Danica Nelson always wished she had been able to take a “gap year” right after university, but it wasn’t financially feasible at the time. So when she started earning enough money to live comfortably, she began planning for a sabbatical, or what she calls her “liberty leave.”
Nelson, a 31-year-old senior product marketing manager at Shopify and self-employed content creator in Toronto, was also tired and burnt out from climbing the career ladder while simultaneously pursuing a demanding side hustle as a podcast host.
“I decided it was time to prioritize my own needs, wants and mental health. I decided to live urgently because if not now, then when?” she said.
Nelson, who was working as a senior marketing communications manager at Telus at the time, took a career break in October 2019 to travel around Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines….
