One moment, Susan Filan was near the top of the legal world: a prosecutor, trial lawyer and MSNBC senior analyst.
Energized by a COVID-inspired pivot, she had earned a master’s degree in Indigenous people’s law. She was ready to start a new career, in that field.
The next moment — June 2, 2022 — Filan was crossing the Post Road, from Patagonia toward Barnes & Noble.
Suddenly, a car slammed into her. She was flipped onto the windshield. Her head hit the street.
She saw herself hovering above her body. She wondered if she was dead.
Quickly though, Filan was back in her body. She could not see or move. But she felt pain, and heard sirens. She also heard a first responder say, “Oh, it’s not a fatality.”
Filan wondered whether the flight she was taking to France 3 days later would have to be postponed.
She had no idea what lay ahead: 5 surgeries in a year. Learning to walk again. The knowledge that her new life would never be the same as her old one.
“The person who left my body was not the same one who returned,” she explains. “That person died.”
For a while, she thought she would go back to litigating. But, she realized, “my heart doesn’t work that way any more.”
She asked herself an existential question: “Who am I?”
Susan Filan
The answer, she has come to realize, is someone very different. Filan has discovered a much different life. It brings her joy. As painful as recovery has been, she relishes the opportunity to live that new life.
Filan continues to assist people in need. Yet she does it now as a “divorce coach.” She works with clients to protect their family, finances and future.
“I have a 67-year-old body. But I feel brand new,” she says. “I love this opportunity to help, in any way I can.
Divorce forces “major life decisions, when people are least equipped to think clearly,” Filan notes.
They worry that one wrong move will cost them everything. They don’t know who to trust, or where to turn next. They may make decisions out of fear, or because they’re overwhelmed. Legal fees soar. And they walk into crucial meetings feeling alone, with no one in their corner.
Filan is.
As someone with a second chance on life, Filan has learned not to waste time on “frivolous arguments. They’re obstacles to who you want to be.”
So she directs her energy — and that of her clients — to practical matters. Like making the right decisions, protecting children and finances, and restoring a feeling of control.
“I’ve been on both sides of the courtroom,” Filan says. “Now I’m on yours.
“Your lawyer handles your case. I handle you.”
The divorce coach knows all about judges and attorneys. And she has been through her own difficult divorce.
She uses her experience and insights to guide clients through every step: selecting the right legal and financial team; understanding discovery, depositions, mediation and hearings; preparation for meetings; addressing co-parenting and custody, both legally and emotionally; navigating communication with an ex, and building a life on the other side.
At a time when emotions are high, Filan offers a steady, calming — and very human — mooring place. Men and women who have been clients praise her knowledge, communication, wisdom, strength and compassion.
That’s no surprise.
“People going through divorce can lose their identity,” says Filan. “They may not be sure what they want, or who they want to be.”
After her accident, she too lost her identity. She asked herself the same questions.
Just over 4 years ago, Susan Filan nearly died. She discovered a new identity.
Now, she helps other people, in the depths of their own personal crises — find theirs.
(For Susan Filan’s website, click here.)
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What a remarkable story, Susan Filan. We wish you well!
It looks like you’re getting a second chance at life after that horrible accident. I met someone a long time ago on Long Lots Road who could have used your services seven times over four decades.
Thank you for telling this story, Dan. What stands out is not that Susan survived something catastrophic, but what she chose to do with the perspective it left her. Divorce forces people into the biggest decisions of their lives at the moment they are least able to make them clearly. Having someone steady in your corner who understands both the legal process and the human side of it changes how a person comes out the other end. Westport is fortunate to have her, and so is anyone walking this road.