1I
Pillar 1 • Anxiety
Workshop pillarSelf
Identify
Notice what I am feeling in my body and mind.
Anxiety → Identify
Inside Out in Real LifeReal strength begins within.Book a conversationSEL-aligned • trauma-informed • prevention-focused
Helping young people build strength from the inside out.
SEL-aligned emotional wellness learning with a six-week youth experience for ages 8–15 and interactive workshops available online or in person for ages 8–20.
Created forSchoolsAfter-school programsCommunity organizationsFamilies
THE FORMULAINSIDE
A chemistry of healing.
A formula for joy.
IAnxiety
NDisgust
SAnger
IFear
DSadness
EJoy
Inside Out in Real Life • Community event
Counting down to November 7.
• 3:00–7:00 PM Eastern
Greenlight
19510 St. Clair Ave
Cleveland, OH 44110
Open to youth, families, and the community. Join us for guest speakers, interactive emotional wellness activities, family connection, food, and a look at our program resources.
Join the free community for event updates →--days
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6aligned pillars
5CASEL competencies
2learning formats
2Girls’ & Boys’ editions
The six pillars of the INSIDE Method™
Six feelings. Six skills. One practice path from emotion to healthy action.
Each pillar aligns one emotion with one repeatable skill, helping young people understand that emotions are information—and giving them a practical response they can use at school, at home, at work, and throughout life.
2N
Pillar 2 • Disgust
Workshop pillarWellness
Name
Understand and name my emotions without judgment.
Disgust → Name3S
Pillar 3 • Anger
Workshop pillarRelationships
Self-Awareness
Explore my thoughts, triggers, and patterns.
Anger → Self-Awareness4I
Pillar 4 • Fear
Workshop pillarLeadership
Initiate
Take the first step toward positive change.
Fear → Initiate5D
Pillar 5 • Sadness
Workshop pillarFuture
Decide
Make healthy choices that align with my values.
Sadness → Decide6E
Pillar 6 • Joy
Workshop pillarCommunity
Express
Communicate and release emotions in healthy ways.
Joy → ExpressA social-emotional toolbox that grows with them
Build the foundation. Practice the tools in real life.
The INSIDE Method connects our six-week youth experience and flexible workshops. Language, examples, and activities are adapted to the age group, setting, and learning goals.
Ages 8–15 • Build the foundation
Learn the language of emotions.
The six-week experience introduces emotional recognition, vocabulary, self-awareness, healthy coping, communication, confidence, and responsible decision-making through guided practice.
- Recognize what is happening inside
- Name feelings without judgment
- Practice healthy responses and choices
Workshops • Ages 8–20
Use the tools in real life.
Online or in-person workshops explore self-awareness, wellness, relationships, leadership, future goals, and community through age-appropriate activities and real-life examples.
- Turn self-awareness into self-advocacy
- Use values to guide real decisions
- Practice communication, coping, and goal-setting
The result • A growing toolbox
Carry the INSIDE Method forward.
With repeated practice, young people build a personal toolbox they can return to when facing difficult emotions, relationships, responsibilities, opportunities, and change.
- Confidence and resilience
- Healthier communication and relationships
- Leadership, direction, and life readiness
One method. Flexible ways to learn.
Learning that meets young people where they are.
Choose a six-week youth experience or interactive workshops. Topics and activities are adapted to participants’ ages, needs, and real-life experiences.
Ages 8–15
Six-Week Emotional Wellness Experience
A guided introduction to emotional awareness, healthy coping, communication, decision-making, confidence, and leadership through the six steps of the INSIDE Method™.
Workshops • Ages 8–20
INSIDE 360 Interactive Workshops
Choose topics across Self, Wellness, Relationships, Leadership, Future, and Community. Available online or in person, with age-appropriate language, examples, and activities.
Two intentional editions
Tools that speak to their journey.
Girls’ Edition
When girls heal inside, they lead outside with confidence.
Builds emotional vocabulary, self-awareness, healthy coping, communication, confidence, and leadership.
- Guided reflection and journaling
- Creative emotional wellness activities
- Confidence and leadership conversations
Boys’ Edition
When boys understand themselves inside, they lead outside with purpose.
Creates space for honest emotions, responsible decision-making, resilience, communication, purpose, and leadership.
- Engaging, age-appropriate activities
- Tools for emotional expression and coping
- Purpose and leadership conversations
More ways to connect with Inside Out
Workshops, family learning, and our book.
Explore opportunities for young people, caring adults, and readers to connect with Inside Out in Real Life.
Interactive workshops • Ages 8–20
Bring emotional learning to life.
Engaging, SEL-aligned workshops available online or in person, with activities, discussion, and coping practice adapted to the age group and needs of schools, libraries, and community organizations.
Ask about a workshop →Online learning • Parents & caregivers
Mindsmith Online Parent Workshop
A self-paced workshop that connects with the Family Connection Workbook and helps parents reinforce emotional awareness, coping tools, and communication at home.
Available November 7, 2026
View workshop details & preorder →A book by Shakira Holloway
Inside Out in Real Life
Emotional Awareness + Financial Confidence for Girls & Women. Explore the paperback and its message of understanding yourself and making confident choices.
Shop the paperback book →Ages 8–15 • The six-week experience
More than a workbook. A guided path toward joy.
Young people learn through facilitated conversations, emotional check-ins, workbook activities, reflection, creativity, and practice. Every lesson connects the weekly emotion to a step in the INSIDE Method.
✓ Separate Girls’ and Boys’ workbooks✓ Facilitator-guided lessons✓ Social-emotional skill building✓ Certificate of Joy
Inside Out in Real Life provides emotional wellness education. It is not therapy, counseling, diagnosis, crisis intervention, or medical treatment.
THE EMOTIONAL JOURNEY
01AnxietyIdentify
02DisgustName
03AngerSelf-Awareness
04FearInitiate
05SadnessDecide
06JoyExpress
Online parent & caregiver learning
Mindsmith Online Parent Workshop
A self-paced way for caring adults to practice the same emotional language children learn through the INSIDE Method.
One connected learning experience
Children practice. Adults reinforce.
The Family Connection Workbook gives children activities to explore feelings and coping tools. The online workshop helps parents and caregivers support that practice through everyday conversations, emotional check-ins, and communication at home.
It also connects with the six-week youth program and interactive workshops, helping families carry the learning beyond a session.
Preorder • Access begins November 7, 2026
Learn at your own pace.
Designed for parents and caregivers, with practical ideas for noticing emotions, naming feelings, supporting safe choices, and building connection.
$29.99 Online parent workshop
Reserve your online workshop now. Payment is collected at checkout. Access begins November 7, 2026; access instructions will be emailed beginning on the release date.
Preorder the Mindsmith Workshop →Complete your payment through PayPal. Online parent workshop only; the printed Family Connection Workbook is sold separately. Please use an email address you can access at checkout.
Get free launch updates →Ask about family learning for your organization →
Family learning resources
Bring the INSIDE Method home.
Practical, SEL-aligned activities for children and the adults who support them.
Printed workbook • Ages 8–15
Inside My Path to Joy
A family connection workbook to help children explore emotions, practice coping tools, and strengthen communication with the adults who support them.
- Activities to explore six emotions
- Coping tools and reflection prompts
- Social and emotional learning to practice together
$29.99 + $2.99 shipping
Printed, assembled, and mailed to your home. Any applicable tax is calculated at checkout.
Please allow 7–10 business days for your order to be prepared and mailed. Delivery time is additional. You will receive tracking information once your order ships.
Buy Printed WorkbookContinue to PayPal checkout. Workbook only; online parent workshop is not included.
View the back cover
A book by Shakira Holloway
Inside Out in Real Life
Emotional Awareness + Financial Confidence for Girls & Women
Understand your emotions. Trust yourself. Make confident choices, including choices about money.
Drawing on her journey as a nurse, single mother, and advocate for emotional and financial wellness, Shakira Holloway encourages girls and women to build confidence from within. Her story carries a reminder: you can rewrite your life, and it starts with understanding yourself.
Paperback • 32 pages • English
View book details
- Listed reading age
- 7–18 years
- Publication date
- December 13, 2025
- Dimensions
- 6.69 × 0.08 × 9.61 inches
- ISBN-13
- 979-8278172048
The book and Family Connection Workbook are separate products.
$9.99 + shipping at checkout
Please allow 7–10 business days for your order to be prepared and mailed. Delivery time is additional. You will receive tracking information once your order ships.
Buy Paperback BookContinue to PayPal to review your total and provide your shipping address.
Preview the experience
Purposeful tools made for real students.
Explore the six INSIDE steps, the chemistry of feelings, and a student workbook preview. Girls’ and Boys’ Editions are available for the six-week youth program.
The INSIDE Method
A six-step process for emotional growth
Follow Anxiety → Disgust → Anger → Fear → Sadness → Joy through Identify, Name, Self-awareness, Initiate, Decide, and Express. Students practice noticing feelings, recognizing body clues, choosing safe responses, and expressing their needs.
The Chemistry of Feelings
Understanding how feelings mix and skills help us respond
More than one feeling can show up at once: a test may bring anxiety and fear, while a goodbye may bring sadness and joy. These are examples to explore, and everyone’s experience can differ.
Your brain and body work together. During stress, hormones can increase heart rate and breathing and tense your muscles. Gentle breathing and relaxation can help the body settle. The colored beakers represent feelings; they are a learning metaphor for exploring body signals.
Learn about the body’s stress response · NIH →
Boys’ Edition Workbook
Real strength starts on the inside
The six-week student workbook for ages 8–15 includes emotional check-ins, reflection, coping practice, and activities aligned with each INSIDE step. Separate Girls’ and Boys’ Editions help students practice the skills in everyday situations.
For families, schools, and community partners
Our Mission & Program Overview
Meet Shakira Holloway and explore the INSIDE Method, our six-week youth program for ages 8–15, interactive workshops for ages 8–20, the family workbook, and the online parent workshop launching November 7, 2026.
View the updated one-page overview
Social-emotional learning alignment
Supporting all five CASEL competencies.
Self-awareness
Recognizing emotions, strengths, triggers and needs.
Self-management
Using healthy coping and regulation strategies.
Social awareness
Building empathy and understanding different perspectives.
Relationship skills
Communicating clearly and creating healthy connections.
Responsible decisions
Choosing actions that align with values, safety and goals.
What participants practice
Skills that support the whole person.
Self-awareness
Recognize emotions, triggers, strengths, and needs.
Healthy coping
Practice calming, reflection, and self-regulation tools.
Connection
Communicate needs and build healthier relationships.
Decision-making
Choose actions that align with values and goals.
Confidence
Develop voice, resilience, purpose, and leadership.
Cleveland, Ohio • Funding & community partnerships
Help more young people build strength from within.
Support practical emotional wellness education for youth and the adults who care for them. Schools, libraries, city programs, community organizations, and individual supporters can help bring the INSIDE Method to more families.
For organizations & funders
Build a clear plan together.
- Define the need: identify the age group, setting, and learning goals.
- Plan the support: agree on the program, participant count, materials, timeline, and budget.
- Agree on reporting: select attendance, completion, student reflections, or before-and-after check-ins to review learning and participation.
Program goals include emotional awareness, coping practice, communication, and responsible decision-making. Reporting expectations are agreed with each partner.
Discuss funding or sponsorship →Donations & program support
Every young person deserves words for what they feel and tools for what they face.
Sometimes worry looks like withdrawal. Hurt looks like anger. A child may need support but struggle to explain what is happening inside.
I created Inside Out in Real Life from my experiences as a nurse, a mother, and someone who had to learn to understand her own emotions. My purpose is to help young people understand themselves and help families build stronger connections.
Your contribution helps make it possible for us to offer families our Family Connection Workbook and Mindsmith Online Parent Workshop at no cost. Children can practice emotional awareness and coping skills while parents learn ways to reinforce those tools at home.
By giving, you help more families access practical tools for listening, communicating, and supporting one another.
Building stronger families in our communities.
Thank you for helping bring this learning into more homes.
Shakira Holloway
Founder, Inside Out in Real Life
Real strength begins within.
Give to Support Youth →Continue to PayPal to choose your contribution amount and complete your payment.
Download the program overview ↓Meet the founder
Created by a nurse, author, and emotional wellness educator.
Shakira Holloway — Nurse, Author, Founder and Creator
Shakira created Inside Out in Real Life and the INSIDE Method™ to give young people practical language and tools for understanding what is happening within them—so they can make healthier choices, build strong relationships, and lead with confidence and purpose.
“You are the scientist of your life. With the right tools, you can create a new formula for your future.”
Frequently asked questions
What partners and families want to know.
Who is the program designed for?+
The six-week youth experience serves ages 8–15. INSIDE 360 workshops serve ages 8–20, with topics, language, and activities adapted to the group. Separate Girls’ and Boys’ workbooks are available for the six-week program.
Is Inside Out in Real Life therapy?+
No. It is SEL-aligned, trauma-informed, prevention-focused emotional wellness education. It does not provide therapy, counseling, diagnosis, crisis intervention or medical treatment.
How is the program delivered?+
Partners may choose the six-week experience for ages 8–15 or online and in-person workshops for ages 8–20. Workshops may be offered individually or as a series. Staff and caregiver information sessions are also available.
What is included in the six-week experience?+
Separate student workbooks, facilitator-guided lessons, emotional check-ins, reflection, creative activities, leadership conversations and a Certificate of Joy.
Can the experience be customized?+
Yes. Group size, setting and delivery schedule can be discussed during a 30-minute partnership conversation.
How do we discuss pricing and availability?+
Complete the partnership form below or book a 30-minute Google Meet conversation tailored to your organization.
Bring Inside Out in Real Life to your community
Let’s build stronger foundations together.
Use the form to prepare a partnership email, or schedule a 30-minute conversation to explore the six-week program for ages 8–15, online or in-person workshops for ages 8–20, family learning, and community partnerships.
insideoutinrealife@gmail.com440-465-1092Cleveland, Ohio • Serving schools and communities