Honey Al Sayed: Reinvention in exile and owning the past before it owns you

At the Coalface

What does it take to rebuild your life, again and again, when the ground keeps shifting beneath you?

In this personal and wide-ranging conversation, Philippe sits down with Honey Al Sayed, a media pioneer turned executive coach, whose life has spanned seven countries, three wars, and countless reinventions. Born in Kuwait to Syrian parents, Honey's path was anything but linear, from escaping war as a teenager, to becoming the voice behind Good Morning Syria, to eventually rebuilding her life in exile.

Together, they explore:

• Honey’s extraordinary journey through conflict, migration, and media under authoritarian regimes
• Her time creating Syria’s most popular morning radio show, and navigating the “invisible lines” of censorship
• The quiet power of kindness, faith, and unexpected allies in times of upheaval
• How being constantly uprooted shaped her identity, purpose, and relationship with resilience
• The emotional cost of endurance, and the importance of self-compassion and healing
• Her current work helping others find their voice as a communications and leadership coach

Honey reflects on the pain and gift of reinvention, the legacy of trauma on the body and psyche, and the hope that even in the worst moments, “something good is going to come out.”

Recorded on 17 July 2025.

Connect with Honey on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/hasd and on her website, https://honey-and.com.

Instagram: @at.the.coalface

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