Meet Kathleen Kat” Saltmarsh-Voss | writer/author”

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathleen “Kat” Saltmarsh-Voss and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In 2017, I was the executive director of a nonprofit organization in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was a Rotarian who volunteered in the community and I thought I was doing all the right things to “be all I could be.” In one second, that all changed when I was run over by a race trailer at one of my organization’s community events. Once it ran over both of my legs, I was on the ground and quickly surrounded by my staff, volunteers and supporters. The ambulance was called and we waited until they arrived by trying to have conversations with those around me. I was unknowingly going into shock and I had some crazy idea that I would go to the hospital, get fitted for crutches and be back at my desk on Monday morning. Unfortunately, I would not be going back to my job. In that moment, I lost my career, my ability to run marathons (or even run at all!) and 18 months later, I lost my independence because of the toll that trying to live alone took on me. I lost my brain for about 2 1/2 years due to the shock on my body, combined with the drugs that my doctors pushed at me. I learned quickly that most people don’t get run over as a pedestrian in their lifetimes. I also learned that we all have some big thing that causes us to mark life in terms of “before the event” or “after the event.” In more than six and a half years since my own involuntary life edit, I’ve met so many remarkable humans that have their own event to measure life by.

At the beginning of 2017, I chose my word of the year to be ABUNDANCE. In the months after the accident, I wondered where the abundance of my year was because I didn’t see any except an abundance of pain, drugs, fear, and limitations. It actually took me a few years to make sense of just that part of my journey. You see, about two years afterward, I realized that the life I was living (when I thought I was doing all the right things to make my mark on the world in a good way) wasn’t my purpose. My life was so busy and noisy, I didn’t hear the incoming messages so my life was brought to a complete stop so that I could do nothing BUT listen. What I heard was that my purpose was to tell my story about hardship and victory. I have always loved writing but I never took the time to write a book or even articles about life lessons. Now I had a whole lot to share and nothing but time! In the stillness of my suffering, it became ABUNDANTLY clear what I should be doing with my life. I needed to get through my involuntary life edit and then encourage others to get through their own. After all, if something challenges you and you come though it but never tell anyone, it’s like it happened for nothing. I cannot let my involuntary life edit be for nothing.

I learned how to navigate through physical, mental, and emotional challenges, accept help from others, appreciate life’s simplicity, how to care for myself in a way that helps me be a better person and I’ve learned how to help others face their own life edits in a way that also helps them find their better selves. I learned that when faced with a life edit, you can be a better version of you – it’s perspective and empathy that light the path toward your own betterment!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Before my involuntary life edit, I was living in a hip, cool lofty place in downtown Colorado Springs! I could walk to all of the best places! I no longer live down there because I needed so much help getting through each day that my ex-husband asked me to move in so he could help me more. Then during covid, we decided that we got along well and we made the decision to get remarried.

Now that I don’t live in downtown Colorado Springs, I would take a friend to Denver so we could walk around Sloan’s Lake Park. It’s a beautiful walk with great views and then we could hit up 16th street mall area, take pictures by the big blue bear statue and get some brews at the bars down there, then when the sun started going down, we would go to Temple Buell theater for some stage shows! Denver is a beautiful city with mountains, water and everything in between!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to Suzanne Tulien, who has worked with me through so many stages of my involuntary life edit. Suzanne was an inspiration to me long before the accident that changed my life forever. She is real and speaks her truth with the most innovative and intelligent workshopping I’ve ever experienced. Suzanne’s life everyday is about becoming the best version of herself that she can be and that she can share with the world.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleensaltmarshvoss/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/k.saltmarshvoss