In the wake of my husband James’ death, my world shattered, leaving me with questions that had no immediate answers. Grief reshaped me at my core, forcing me to confront who I was without James or the roles, definitions, and achievements I had spent my life building.

For the first time, I realized I had been telling myself stories—stories about what success should look like, who I needed to be, and how I was expected to move through the world. None of those stories fit anymore.

In the aftermath, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. All I knew was that Ididn’t want to live in a narrative of endless sorrow and hopelessness. Instead, I started searching for a way forward to rewrite my story and create a life that wasn’t defined by what had happened to me and my family but held both my pain and the possibility of rebuilding.

That search became the foundation of this book.