The silence after the layoff was louder than Liv Lewis expected. For more than two decades, she had been in motion, shaping communications strategies for global brands, leading multicultural campaigns that resonated deeply, and championing platforms that uplifted Black women. But suddenly, she found herself staring into an unexpected pause.

The timing was disorienting. She had gone through a divorce in 2020 and, after years of navigating the emotional aftermath, had finally settled into a groove balancing co-parenting and her career. Then, in 2024, the professional rug was pulled from under her. For many, the new blow would have meant retreat. For Liv, it became a moment of reckoning. “It was painful, yes,” she recalls, “but I also felt a strange clarity. For the first time in years, I had the space to think about what I wanted to build, not just what I was hired to deliver.”

That pause birthed two intertwined ventures: Liv Lewis Communications, her consultancy drawing on decades of experience in beauty, fashion, and multicultural communications; and Livd, a platform designed to serve Black and Brown women moving through separation and divorce.

From loss to purpose

The creation of Livd (pronounced ‘lived’) wasn’t a business plan sketched in advance. It was a soul call. Divorce had left Liv raw, unmoored, and acutely aware of how few safe spaces existed for women like her to process, share, and heal. At the same time, her faith kept whispering that pain could be turned into purpose.

“Everyone talks about the beginning and the end of marriage,” she says, “but what about the middle? The messy, confusing middle where you’re figuring out who you are now, and what’s next?”

Livd was built for that middle. It is not simply a platform but a community, where women connect through lived experience, or as Liv likes to say, through their livd experience. Members, called Livvies, don’t gather to wallow but to rebuild with intention. The offerings, from a Divorce Starter Checklist, Resource Hub to WhatsApp groups and support sessions, are tools, but the heart of Livd is the sisterhood it fosters.

Carrying faith into the work

Liv’s professional journey has always been about centering identity, culture, and belonging. She led communications for the My Black Is Beautiful platform, amplifying stories of Black women and creating campaigns that challenged stereotypes. Those years taught her the power of building community, not just around products, but around purpose.

That same philosophy guides Livd. “I want women to feel seen, safe, and supported,” she says. “My faith reminds me that brokenness is not the end of the story. It’s often where the real story begins.”

The long view

Today, Livd is still in its early stages, launched officially in May 2024, but the response has been overwhelming. Women are finding not just resources but resonance: a reminder that they are not alone, that there is life on the other side of heartbreak.

Liv is careful not to oversell this moment. “We’re in startup mode,” she says plainly. “But I’ve been humbled by the way women are responding. It tells me we’re meeting a need that’s been ignored for too long.”

Looking ahead, she is already dreaming bigger. She envisions a nonprofit arm that advocates for legislation to protect women from losing everything in divorce. She imagines Livd Nests, transitional homes where women can rebuild, surrounded by essentials like groceries, laundry rooms, wellness support, and storage space. “A nest is temporary,” she explains. “But it has everything you need to begin again. That’s what I want to give women.”

Becoming unshaken

In a career filled with accolades, from leading purpose-driven campaigns at global agencies to being recognized among PR’s top women, this chapter feels most defining. Because it is not about awards or titles, it is about survival, faith, and reinvention.

“I wouldn’t wish divorce or job loss on anyone,” Liv reflects. “But I also know those moments stripped me down to what matters. They reminded me that resilience isn’t just about bouncing back. It’s about becoming unshaken.”

For the women who now gather under the Livd banner, that message resonates deeply. And for Liv Lewis, it is proof that sometimes, rock bottom is where the calling gets clearest.