S9E22: Making Friends as an Adult with Keonna Knight

Why is it so hard to make real friends as a grown woman? In this warm and honest conversation, Keonna Knight joins Laura to talk about the quiet ache so many high-capacity Black women carry: being surrounded by people, full calendar, full life, and still feeling unseen. Keonna shares how burnout and the loss of her grandmother led her to a 10-month sabbatical, and how learning to receive instead of always being the giver changed everything, including her friendships. Together they get real about the fear and vulnerability underneath the loneliness, the identity work of letting people see the woman behind the title, and the practical, un-awkward ways to actually build and nurture friendship as an adult.

In this episode:

Why being the listener, the helper, and the strong one can quietly keep you isolated, and the vulnerability it takes to let people truly see you
Practical, low-pressure ways to make friends as a busy grown woman, from the simple ask to reaching out to your “wealthier and wiser” circle
How to build a healthy web of friendships across seasons, and give yourself permission to want more, and to want different

About Keonna

As a coach, speaker and strategist, Keonna Knight teaches founders, executives, and mission-driven teams how to do good work without sacrificing their rest, health, or humanity. After burning out as a 5th grade teacher in East Oakland, she found herself at a crossroad: grind until I’m forced to quit or reimagine my approach to work and leadership. It was her radical choice to create a robust life outside of the classroom, give less than 80%, set clear boundaries and work hours with parents, and share leadership with her students that she actually positioned her for a promotion and later, develop the Good Work Framework™ for leaders and teams. Today as the CEO of Heal with Keonna, she uses her lived insight as well as her expertise as a trained therapist, mindfulness instructor, and executive coach to ensure leaders never have to choose between their work and their well-being. She has now trained over 2,000 leaders, transformed 38+ workplaces and coached dozens of Black women who have enrolled in her 9-month community (B.O.L.D.) for Black women seeking rest and wealth and COME HOME, the first ever Christ-centered rest retreat for Black women in the nation. Her mission: teach women who have spent a lifetime putting others first how to rediscover their worth beyond productivity and rest in Christ without apology. If you’re tired of running on empty and ready to increase your capacity, double your revenue, and get 9+ hours of sleep each night, connect with Keonna.

Connect with Keonna

Website: http://www.healwithkeonna.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keonnaknight/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healwithkeonna

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@healwithkeonna

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healwithkeonna

BWL Resources:

Enrollment is open for the January 2027 Early Career and Mid-Career cohort programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/
Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at http://www.BWLretreat.com
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