Ms. Lan Thanh

Ms. Lan Thanh Transformational Coach |Author of What the Mud Made Me | Founder of Sentuary

Four years ago, I was 88 pounds.My hair was coming out in my hands, I was going through chemotherapy, and most of my ene...
09/18/2026

Four years ago, I was 88 pounds.

My hair was coming out in my hands, I was going through chemotherapy, and most of my energy was going toward getting through the next day.

This week, I turned 49.

I spent part of my birthday on Zoom with people who came to celebrate the pre-launch of What the Mud Made Me, the memoir I spent years being afraid to write.

Then I went to a concert.

I danced.

I laughed with friends.

And somewhere in the middle of a room full of people singing happy birthday to me, I caught myself looking around and taking it all in.

For most of my life, I knew how to survive.

I knew how to keep moving, carry what needed carrying, show up for everyone else and make it through hard things.

What I’m learning now is different.

I’m learning how to receive.

How to celebrate.

How to let joy take up space without waiting for something to go wrong.

How to build a life I don’t have to escape from.

At 45, I was fighting for my life.

At 49, I want to be fully inside it.

That might be the greatest birthday gift I could have given myself.

What are you finally giving yourself permission to live?

09/17/2026

Last night, after the reading, the stories, the questions, and all the emotion of my virtual pre-launch, this is how I ended my birthday.

Dancing and singing Girls Just Want to Have Fun. 😂

And somehow, this little video feels like part of the story too.

For so much of my life, strength meant getting through it. Keep moving. Take care of everyone. Handle what needed to be handled.

Writing What the Mud Made Me has asked something different of me.

Not just to look back at what I survived, but to notice the woman standing here now.

She laughs louder.
She takes up more space.
Apparently, she also grabs the mic and sings Cyndi Lauper. 😂

Forty-nine is already looking pretty good.

Thank you to everyone who spent my birthday and pre-launch with me. I felt so loved.

And we’re just getting started.

If you want to read the story behind the woman dancing in this video, comment FIRST and I’ll send you Chapter One. ❤️

09/16/2026

Today I turn 49.✨

And it feels fitting that the last question in this series with Teri Ijeoma is about the risk that was worth taking.

During chemotherapy, I was doing everything I was told to do. But my body was telling me something different.

So I started listening.

I made a decision that went against the advice I had been given. I fasted for two days before chemotherapy because I wanted to see whether giving my body that space would change how I experienced treatment.

It was a risk.

But the bigger risk, for me, would have been continuing to ignore myself.

That season taught me something I’m still learning at 49: there is a difference between being told what is best for you and learning to hear your own voice clearly enough to participate in the decisions about your life.

That lesson went far beyond cancer.

It changed the way I love.
The way I make decisions.
The way I set boundaries.
The way I choose myself.

And ultimately, it became part of the story I wrote in What the Mud Made Me.

So on my birthday tonight, I’m opening that story a little wider.

I’m celebrating my virtual book pre-launch tonight, September 16, and I would love to have you there. I’ll be reading new pages, sharing more of the story behind the book, answering questions, and celebrating this next chapter with you.

Thank you, Teri Ijeoma ™️ , for asking the kind of questions that made me look back at the risks that changed my life.

Comment VIRGO and I’ll send you the link to join us tonight. 🎂🪷

09/15/2026

When Teri Ijeoma ™️ asked me what risk I took during my health journey that was worth taking, my answer was deeply personal.

During chemotherapy, there was a point when I made a choice that went against what my doctor recommended. I had been paying close attention to my body, asking questions, researching, and noticing what was happening after each treatment.

It wasn’t about believing I knew more than my doctors.

It was about realizing that their expertise and my relationship with my own body could exist in the same room.

Listening to Teri respond to me here made me think about how difficult that can be, especially for women who have spent years being taught to defer, be agreeable, and not make trouble.

Sometimes the risk worth taking is speaking up. Asking another question. Getting another opinion. Saying, “Something doesn’t feel right,” even when everyone else seems certain.

That lesson went far beyond cancer for me.

Tomorrow, on my birthday, I’m sharing more of this journey, the risks I took, the things I had to unlearn, and the story behind What the Mud Made Me at my virtual pre-launch celebration.

Comment VIRGO and I’ll send you the link to join us tomorrow, September 16.

09/14/2026

Teri Ijeoma ™️ asked me what risk I took during my health journey that was worth taking.

I still haven’t answered her.

Because before I could get to the risk, I had to explain what had changed in the way I understood my cancer.

For years, I had been very good at holding things in. Anger. Hurt. Trauma. Rage. I could keep functioning, keep taking care of everyone else, keep moving.

Then I got sick.

I’m not saying suppressed emotions cause cancer. I’m saying that during my own healing, I started asking harder questions about what my body had been carrying while I was busy convincing everyone, including myself, that I was fine.

And that changed how I approached everything that came next.

Including one decision during chemotherapy that went against what my doctors told me to do.

That’s the risk I’ll tell you about tomorrow.

And on Wednesday, September 16, my birthday, I’m opening up even more of this story at the virtual pre-launch of What the Mud Made Me.

Comment VIRGO and I’ll send you the link.

09/13/2026

Yesterday I shared the question Teri Ijeoma ™️ asked me:

What risk did you take that was worth taking?

I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

Because the risk wasn’t only writing the book. It was finally investing in myself enough to tell the truth about my life, the patterns I inherited, and the parts of me I was still trying to understand.

Teri and I originally connected through our shared passion for education, so this conversation felt especially meaningful to me. Her work and her book, The Risk Worth Taking, are rooted in what can happen when we stop waiting for certainty and decide to bet on ourselves.

That question stayed with me because I realized the work we do on ourselves rarely stops with us.

It changes how we parent.
How we love.
What we tolerate.
What we model.
What we finally give ourselves permission to choose.

On September 16, my birthday, I’m opening up more of that story at the virtual pre-launch for What the Mud Made Me.

If you want to join me, comment VIRGO and I’ll send you the registration link.

Thank you, Teri, for the question that made me look at my own story a little differently.

09/12/2026

When I met Teri Ijeoma ™️, one of the first things we bonded over was education.

Teri was an assistant principal before taking a huge risk, leaving that path and building Trade and Travel. Today she’s the New York Times bestselling author of The Risk Worth Taking.

So it feels fitting that one of the questions she asked me was:

What’s a risk you took that was worth taking?

My answer?

Investing in myself.

For most of my life, I was much better at investing my time, energy, and belief into everyone else.

My students. My family. My relationships.

Learning to put that same belief into myself has been a different story.

And next year, I’m preparing to take another big risk of my own: leaving my job and stepping into entrepreneurship full time.

Maybe that’s why Teri’s story resonated with me so deeply.

Different journeys. Same willingness to bet on what comes next.

Grateful to Teri Ijeoma ™️ for this conversation, and for asking a question that stayed with me long after we stopped recording.

This is just the beginning. I’ll be sharing more of our interview over the next few days.

Comment MUD if you want to follow the journey. 🌱

09/07/2026

This is the day I rang the bell.

I thought surviving cancer would change everything.

Six months later, I was sitting in my car outside a man’s apartment, waiting for him to text me back.

And there I was.

I had fought so hard for my life, but I was still waiting for someone else to choose me.

That realization hurt in a completely different way.

Because surviving and choosing yourself are not the same thing.

That became part of the story I wrote in What the Mud Made Me.

On September 16th, my birthday, I’m opening that story up for the first time at my virtual pre-launch celebration. I’ll be reading from the book, sharing some of what happened behind the pages, and celebrating this next chapter with you.

If you want to be there, comment BELL and I’ll send you the registration link. 🔔

09/04/2026

Last year, I took a solo trip to Ireland.

One cloudy day, I found myself standing in front of the Atlantic Ocean debating whether I should get in.

I wasn’t feeling my best. The water was freezing. And I had plenty of reasons to stay on the shore.

But something in me said, go.

So I did.

The video I’m sharing is me right after I came out of the water. I was freezing, but I was also completely full of joy and gratitude.

I had faced something I was afraid of and realized that the fear itself didn’t have to disappear before I could move.

I’ve thought about that moment often while writing "What the Mud Made Me."

There were so many years when I waited to feel safe enough, certain enough, or approved of enough before making choices for myself.

I don’t live that way perfectly now.

But I’m learning.

Sometimes choosing yourself is not some huge, dramatic act.

Sometimes it’s just deciding that fear no longer gets the final say.

If you’ve ever had to learn how to choose yourself too, I think you’ll recognize parts of yourself in this book. Comment "FIRST" and I’ll send you Chapter One for free.

09/03/2026

This birthday feels a little different.

On September 16th, instead of throwing a traditional birthday party, I’m inviting you into something much more meaningful to me.

I’ll be celebrating my birthday AND opening up What the Mud Made Me for an intimate virtual pre-launch gathering.

We’ll spend the evening together with a live reading from the book, conversation, connection, and a few stories I haven’t shared publicly.

And I have a special birthday bonus planned for everyone who attends live. 🎁

So many of you have encouraged me while I’ve been writing this book, building toward this moment, and sharing pieces of the journey along the way. I would genuinely love to celebrate this milestone with you.

The party is September 16th on Zoom.

♍️ Comment VIRGO below and I’ll send you the registration link.

Come celebrate with me. 💚

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