you… something you couldn't have gotten any other way?
One honest question worth sitting with this week:
What did that situation give you, even if it wasn't what you wanted?
Sarah didn't plan to have that conversation. She just showed up on a Saturday morning.
That's all it ever takes.
Whatever you're sitting with right now — the unprocessed thing, the pattern you can't quite name, the question you keep circling — sometimes the best move is to lace up and walk 5 miles. 🧡
Have a whimsical week,
Founder of The Board Walks
