I'm a motivational speaker and award-winning author. What drives me? I'm passionate about helping individuals move from setbacks and losses of all kinds toward growth and positive change. Read on and you'll learn why. 

My debut memoir, Both Sides Now: A True Story of Love, Loss and Bold Living, promises hard-won wisdom for anyone who has experienced the death of a spouse, death of a partner, or death of any loved one. "When life hands you the unthinkable, you must find new ways to see." Such is the ground on which I rebuilt my world after my young husband died. I did so in Denver, Colorado. Against the sturdy backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, I built a new life for my five-year-old twins and me. I never expected to find love again in the pages of a magazine but, as I learned, when you putyourself in the path of living, amazing and unexpected things can happen. Ultimately, Both Sides Now is a story of hope. It is also a story about Steve, my second husband, a widower with two children, and about the surprising turns that life takes when blending two families torn by loss.  Both Sides Now is the recipient of eight literary homors including Books For A Better Life and the Colorado Book Award. 

In 2017 I released a new book for children and families called Because the Sky is Everywhere. Inspired by own twins' experience after their dad died, Because the Sky is Everywhere helps children accept that even though someone close to them dies, the love they feel can be everlasting. Whether mourning the death of a parent, death of a grandparent, death of a sibling, or death of a pet, this book is a resource for children and families, teachers, psychologists, social workers and non-profit organizations. The book is available in English and as a bilingual text in English-Spanish. Forthcoming is an activity booklet that offers creative opportunities for children to express their feelings of loss and trauma. 

I blog for The Huffington Post and ESME.com and have also been published in The Best Advice in Six Words, Dr. Oz: The Good Life, Woman's Day, MORE, Marie Claire, SELF, National Geographic Traveler, Reimagine Me, Stand Up 2 Cancer, Option B, and numerous other media.