Hi! I’m Sasha Cagen.

I’m an author, an entrepreneur, and a life coach for women (and a few sensitive, self-aware men) who want to stay true to themselves, never settle, and live outside the box while not sacrificing fun or adventure.

Since 2000, I’ve been helping women and men find happiness within themselves through my quirkyalone movement. Quirkyalone is all about knowing your worth, single or coupled, and living life on your own terms without settling. Quirkyalone is not about being alone. It’s about being connected to yourself–and others.

I’m not an easily describable person.

I will always remember the friend, a software engineer at Google, who told me that he never knew what to tell people I do because I don’t fit it any category. Back then I took that as an insult because most people have one word that describes them: lawyer, teacher, nurse. Looking back, I think he meant it as a compliment.

Since then I have embraced my own sensitive exploring nature. This path of being a writer, coach and entrepreneur is not easy but it satisfies my creative yearnings and provides a lot of sparkle, growth, adventure and meaning. I prefer the risks of that kind of life to a steady, linear path with one job title.

My career has been a series of creative projects vs. big job titles, though I have had some of those traditional titles like Chief Marketing Officer, product manager, or communications consultant.

My biggest projects have been Quirkyalone (Harper San Francisco) and To-Do List (Simon & Schuster), To-Do List magazine (winner of the award of best new magazine in Utne‘s Alternative Press Awards), StyleMob, a street fashion social network my cofounder and sold after 9 months to an ad network, my online courses for quirkyalones, the Tango Adventure, and Solo Chica: a brand to inspire solo female transformative travel.

At the moment I am working on a memoir: Wet. That’s been the biggest creative project of my life thus far! I also enjoy working deeply with my coaching clients on the things that matter most in their lives: big decisions, self-love, growth, career, relationships, sexuality. And their businesses.

My work as a coach, writer, and movement-builder has been featured in dozens of media outlets, including CNN, NPR, BBC, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. The nightly news program TeleNoche made me famous on my block in Buenos Aires as the first woman to marry herself in Argentina. When you live a creative life you just never know what is going to happen!

I love inventing things–words, books, businesses, games, and “playwork” for my coaching clients.

As a writer, I believe in telling true stories well and sharing new and liberating ideas with you. I love what Anais Nin wrote in her book In Favour of the Sensitive Man: “Why one writes is a question I can answer easily, having often asked it myself. I believe one writes because one has to create a world in which one can live.”

I believe in honesty, authenticity, the power of vulnerability, self-love, love, compassion, creativity (of course!), healthy sexuality, and pleasure and fun (definitely). A lifelong activist, I work with individuals to help them realize their potential and their dreams. I also believe in the power of people coming together for a common cause.

My cult hit book Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics launched a movement by putting a new spin on singledom for people who prefer to be single rather than settle. Quirkyalone is for for people who cherish their solitude, want to find a mate, but who would rather be alone than settle for just anyone. Quirkyalone is available in English, and there are also Brazilian, German, and Danish editions of the book.

My second book To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us provides a window into our souls via our to-do lists and the stories behind them. This book grew out of To-Do List magazine and it’s a book any glazomaniac (list lover) should own.

I’m currently focused on completing a memoir called Wet. Yes, you heard the title right. Wet is my story of healing the effects of early sexual trauma through sensuality, finding the courage to face the past, and learning to love myself enough to open myself up for the intimacy that I always wanted. Wet is also all about following signals from the body. How many times can I write the word “Wet“!
Sign up to be a beta reader and listen to a podcast about Wet here.

Hey, when did we stop talking about playing and get so serious?

In fact, play is a serious part of everything I offer you, in my books, coaching, consulting, and the Solo Chica Tango Adventure in Buenos Aires.

Play your way to the next phase of your life/and or business. When you work with me as your coach, we will go deep (because there’s really no other way) into whatever has been blocking you while we also also get creative about what it takes to create the forward movement and the changes you want to birth in your life. I’ll be your brainstorming partner.

I offer two different kinds of coaching:
—life coaching for individuals
—life and business coaching for established business owners/executives. I am a sounding board on personal and business issues. This allows us to talk about it all.

Get my eyes on your brand. As you may have guessed from my use of words for my ideas and businesses–Quirkyalone, Tangasm, Wet, StyleMob, Solo Chica–I love creating brands. I work with select businesses (usually aimed at women) that I believe in giving you consulting support on brand, names/taglines, look and feel, and your relationship with the reader and consumer (voice). If this is of interest, reach out with a message.

Come away to Buenos Aires for a Tango Adventure! Solo Chica gives you a 7-day vacation in tune with what you need. Reconnect with your sensuality, your joy, and your confidence. You won’t have to figure it out all on your own because you will have the support of the Solo Chica tango family I created in Buenos Aires to welcome you, and you can feel safe knowing you are part of a vetted transformative learning program. Check out the Solo Chica Tango Adventure here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter Sasha Cagen Weeklyish where other opportunities for play will be shared in your inbox.

Just for fun, some factoids…

Origin of name: My formal name is Alexandra Cagen, but most people–or everyone, really–calls me Sasha. Sasha is a Russian nickname for Alexandra and I’ve got Ukrainian in my roots.

Hometown: I grew up in Cranston (aka Creaaannnnston), Rhode Island, a suburb of Providence, just an hour from Boston.

Education: Cranston High School East (a public high school), then Amherst College (where I was quite unhappy), then Barnard College (where I was happier), then the school of life in San Francisco, CTI coach training and tango and psicotango in Buenos Aires. My education in memoir has been with Rachel Howard, Patricia Verducci, and Laura Fraser. Learning is constant!

Current city: Buenos Aires. Oakland, California and Providence, Rhode Island are also homes for me.

Where I discovered tango: Cali, Colombia, the world capital of salsa, oddly enough!

Favorite things: Wandering Paris. Swimming in the ocean first thing in the morning. The way my body feels after yoga. Tangasms of course. Finishing a piece of writing. Good conversations. Creativity itself.

If you like what you’re reading and want to stay in touch, subscribe to my newsletter the Sasha Cagen Weeklyish.