Tasch Turner on Storytelling, Psychology, and Building Brands That Truly Connect

Women's Journal Staff on October 1, 2025

By: Michael Beas

In an industry saturated with algorithms, analytics, and ever-changing digital trends, Tasch Turner stands out for championing something refreshingly human: empathy. As the co-founder of Turner & Co., a boutique branding and copywriting agency, Turner has built her reputation on fusing psychology with storytelling to help brands discover—and broadcast—their most authentic voices.

“I don’t buy into the whole ‘success’ label,” Turner says. “I’m four degrees deep, run a multi-figure business, and still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. The best leaders are always learning.” That sentiment perfectly captures Turner’s approach: ambitious yet grounded, strategic yet deeply human.

Storytelling That Starts With Listening

Ask Turner how she helps brands stand out in crowded markets, and she doesn’t begin with tactics, hashtags, or trending sounds. She begins with empathy.

“Most brands are so busy shouting about themselves that they forget to listen,” she explains. “At Turner & Co., we use WordCraft, a psychology-driven system that gets to the guts of what your audience actually cares about.”

The process is meticulous. Turner and her team analyze a brand’s DNA, vision, and values, creating what she calls a “brand bible” to align internal teams. Then they turn the lens outward, studying the target audience with almost clinical precision: What keeps them up at night? What unmet needs drive their decisions? What emotional truths do they long for a brand to acknowledge?

“That’s the gold,” Turner says. “From there, it’s storytelling with strategy—every word anchored in data, every message designed to build real connection, not just clicks.”

Breaking Barriers for Women in Business

Turner also acknowledges the unique hurdles women face in leadership roles, particularly in marketing and communications. She doesn’t mince words about the competitive culture that often pits women against each other.

“You know that unspoken rule where only one woman gets a seat at the table? Rubbish,” she says. “I’m here to burn that table and build a longer one.”

Her advice to aspiring female leaders is direct: “Celebrate the hell out of the women around you. Champion their brilliance. And stop waiting for a roadmap—forge your own and invite others along for the ride.”

It’s an attitude that reflects her larger philosophy of leadership: success is not a finite pie, and lifting others only strengthens the collective.

Psychology as the Secret Weapon

One of Turner’s biggest differentiators is her ability to integrate psychological insights into branding and copywriting. She recalls a client who was “stuck in the aesthetic echo chamber,” posting daily content that looked polished but lacked resonance. Despite all the effort, engagement flatlined.

“Their brand was bold, cheeky, full of spark—but their content was beige, safe, blending in,” she recalls.

Using her WordCraft system, Turner restructured the client’s messaging around buyer psychology instead of vanity metrics. She employed frameworks like Jobs-to-be-Done, emotional motivator mapping, and sensory language to align messaging with what audiences actually needed to hear.

“The result? Their audience started paying attention. Engagement climbed. Their voice sharpened. Best of all, they became top-of-mind in their category,” Turner says. “Buyer psychology isn’t just about conversions—it’s about connection.”

Where Creativity Meets Data

Balancing artistry with commercial strategy can be a challenge, but Turner insists the two are inseparable.

“As a creative, the toughest (and best) lesson I’ve learnt is this: take the ego out of your copy and let the people tell you what works,” she says. “It’s not about being the cleverest voice in the room, it’s about being the clearest, the most useful, the most felt.”

At Turner & Co., no idea is left untested. The team runs A/B/C testing, analyzes click-through rates, and tracks conversion paths to ensure creative work drives tangible results.

“Pretty doesn’t pay the bills, performance does,” Turner adds. “Creativity gives us the spark, but strategy gives it legs.”

The Future of Storytelling in a Digital Age

As digital media continues to evolve—especially in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence—Turner believes storytelling is more crucial than ever.

“For all the tech, trends, and tools that have changed, one truth hasn’t: humans connect through stories,” she says.

But she also warns of the risks posed by AI-generated content. While machine learning can churn out words at lightning speed, Turner believes consumers are more discerning than marketers give them credit for.

“AI copy doesn’t pass the sniff test, and audiences know it,” she cautions. “You can’t fake connection. You can’t automate authenticity.”

For Turner, the future of branding lies in personal and organizational storytelling that reflects real values and resonates with genuine human emotions. “Your story is the glue,” she says. “It’s what builds loyalty, drives action, and creates a brand people remember.”

Building Brands People Remember

Whether she’s dissecting audience psychology, advising women in leadership, or blending creative artistry with rigorous testing, Tasch Turner’s perspective is clear: the most successful brands are the ones that remember they’re speaking to people, not profiles.

“Storytelling isn’t fluff,” she concludes. “It’s your sharpest tool in a world full of noise. And when done right? It cuts through like nothing else.”

Find more about Tasch Turner here:

LinkedIn: Natascha Turner

Turner & Co. HQ: turnerand.co

Want to chat? Book a call: tasch-talk-discovery-call

Disclaimer: The content provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Readers should seek the guidance of qualified professionals for advice pertaining to their specific circumstances, including but not limited to business, legal, financial, or health matters.

Finding High Hopes: Anne Abel’s Journey from Darkness to the Dance Floor

Women's Journal Staff on October 1, 2025

By: Clara Veylan

When Anne Abel boarded a plane bound for Australia, she wasn’t chasing a vacation, an adventure, or even sunshine. She was chasing survival. “I saw Bruce Springsteen as my lifeline,” she admits. “I grabbed it.”

Her memoir, High Hopes: A Memoir, traces an extraordinary journey — one that began in the depths of recurring depression and led her, unexpectedly, into the transformative world of live music. Abel’s decision to follow Springsteen’s High Hopes Tour across five cities and eight concerts in Australia was not just a spontaneous trip. It was an act of determination to keep herself out of the abyss.

Leaving the Classroom, Facing the Unknown

A year after attending her first Springsteen concert in Philadelphia, Abel made the decision to step away from her job teaching at a community college. The years had been challenging; incidents with students, combined with her own fragile mental health, had left her feeling drained. “After having one desk too many thrown at me, I thought, ‘I am never coming back,’” she recalls. Yet quitting did not bring the relief she had hoped for. With her children grown and her husband frequently traveling, the prospect of unstructured days felt overwhelming. “I was afraid I’d fall back into depression,” she says.

She knew she couldn’t return to inpatient treatment or undergo more electroconvulsive shock therapy, which had left her with memory loss and chronic jaw pain. She needed a new plan. Then she remembered: Springsteen would soon be touring in Australia. The idea became clearer as she merged onto the expressway heading home. She would go. Alone. For 26 days.

Terrified, but Determined

By her own admission, Abel dislikes traveling and prefers not to be alone. Australia, with its long flights and distant cities, seemed an unlikely destination. Yet she felt she had few other options. “Even though I was terrified, I never seriously considered not going,” she says. “Throughout my life, I’ve taken on things that were daunting or uncomfortable because I believed it might help me.”

This tendency to push herself was ingrained early on. Abel recalls being encouraged to study chemical engineering at Tufts, despite struggling with math and science, because her parents expected it. “I couldn’t add three numbers together,” she says, “but I wanted to please them.” She persevered through challenging coursework, graduated, and secured a job — not because she loved it, but because she was determined to prove she had tried. That same resolve would later fuel her decision to travel across the world for music.

Finding Structure in Song

The trip was not without difficulties. Abel describes counting down the days until she could return home, much like she counts down the minutes of her daily workouts. Loneliness grew heavier with each passing city. Yet, something unexpected happened: music began to shift her perspective.

The concerts became more than mere entertainment. They provided structure, focus, and a sense of ritual. Each show offered a new experience — two nights in the same venue could feel like entirely different worlds. “Each one was amazing and soulful,” she remembers. She marveled not only at the performances but also at the subtle, unspoken communication among the band. By the final concert, she could anticipate their cues.

She also found herself in close proximity to Springsteen’s circle, often staying in the same hotels as the E Street Band. Ever observant, she relished the chance to be a “fly on an A-list wall,” overhearing snippets of conversations that revealed the dedication and detail behind each performance.

The Courage Others Saw

What surprised Abel most was how strangers responded to her journey. Back home, people often dismissed her plan, viewing it as an indulgence. But in Australia, people reacted with admiration. “Many called me courageous. Many said they wished their mothers were like me,” she recalls. Their words prompted her to see herself through a different lens, to step outside her own narrative of survival and appreciate the resilience others admired.

Coming Home Changed

For all the challenges, Abel describes the concerts as pure joy — “100% fun,” she insists. And that joy mattered. In the midst of Springsteen’s reflections on aging, depression, and resilience, she found her own struggles mirrored. One night, when the performance began subdued, Springsteen admitted, “If you had told me an hour ago that I would be here, I never would have believed it.” By the end of the evening, he and the audience alike were reinvigorated. An older man beside Abel turned to her and said, “This was an experience of a lifetime.” She understood exactly what he meant.

Returning home, she carried more than just stories of music. She carried proof that she could create structure outside of the classroom, that she could find moments of connection even in solitude, and that joy was not beyond her reach. “As much as I wanted to go home, I was ambivalent,” she confesses. “I felt a new sense inside me. I had stories to tell.”

High Hopes for the Future

In High Hopes: A Memoir, Abel shares those stories with honesty and vulnerability. Her journey is not presented as a fairy tale of instant healing, but as a testament to perseverance. She acknowledges the shadows of depression, the fear of relapse, and the difficulty of embracing joy later in life. Yet her narrative underscores a profound truth: sometimes survival requires taking risks that terrify us, and sometimes joy is discovered in the most unexpected places — like the roar of a concert crowd halfway across the world.

Abel once told her children she wanted her tombstone to read, She tried and she tried and she tried. But through her memoir, she offers something even more enduring than effort: hope. High hopes, in fact — not only for herself, but for anyone searching for a lifeline.

Discover High Hopes: A Memoir by Anne Abel — a powerful and moving story of resilience, self-discovery, and hope.

Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major retailers.

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Carrying Wisdom Forward: Terry Ann Evans Bain on Culture, Family, and Legacy

Women's Journal Staff on October 1, 2025

By: Aisha “Wonderfull” Jackson / Arete Media International

Every family has phrases, stories, or practices that become second nature: a prayer before meals, a proverb repeated by elders, a discipline passed down through generations. For Bahamian bestselling author and retired nurse Terry Ann Evans Bain, capturing these moments has become her life’s work.

Her two-book series, The Road I’ve Trod, invites readers to pause and consider the values that shape both families and nations. The first volume, Legacy of Culture: Insights From Past Bahamian Generations, preserves memories and sayings that once defined daily life in The Bahamas. The second, Legacy of Wisdom: Essence of Bahamian Christian Family Values, explores how faith, discipline, and family bonds continue to provide strength for navigating modern challenges.

A Life of Care and Observation

Before publishing her books, Bain spent more than three decades working in the maternity ward of the only public hospital of her hometown, Nassau, Bahamas, welcoming thousands of babies into the world during her career. In the delivery room, she saw how family support could make all the difference. She watched grandmothers pass down naming traditions, new mothers lean on old wisdom, and families gather in prayer over newborns.

But through the years, she also witnessed change. Young mothers who didn’t know the lullabies their own mothers once sang. Families scattered by various circumstances, unable to maintain the close-knit bonds that once defined Bahamian life. The gradual disappearance of practices that had anchored communities for generations.

“On the maternity ward, you see families at their most real,” Bain explains. “You see who has that deep support system and who’s trying to figure it all out alone. The families rooted in tradition moved through even the hardest moments differently. They had resources that went beyond the material.”

That same attentiveness is woven into her writing. The Road I’ve Trod series doesn’t just catalog traditions; it reflects on what they meant, why they mattered, and how they can guide the next generation. She writes with the precision of someone trained to observe, but also with the warmth of someone who understands that behind every tradition is a story of love, survival, or hope.

From Memory to Movement

Since their October 2024 release, Bain’s books have sparked something unexpected. What began as one woman’s mission to preserve her culture has grown into a national conversation, and beyond.

The response in the Bahamas has been extraordinary. When Bain held a signing at the Mall at Marathon, the country’s premier shopping center, it transformed from a simple book event into something more significant. Mrs. AnneMarie Davis, the First Lady of the Bahamas, made a point to attend, her presence sending a clear message: this work of cultural preservation matters at the highest levels.

“That moment with the First Lady, it wasn’t just about my books,” Bain says. “It was recognition that we’re at a crossroads. We can either actively preserve our culture or watch it fade.”

That crossroads isn’t unique to the Bahamas. Her Bahamian stories unlock something universal: the realization that wisdom is disappearing faster than we’re documenting it. This universality is part of the book’s power: while her lens is Bahamian, her themes are unmistakably human. Every culture faces the same questions: What do we keep? What do we release? How do we honor the past while embracing the future?

The Heart of Her Message

What sets Bain’s work apart is how she treats tradition, not as something frozen in time, but as living wisdom that can bend without breaking.

In Legacy of Culture, she captures the rhythms of Bahamian life, how it took a village to raise children, how stories taught right from wrong, and how certain rituals gave life its shape. But she goes beyond just recording these practices. She shows us why they worked, what problems they solved, and what stability they offered.

Legacy of Wisdom explores the faith that ran through everything. In Bain’s telling, spirituality wasn’t a Sunday-only affair but the thread that held daily life together, shaping how families celebrated, grieved, and stayed connected.

Yet, Bain is careful not to present faith or tradition as one-size-fits-all solutions. Her books read less like sermons and more like field notes, offering observations of what has worked and being freely shared for readers to consider, adapt, and make their own.

Carrying Wisdom Forward Terry Ann Evans Bain on Culture, Family, and Legacy

Photo Courtesy: Terry Ann Evans Bain

Passing the Baton

Bain often speaks of “passing the baton”, her favorite image for how wisdom moves between generations. But she’s clear: this isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about giving the next generation tools that actually work.

“I’m not asking young people to live exactly like their grandparents,” she says. “I’m asking them to understand what their grandparents knew. There’s wisdom in those old ways, tested strategies for building strong families, raising resilient children, maintaining hope through hardship.”

The challenge is making old wisdom speak to new realities. How do you explain the value of Sunday dinners to families who FaceTime instead of gathering? How do you translate “it takes a village” for people scattered across the globe?

Bain gets both sides of this struggle. She sees the elders wondering why their treasured traditions are being abandoned. She sees young people trying to figure out which old rules still make sense in their world. Her books suggest we need both perspectives — the foundation of the past and the innovation of the present.

“Young people aren’t rejecting tradition to be difficult,” Bain observes. “They’re overwhelmed by change, trying to figure out what still applies. My books try to help with that, to show which values are timeless and which expressions of those values can evolve.”

An Invitation to Reflect

At its heart, The Road I’ve Trod is more than a cultural record or personal memoir. It is an invitation. Bain’s tone is not prescriptive; it is gentle and reflective, encouraging readers to pause and ask, “What wisdom am I carrying?” And who will I hand it to?

Her message feels particularly timely in an age when digital speed often replaces deeper connection, when families communicate through texts instead of gatherings. When Google substitutes for a grandmother’s advice. When traditions feel like obstacles to progress rather than foundations for it.

By preserving the stories and values that formed her, Bain reminds us that progress does not have to mean forgetting. Honoring where we came from doesn’t prevent us from moving forward.

“Every family, every culture has knowledge that shouldn’t be lost,” she says. “Not because the old ways are always better, but because they may contain solutions to problems we’re still facing. Why start from scratch when others have already found answers?”

Continuing the Work

Now, in retirement, when many choose to rest, Bain continues to write, speak, and share. Her books have earned bestseller status, drawn media attention across the Caribbean, and touched readers who see their own lives reflected in her pages. Her calendar is filled with speaking engagements, school visits, and community discussions.

But for her, success isn’t measured in book sales or news headlines. It’s measured in conversations sparked, in families reconnecting, and in values carried forward. It’s in the young woman who calls her grandmother to learn the old recipes. The father who starts telling his children the stories his own father told. The communities are beginning to document their own traditions.

“This isn’t about me or even about Bahamian culture specifically,” Bain clarifies. “It’s about all of us recognizing that we’re custodians of something precious. Every culture has its own road that’s been trodden. My work is simply to make sure those paths remain visible, even as the landscape changes.”

Photo Courtesy: Terry Ann Evans Bain

The Urgency of Now

What makes Bain’s work feel urgent is the rapid disappearance of traditional knowledge. Every day, elders pass away, taking stories with them. Every day, families scatter a little further. Every day, another tradition is simplified, digitized, or abandoned entirely.

“We’re at a turning point,” Bain warns gently. “We can either be intentional about preservation, or we can wake up one day and realize we’ve lost something irreplaceable. Once these stories are gone, once this wisdom is forgotten, we can’t get it back.”

But her message isn’t one of fear or guilt. It’s one of the possibilities. She shows us that preservation doesn’t require grand gestures. It can be as simple as recording a grandmother’s voice, writing down family sayings, and teaching children the songs and stories that shaped us.

Her journey from nurse to bestselling author shows that the quiet work of legacy, remembering, recording, and passing it on, may be one of the most urgent callings of all. Bain reminds us that some things are worth keeping. Some wisdom is worth preserving. Some paths are worth maintaining, even as we forge new ones.

“We don’t have to choose between tradition and progress,” she concludes. “We can honor both. We can carry wisdom forward while still moving forward. That’s not just possible, it’s necessary.”