Natalie Caine has lived through — and grown from — difficult life transitions. While raising her young daughter, for example, she was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
But nothing could have prepared the 76-year-old for the loss of her home, and the life she had built over decades, in last year’s California wildfires.
Things had been going well. Years ago, when her daughter went to college, Caine created Empty Nest Support Services. She was a sought-after speaker for corporations and high-end resorts.
Natalie Caine
That led to Life in Transition. At disorienting, lonely times when everything changes — a relationship ends, a diagnosis arrives, a loved one dies, whatever — Caine helps people pause, rediscover who they are, and imagine the possibilities ahead.
When her daughter, living in Stamford, had twins during COVID, new grandmother Caine branched out to help grandparents understand their roles, and deal with “unrealistic expectations.”
Then, in January 2025, came the Pacific Palisades fire.
Caine fled in her car. Passing burnt homes, with ashes falling from the sky, she sang childhood songs to distract herself.
On the Pacific Coast Highway, she realized she could not turn back. But an enormous plume of smoke prevented her from seeing what was ahead. It was a compelling metaphor. “I had nowhere to go,” Caine says.
Eventually, through 90-mile-an-hour winds, she reached Santa Monica. All the hotels were filled.
California wildfires
Her daughter said, “Get on a plane here.” The next morning, Caine flew to Connecticut.
She ended up at the Delamar Southport. “They were so kind,” Caine recalls. “All I had was a bag with essentials. I was so shaken.”
Though it was winter, and she was shaken, she felt the need to be outside. “I asked if they could watch me, to see if I was okay. They watched all over me.”
Caine spent 5 months in hotel rooms. With the help of a great broker, Emily Gordon of Coldwell Banker, she found a rental: an old home in the Coleytown neighborhood.
She had already fallen in love with Westport.
The town is very similar to Palisades, she says. “It’s friendly, artistic, creative and beautiful. The people are so kind. There is open space. It’s easy to get around.”
Caine has no plans to leave Westport. Her house sustained heavy smoke damage. Full remediation is needed.
She transitioned to a new life, 2,500 miles from her old one.
The Newman Poses Preserve is not far from Natalie Caine’s new home. (Photo/Michael Tomashefsky)
The only people Caine knew in the area were her daughter and her wife, in Stamford. They’re busy with their work and kids.
“I’ll find my way,” Caine promised herself. “I’ll build my community.”
She has.
Caine found the Westport Library (“oh my gosh!”), the YMCA (“amazing, and everyone is so nice”), the Senior Center, and Neighbors & Newcomers. She looks forward to her first Levitt Pavilion concert (“an outdoor show 10 minutes from home — this is definitely not L.A.!”). She hopes to give back to her new community, in any way she can.
This past winter was an eye-opener for the former Californian. She was unprepared for everything. But she figured it all out — what road salt is, and where to get it, for instance — and got through it, herself.
She is exploring the area, as far as Mystic and Rhinebeck. As a photographer, she is delighted at the variety of the area. She has learned to appreciate the train to New York City.
Now, Caine has redoubled her efforts to help people going through transitions.
Natalie Caine
She offers “Grandmother Moon” workshops through the Omega Institute. Through LifeinTransition, she mentors, writes, and delivers keynotes for organizations, retreats, wellness centers, conferences and community groups.
She coaches and consults individually with women navigating life transitions like parenting, empty nest, retirement, relocation, divorce, widowhood, caregiving, illness and more.
“Transitions teach you a lot about yourself,” Caine notes. “They can break you open with grief.
“And yet within then, there can also be growth. You find joy. resilience and unexpected strength. Your life expands in ways you’d never imagine.”
The Palisades fire was a curse. It forced her to move all the way across the country, away from her home, friends, community, work and joy.
But it was also a gift. Without it, she never would have lived near her daughter and grandchildren.
Nor would she ever have discovered Westport.
When people go through unexpected changes — and who doesn’t? — Natalie Caine says, “I’m there for them.”
Because others — including in Westport — were there for her, during her biggest transition of all.
(For more information, email natalie@lifeintransition.org)
(Every Westporter has an interesting back story. If you like discovering them on “06880,” please click here to support our work. We rely on our readers. Thank you!)
