ABOUT YANA
I'm Yana Yaneva.
I love writing.
Psychologist. Writer. Bulgarian, living in Edinburgh.
People often say I'm too direct. I'd rather tell you the truth.
I * THE GIRL WHO WAITED FOR LETTERS
I was born in Plovdiv, one of the oldest cities in Europe. At school, writing letters was part of our programme and I wrote to children all over Europe whom I had never met. Every month, they wrote back.
One summer at my aunt's house I made a new friend, and we wrote to each other all through the next school year.
I can still feel it: waiting for the post, reading the letter twice, sitting down to answer straight away.
That feeling is the reason PandoraSoul exists.
II * A SMALL BOOK AT FOURTEEN
When I was fourteen, my mother gave me a small book about the power of the mind. I read it in one go, and it blew me away. It's the reason I studied psychology, and the start of my love for ancient philosophy and the old ways of living.
They're simple, they're true, and they work.
III * WHAT MY FAMILY TAUGHT ME
My family lives by three things, in the following order. Family and friends. The home. And work done with love, integrity and attention, without judging anyone.
They never read Seneca. They didn't need to. Those three things became my values, and they're in every letter I write.
IV * LEAVING HOME
Psychology wasn't valued enough in Bulgaria to make a living from it, so I left. My sister was already living in Scotland, so Scotland it was.
It gave me new people, new challenges and a new way of thinking. It also showed me how far modern life has drifted from the simple life I grew up with, where family, friends, tradition and faith came before status, career and possessions. I've tried to keep one foot in each.
V * THE YEAR I LOST EVERYTHING
In the space of a few months I lost my job, my relationship and my sense of who I was.
I had always been one of those people climbing the ladder - loyal to the company, working myself into the ground, losing touch with the people and things I loved. I see some of my friends doing it still.
When I lost my sense of who I was, I turned to the only voices I trusted. Not a coach. Not another book. Epictetus. Seneca. Marcus Aurelius and all the philosophers I once studied and then forgot. They asked me the question nobody had - who are you when everything is taken away?
What I learned is simple. Work is just work. Do it with integrity, respect and trust, and don't give it your whole life and self.
VI * THE BOXES THAT WERE TOO MUCH
My first business idea was a box that covered all five senses: journals, rituals, aromatherapy, tea. People loved them. They just didn't have the time to use them.
I almost gave up. Then I realised I could keep the one thing that mattered. A letter. Something you can read in ten minutes and carry for a month.
VII * WHY LETTERS AND WHY NOW
One day, while I was scrolling YouTube, I watched old, golden wisdom being sold back to people as something new and used to sway them. At first I got angry. Then I stopped to think about it and decided to do something.
So I went back to the oldest way I know of telling the truth: a letter, sealed by hand, from someone who means it. And this time, you write back.
VIII * HOW I WRITE
I write in the daytime, in my office or on a walk to the beach with a pen and paper. I stare at the sea for a while. I start with what I've seen that week and what made me emotional, then imagine how it could be different, and keep writing until I'm done. There's always a black coffee.
It is not always quick or simple, but at the end, the inspiration always comes once I write the first words.
IX * WHAT PANDORASOUL WILL NEVER DO
Lie. Manipulate anyone. Harm another person. Put the values my family taught me at risk. Or sell what we believe for money.
"Nothing new is actually new. We keep renaming ancient truths for profit. It is time to stop performing our lives and start living them."
Yana
X * THE SHORT VERSION
For anyone who wants the CV
Psychology degree with honours from Bulgaria.
More than ten years in behavioural science and human / talent performance, working with leaders and organisations, including a spell in Alaska (still the best time of my life).
Chair of the British Psychological Society's Scottish Branch (PandoraSoul is my own work, not the Society's).
Author. My solo book, ENOUGH., is on its way. Co-author of a few other books - "Unleash her", "The art of saving time and money" and "Whispers of the Midnight Dancers"
Featured by She Rises Studios, May 2026: Yana Yaneva and the Architecture of Identity.
