Here’s what I know to be true: You can look like you’ve got it all together and still feel like you’re falling apart. I know because I lived it. For years, I was the strong one. The reliable one. The successful one. On paper, I had the degrees, the business, the faith, the drive. But behind the scenes? I was burnt out, emotionally exhausted, and spiritually disconnected. I was pouring into everyone but myself, and calling it love.

The turning point came in 2018, when I passed out unexpectedly and was diagnosed with Endometriosis. That moment forced me to pause and see the ways I’d been pushing past my pain, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But change didn’t come overnight. I kept performing strength while unraveling on the inside.

Then came 2019.

I flew to Kenya, hoping to save a breaking relationship, but what I found instead was myself. In the stillness between heartbreak and honesty, I realized I’d spent years waiting to be chosen… by partners, by parents, by people who couldn’t meet me where I was. What I was really longing for was to be seen, protected, and loved for who I truly am. That trip broke the cycle. I stopped waiting. I chose me.

That’s when the real healing began.

I turned inward. I began doing the work that I’d one day walk so many others through: untangling the roots of self-abandonment, confronting generational pain, and reclaiming the parts of myself I was taught to hide. I faced the ache of a complicated mother-daughter bond. I grieved the love I didn’t receive from my father. And I met the little girl in me who had always just wanted to feel safe.

Now? I live and serve from a place of truth.

Who I Am

I’m Latoya De’Shaun—a liberation-focused transformational coach, solopreneur consultant, and woman of God. I help high-achieving Black women who’ve spent their lives holding it all together finally hold themselves. Together, we break the cycles of self-abandonment and emotional burnout so you can reclaim your voice, your rest, and your right to be fully seen.

I hold a Master’s in Education and over 6+ years of coaching experience. But more than that, I hold space. For truth-telling. For spiritual alignment. For emotional honesty. For the kind of wholeness that doesn’t require you to shrink, perform, or prove yourself.

Why I Created Patent Leather Project

Because so many of us were taught to survive, not to thrive. To be everything for everyone, but not for ourselves. We’re the ones who carry it all, and are finally ready to be held. This is where emotional healing meets spiritual insight, where ambition meets rest, and where your softness is not a liability, it’s your power.

You don’t have to earn rest. You don’t have to perform for love. You don’t have to wait to be chosen. You get to choose you. And I’m here to walk with you, every step of the way.