For Rye native Brianna Scully, debuting her first book of poetry, “Heartbreak Benediction,” at a book launch party in Rye felt like a full-circle moment.
Held at Arcade Booksellers, where Scully recalls buying her first books as a child, the launch event brought together family, friends, and members of the community she grew up in.
“It was really nice to allow myself to be seen in this way,” Scully said. “It was really special to celebrate a milestone in my journey and how far I’ve come, back at the beginning.”
The notion of being seen is important to Scully. She grew up in Rye, went through Rye schools, and participated in many activities here. But, she said, “I always wrestled with this feeling like I was an outsider.”
When she graduated high school in 2013 and left for Colgate University, that sensation continued.
“When I went out into the adult world, this feeling followed me, and I realized that the common denominator was not where I was — it was me, outcasting myself,” she said. “I’ve spent years dismantling that wall I’d built.”
Those themes punctuate Scully’s work as a coach and author today, including “Heartbreak Benediction,” a collection of more than 130 of her poems that focus on love, heartbreak, faith, and healing.
“The process meant I had to go through a lot of grief and embarrassment before it even came out, just to be able to handle the reality that people would actually read something that felt so personal,” Scully said.
“Vulnerability is a favorite word of mine,” she said. “Though something I’ve learned is that vulnerability does not mean full disclosure…. It’s that I’ve shared unpolished truths, my art, my heart’s experiences.”
Scully designed the book’s cover using a stained-glass motif — a nod to her diverse faith and spiritual connections.
By day, Scully has forged an impressive career in emerging technology and augmented reality, and currently works in marketing at an AI start-up.
But Scully would describe her true vocation differently.
“My real purpose and work in this world is helping people to find safety in their bodies, process the mess of their humanness, and live their lives with more aliveness,” Scully said.
Alongside her tech role, she has built a personal coaching practice that she describes as focusing on embodiment, creativity, and healing.
She calls a strength program she designed “Den.” It’s a 45-minute, at-home training that blends traditional weightlifting with breathwork, so the body and nervous system are trained together. The program focuses on building strength, improving movement, and helping people deepen connection with their bodies.
“Somatics is all about moving stored emotions through your body,” she said. “We store stress, grief, anger, etc. in our bodies and that to me are the ‘knots’ that need untangling.”
Much of Scully’s coaching centers on creating spaces for women only, which she says allows for deeper emotional vulnerability and strength. “I think spaces with just women, or just men, are important,” she said. “The energy shifts massively, the level of vulnerability people are willing to go to changes.”
Many women come to her unable to articulate the disconnect they feel, but with an awareness that they need support. “Most of the time it’s just this desire to create more or feel more free,” she said. “I’d say functional freeze is the most common.”
Helping women relearn how to listen to themselves is core to her coaching. “Women are taught to be small, easy, and tolerable,” she said. “I really recommend doing everything you can to get free from that cage.”
