Kara Loewentheil, J.D. is a Master Certified Life Coach, founder of The School of New Feminist Thought, author of the New York Times Bestseller "Take Back Your Brain," and host of the internationally top-ranked podcast UnF*ck Your Brain: Feminist Self-Help for Everyone (50 million downloads and counting!).
A Yale College and Harvard Law School graduate, Kara did what every Ivy League lawyer should do: Quit a prestigious academic career to become a life coach! Eight years after she stepped down as director of a think tank at Columbia Law School, she has bootstrapped her way to $25,000,000 in received revenue for her business, taught millions of women how to identify the ways that sexist socialization impacts their brains, and helped women all over the world rewire their thought patterns to liberate themselves from the inside out.
Her first book, “Take Back Your Brain: How A Sexist Society Gets in Your Head – and How to Get It Out” (Penguin Life, May 2024) debuted at #1 on the USA Today Bestseller List and translations are forthcoming in several languages. “Take Back Your Brain” is available at takebackyourbrainbook.com or wherever books are sold! You can also follow Kara on Instagram @karaloewentheil for effective brain hacks and feminist mindset inspiration.
In our latest Q&A, she shares memories from her time on campus, her love for the Berkeley College library, and how Yale helped influence the person she is today.
Why Yale?
My mother went to Yale at a time when women had only recently been admitted in any significant numbers. So, I grew up hearing about the idea of being a feminist at Yale, and I always knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps.
What is your most enduring memory of your time at Yale?
I was the coordinator of the Yale Women's Center, so I have a lot of memories of staying up late with my friends there and making protest signs.
What is the biggest lesson you learned during your time at Yale and how does that shape who you are today?
I was part of Directed Studies my freshman year, and it really taught me to ask big questions and think deeply and critically about the answers. Ironically, I think I use those tools more in my day-to-day work as an author and coach than I ever did when I was doing reproductive rights litigation!
How did your time at Yale shape your identity?
I came to Yale already a feminist, but at Yale, I really learned how to be part of a bigger cause, how to work in coalition with others, and how to see the bigger picture of movement work. But it also cemented my identity as a writer, a reader, and a thinker - all of which are part of my less common second career.
What does belonging mean to you and how did you find a sense of belonging at Yale and after?
I think belonging is about your relationship with yourself more than anything else. If you don't know how to accept and speak kindly to yourself, it's hard to ever feel like you belong anywhere. For me, a lot of that work happened after Yale, when I reached my 30s and realized that my professional accomplishments were not creating the self-confidence and happiness I had hoped for.
How have you stayed engaged with the Yale community since graduating?
Several of my best friends to this day are friends I met at Yale, and since my mother and brother also went to Yale, it's hard for me to go to any family or social event that isn't Yale-infused!
What advice do you wish you heard during your time at Yale?
I wish I had known that no amount of academic or career success will make your brain think better thoughts. You have to learn how to change your thinking on purpose, which is what I teach people to do now. Then again, it's likely someone tried to tell me that then, and I just wasn't ready to hear it!
What were your favorite spaces at Yale or in New Haven? Why?
I always loved the Berkeley College library. I spent many nights cramming for exams and taking cat naps on the couches there. My father is a rare book dealer, so wood-paneled libraries always feel like home to me.
What aspects of Yale do you feel like you talk about most often to people who didn’t go to school here? Why?
I have a stepdaughter now whose mother also went to Yale and who wants to go to Yale, too. I talk to her about the value and stimulation of being in a space where everyone else is also at the top of their game. Everyone is smart, everyone is accomplished, everyone is motivated. It's a unique experience - everyone was the editor of their high school newspaper or a national prize winner or a creative artist - and I think it's good for everyone who is used to being a big fish in a smaller pond to experience that.
How would you answer? Share your responses with the YAA and they might be featured in an upcoming edition of "Getting to Know You."
And be sure to check out all the Q&As in the series by visiting our Getting to Know You page.
