My Story
At an early age, Ellen Busch was diagnosed as dyslexic and as a result, was given an academic death sentence; in a split second her self-esteem was destroyed, and her potential evaporated. Despite her challenges, or in spite of them, Ellen’s parents fostered her education outside the classroom, by teaching her how to pilot her father’s boat and how to navigate, understand, and respect the ocean. They enabled Ellen to participate in team sports, to go on a two-week Outward Bound program, and made it possible for her to get certified in scuba diving at the age of 17. As a young adult, becoming an expert skier and ski instructor, Ellen fell in love with adventure and the challenges it brought. Mastering these skills enabled Ellen to persevere and empowered her to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, all with dyslexia.
Despite her accomplishments, Ellen still suffered from low self-esteem, and was consistently underemployed, as well as a regular target of bullies and predators. After escaping an abusive marriage, Ellen faced her trauma and the belief systems that had been holding her back. Even with the sudden loss of her parents, who were relentless in their support for Ellen, she learned to heal and ask for help. It has been through her work with lifestyle coaches, therapists, and training with Navy SEALS that Ellen has learned to take back her power, to live confidently, and to thrive as she follows her dreams.
Ellen's first book, (dis)Empowered, which chronicles her survival story of academic and domestic abuse, was published in May 2023. She currently resides in Colorado where she can follow her passions down the ski slopes, and the world beyond.
Each path starts with the same question: what is getting in the way right now?
Dyslexia coaching for college students
Bright students are working twice as hard to keep up, and quietly losing confidence.
Why?
College removes the structure school provided. Reading loads, deadlines, and asking for support all fall on the student, so overwhelm builds even when ability is high.
✍️ What Coaching changes
Students build organization habits, learn to ask for what they need, and study with confidence.
Coaching for women after divorce or loss
Everything you planned has changed, and you’re still expected to carry on.
Why?
After a divorce or the loss of a spouse, decisions pile up just as your sense of direction and self-trust are at their lowest. Rushing to “move on” only makes it heavier.
✍️ What Coaching changes
You find the pause, rebuild trust in yourself, and reconstruct your life one piece at a time.
Despite being raised in a loving family, life had left Ellen Busch traumatized and at her wit's end. Busch had no home, no job, no relationship, and no hope of having a family.
Even though Ellen escaped from an abusive husband, she was controlled by the unshakable stigma of dyslexia that erased any shred of self-worth. Busch couldn’t see that she was a victim of trauma until one fateful day, on a crowded highway, when she had a moment of realization that would change the trajectory of her life.
(dis)Empowered traces Busch’s journey from a troubled child trapped in an educational system that believed she was broken, to an insecure adult who grasped at each success like a rung on a ladder. But as she climbed, the view never changed because she could not see her own successes. All she saw was a woman who was unworthy, incapable, feeling powerless.
After being deceived into a marriage with a narcissist, left with nothing, she surrendered to a higher power. And in one epiphanic moment, she realized that everything that had happened to her had happened for her.
Past Events
Book Signing: (dis) Empowered by Ellen BuschSat, May 11Boulder- Book Signing: (dis) Empowered by Ellen BuschSat, Sep 09The Art Social
- Book Signing: (dis) Empowered by Ellen BuschSun, Sep 03Barnes & Noble
