In April 2019, I booked an Airbnb farm tour experience just outside of Nashville—a break from our agenda filled family vacation and the city’s constant energy. We drove through rolling tobacco fields and winding back roads until we reached a quiet Tennessee town. Our guide, a lifelong local, led us to a no-frills diner— cafeteria-style with metal trays, collard greens and fried green tomatoes. We drank sweet tea in styrofoam cups.

As we settled into our table, I was asked what I did for work.

And I paused.

I’d spent two decades leading digital and social media for some of the world’s biggest brands (Microsoft, Qualcomm, Adidas, & Nestle). But in that moment, I felt uneasy saying it out loud.

It felt complicit.

Like I was part of something that had gotten off course.

That year, social media usage was averaging two hours a day. Half of young adults in the U.S. were online almost constantly. Cyberbullying was up. The suicide rate for high school girls had increased by 65% since 2010. The very platforms that once promised connection were now fueling comparison, anxiety, and division.

I looked outside at those tobacco fields.

I changed the subject. But I didn’t forget the feeling.

That was the moment I knew it was time to write a new chapter.