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How Professional Book Editing Services Help Women Authors Publish With Confidence

Women's Journal Staff on October 23, 2026

Many women carry a book around for years before they write it. It might be a memoir waiting for the right moment, a business guide drafted between meetings, a novel written after the house goes quiet or a lifetime of professional wisdom that deserves a wider audience. When the manuscript is finally finished, a new question often arrives: is it good enough? Professional book editing services answer that question with support rather than judgment, helping women authors publish with confidence.

Women Are Writing the Stories That Matter

Women write across every genre, from romance and thrillers to leadership, faith, wellness and history. Independent publishing has given more of them control over how their stories reach readers, including the title, the cover and the timing. With that control comes responsibility for quality, which is where a skilled editor becomes an ally.

Editing That Protects Your Voice

The fear many first-time authors share is that an editor will make their book sound like someone else. Good editing does the opposite. It removes what stands between your voice and your reader: the confusing sentence, the repeated point, the scene that runs too long. Line edits respect your natural rhythm. Developmental feedback asks questions rather than issuing orders. And every decision remains yours.

What a Supportive Editorial Relationship Looks Like

The best editor-author partnerships share some clear traits:

• Feedback that explains why a change is suggested, not just what to change

• Honest notes on what is working, so you know what to protect

• Realistic timelines that fit around a full life

• Care with personal material, including passages about family members or other real people

• Clear communication at every stage

Memoir writers in particular benefit from an editor who understands that some chapters were hard to write and treats them with respect.

Help at Every Stage

Not every author starts with a finished manuscript. Busy professionals often begin with professional eBook writing services for authors, shaping their expertise into chapters through interviews and reviews. Anyone hoping to write for young readers can turn to children’s book writing services, then bring the story to life with children’s book illustration services. Editors can also refine the author bio and book description, which SEO content writing services then prepare for search.

Presenting Your Book Beautifully

Once the words are ready, the book deserves a presentation to match. Book formatting services create clean, readable pages in print and on screens. Professional book cover design services give the book a face that reflects its heart. Online book printing services make it easy to order copies for readings, book clubs and gifts, and audiobook services can capture a memoir in the author’s own voice.

Being Seen

A confident book deserves a confident launch. Book marketing services build a plan to reach the right readers. Book trailer services create a short video to share with your community, and author website design services give you a professional home where readers, podcasters and event hosts can find you.

Choosing Your Publishing Team

Ask to see edited samples and, if possible, speak with the editor who will work on your book. When comparing book publishers, notice how each one talks about your voice and your goals. The right book publishing company for you will listen first and advise second.

Your Voice, Made Stronger

Your story has waited long enough. Professional book editing services help it reach readers polished, clear and unmistakably yours. Global Author Publishing’s editors refine structure and clarity while preserving each author’s voice, and the company offers a free author consultation for writers who want to talk through their manuscript.

Leading with Purpose: Dr. Jamila Smith-Young Exemplifies Excellence, Influence, and Community Leadership in Memphis

Women's Journal Staff on October 23, 2026

By: Lennard James

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Exceptional leadership is not defined solely by professional titles, recognition, or positions of influence. It is measured by the ability to inspire others, create opportunities, strengthen institutions, and make a meaningful difference in the communities we serve. Dr. Jamila Smith-Young, an accomplished healthcare professional, educator, community advocate, and First Lady of Memphis, embodies those principles through a career built upon service, excellence, and purposeful leadership.

Her recognition as one of the Memphis Business Journal’s Superwomen in Business celebrates a woman whose influence reaches across healthcare, higher education, civic engagement, and community development. The honor acknowledges her professional accomplishments while highlighting her commitment to empowering others and creating lasting opportunities throughout Memphis.

Dr. Jamila Smith-Young represents a generation of women leaders who understand that influence carries responsibility. Whether providing specialized healthcare to children, preparing future nursing professionals, serving on community boards, or representing the city as First Lady, she approaches leadership with a commitment to improving lives and strengthening the institutions that serve families.

Her professional journey reflects the importance of preparation, perseverance, and continuous learning. With a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Public Health, a Master of Science in Nursing, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice, Dr. Jamila Smith-Young has established an impressive educational foundation that supports her work as a healthcare leader and academic mentor.

As a nurse practitioner specializing in endocrinology at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, she works in an environment where clinical expertise, sound judgment, compassion, and accountability are essential. Her responsibilities place her at the intersection of healthcare delivery and patient advocacy, allowing her to contribute directly to the well-being of children and families.

Her leadership extends beyond the hospital into higher education, where she serves as an assistant professor and mentor in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. In this capacity, Dr. Jamila Smith-Young helps prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals while emphasizing the importance of knowledge, professional responsibility, and equitable patient care.

One of her notable academic leadership responsibilities includes serving as the DNP faculty simulation co-coordinator for a $1.5 million grant through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The initiative, titled Training and Education to Advance Critical Health Equity Readiness Using Simulation, focuses on advancing healthcare education through innovative simulation-based learning.

Her involvement demonstrates the importance of leadership that connects education, innovation, and community needs. By helping prepare healthcare professionals to recognize and respond to health disparities, Dr. Jamila Smith-Young contributes to efforts designed to strengthen the future of healthcare delivery.

Throughout her career, she has earned recognition for professional excellence and community influence. In 2021, she was honored as a Healthcare Hero by the Memphis Business Journal, recognized as a CGI Power 30 honoree, and named among the Memphis Top 40 Under 40 Urban Elite Professionals.

These distinctions reflect a consistent pattern of achievement, demonstrating her ability to lead across multiple professional and civic environments.

Equally significant is her commitment to organizational leadership and community service. Dr. Jamila Smith-Young has served on the boards of the Memphis Museum of Science and History, the Hutchison School Parent Association, and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Blues City Chapter.

She also serves as the Advanced Practice Provider Community Outreach Chair for Le Bonheur, a responsibility that reflects her dedication to connecting healthcare professionals with the broader community.

Through these roles, Dr. Jamila Smith-Young demonstrates that effective leadership requires collaboration, relationship-building, and a willingness to invest time and expertise in organizations working to create positive change.

Her position as First Lady of Memphis, alongside Mayor Paul Young, provides another opportunity to expand her influence and advocate for issues affecting residents throughout the city.

Rather than allowing the ceremonial aspects of the role to define her contributions, Dr. Jamila Smith-Young brings an established professional identity and extensive experience in healthcare, education, and community engagement to her public responsibilities.

Her perspective as a healthcare provider offers insight into challenges affecting children, families, and underserved populations. It also creates opportunities to encourage partnerships among healthcare institutions, educational organizations, community leaders, and other stakeholders committed to improving quality of life.

Dr. Jamila Smith-Young’s leadership is also shaped by her responsibilities as a mother. She recognizes that the example established through personal conduct, professional achievement, and community service can influence how children and young people understand their own potential.

Her career demonstrates that leadership and family responsibilities can coexist through dedication, intentionality, and a clear sense of purpose.

As a professional woman who has achieved distinction in healthcare and education, she represents an important example for young women considering careers in science, medicine, public health, and organizational leadership.

The Memphis Business Journal’s Superwomen in Business recognition reinforces the significance of women whose accomplishments contribute to the economic, professional, and civic strength of the region.

For Dr. Jamila Smith-Young, the honor reflects more than individual achievement. It represents a broader commitment to helping others succeed, strengthening professional institutions, and creating pathways for future leaders.

Her influence is evident not only in the recognition she receives but also in the students she mentors, the families she serves, the organizations she supports, and the example she establishes throughout the Memphis community.

As the city continues navigating opportunities and challenges, leaders who combine professional knowledge with compassion, collaboration, and community engagement remain essential to meaningful progress.

Dr. Jamila Smith-Young stands as an example of leadership grounded in purpose, strengthened by education, and demonstrated through service.

Her recognition among the Memphis Business Journal’s Superwomen in Business celebrates a career of achievement while acknowledging the continued influence of a woman dedicated to helping shape a stronger future for Memphis.

Congratulations to Dr. Jamila Smith-Young, a distinguished healthcare leader, educator, mentor, and First Lady whose commitment to excellence and community service continues to inspire the next generation of leaders.

Lean In Survey Links Online Gender Content to Workplace Bias

Womens Journal Staff 2 on October 23, 2026

A new survey from Lean In, the organization founded by Sheryl Sandberg, has identified associations between exposure to online content promoting traditional gender roles and attitudes about women’s leadership. Released on October 20, 2026, the findings also connect gender-related comments at work with women’s reported experiences of biased feedback, raising questions about how cultural attitudes intersect with professional opportunities.

Key Takeaways

  • Nine in 10 U.S. adults surveyed had encountered online content associated with the tradwife movement or manosphere
  • Men who frequently viewed this content were more than three times as likely as infrequent viewers to endorse certain negative stereotypes about women’s leadership
  • Among men who did not find tradwife content appealing, frequent viewers were still about twice as likely to agree with some negative statements about women
  • Six in 10 employees reported hearing at least one gender-related statement examined in the survey at work
  • Women who heard three or more such statements were about four times as likely to report being told they were not seen as leaders
  • The findings identify statistical associations rather than proving that online content causes workplace discrimination

Lean In Reports Findings on Women’s Career Advancement

Lean In’s research examined how exposure to online content about traditional gender roles relates to beliefs about women’s professional capabilities. The survey measured respondents’ exposure to this material, their agreement with statements about gender and leadership, and their experiences with related comments in workplaces.

The findings suggest that frequent exposure and negative perceptions of women’s leadership can occur together. However, they do not establish whether online content shapes those attitudes or whether people with existing beliefs are more likely to encounter similar material.

Questions about women’s professional advancement extend beyond the survey’s measures of attitudes. Separate workplace research in Utah found that highly educated women continued to report fewer career advancement opportunities than male counterparts, even as higher education was associated with stronger perceptions of workplace belonging and fairness.

While the studies examined different outcomes, both illustrate the importance of distinguishing perceptions of leadership and workplace opportunity from measurable career outcomes such as promotions or appointments.

Survey Examines Exposure to Traditional Gender Role Content

Lean In reported that approximately nine in 10 Americans surveyed had encountered content associated with the tradwife movement or manosphere during the previous year. The figures included 91% of men and 88% of women.

Tradwife content generally emphasizes traditional domestic roles for women, while the manosphere encompasses online communities and content concerning masculinity, men’s issues and gender relations. Some material in these categories promotes beliefs about male authority or conventional expectations for women.

The survey asked respondents about their exposure to online material promoting traditional roles for men or women. Any reported exposure counted toward the overall figure, regardless of how frequently the respondent encountered the content.

Consequently, the nine-in-10 finding should not be interpreted as evidence that most Americans actively seek out or support these messages.

The distinction matters because exposure can occur through voluntary viewing, recommendations or incidental encounters. The survey’s overall exposure figure does not establish which experiences were most influential.

Men’s Attitudes Toward Women’s Leadership in the Findings

Lean In found substantial differences in agreement with certain gender stereotypes between men who frequently viewed traditional gender-role content and those who rarely or never encountered it.

Among frequent male viewers, 58% agreed that men are naturally better suited for leadership, compared with 19% of infrequent viewers. Similarly, 50% of frequent viewers agreed that women are too emotional for high-pressure roles, compared with 14% of infrequent viewers.

The research also examined men who did not find tradwife content appealing. Within this group, 38% of frequent viewers agreed that men were better suited for leadership, compared with 17% of infrequent viewers. Agreement with the statement that women were too emotional was 32% among frequent viewers versus 14% among infrequent viewers.

These comparisons indicate that the association between exposure and certain attitudes was also present among men who did not express a strong preference for the content.

Evidence concerning actual corporate leadership provides another perspective. Companies headed by women were found to have higher female leadership representation on boards and in senior management than companies led by men, according to research from Corporate Women Directors International.

That finding concerns the composition of corporate leadership teams rather than attitudes about who is qualified to lead. It offers a separate measure of women’s participation in senior positions.

Lean In’s survey results, meanwhile, do not demonstrate that respondents acted on their expressed beliefs when making hiring, promotion or compensation decisions.

Workplace Experiences Reported by Women Respondents

The survey also examined whether attitudes associated with traditional gender narratives appeared in professional environments.

Lean In reported that six in 10 employees had heard at least one of seven gender-related statements at work. These included assertions that men are naturally better suited for leadership, that women should prioritize family responsibilities over paid employment, and that women are too emotional for high-pressure roles.

Women who reported hearing three or more of these statements at work were about four times as likely to say they had been told they were not seen as leaders. Specifically, 21% of women in this group reported receiving that feedback, compared with 5% of women who had heard none of the statements.

The survey identified another difference in feedback concerning emotionality. Among women who heard three or more of the statements, 26% reported being told they were too emotional, compared with 4% of women who had heard none.

These findings indicate an association between exposure to gender-related comments in workplaces and women’s experiences of potentially biased feedback.

However, the comparisons do not establish that the comments originated from individuals who consumed the online material examined in the study. Nor do they demonstrate that the feedback resulted in specific employment consequences, such as denied promotions or reduced compensation.

Research Limitations and Implications for Workplace Gender Bias

Lean In conducted its online survey of 2,984 U.S. adults aged 18 and older from May 5 to May 19, 2026, using the Qualtrics platform.

According to the organization, the sample was nationally representative by age, gender, race and ethnicity, and region. The overall margin of error was plus or minus two percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with larger margins for smaller respondent groups.

These methodological details provide context for interpreting the findings, particularly comparisons involving subgroups of frequent and infrequent viewers.

The results rely on respondents’ accounts of content exposure, personal beliefs and workplace experiences. They do not establish the sequence of events needed to determine whether online material changed respondents’ attitudes.

Existing beliefs, personal experiences and other influences may contribute to the associations observed. The reported findings cannot isolate the influence of any single factor.

Similarly, the workplace results describe reported comments and feedback rather than independently documented employment decisions. Additional research would be required to determine whether those experiences translate into measurable differences in advancement, compensation or leadership appointments.

The survey nevertheless identifies a relationship worth examining: men who frequently encounter certain gender-role narratives are more likely to endorse negative assumptions about women leaders, while women who hear similar statements at work are more likely to report biased feedback.

Understanding those relationships may help inform further research into workplace culture, leadership perceptions and the barriers women encounter in professional settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Lean In’s survey find about online gender stereotypes?

Lean In found associations between frequent exposure to content promoting traditional gender roles and men’s agreement with certain negative stereotypes about women. The research also examined gender-related workplace comments and women’s reported experiences of biased feedback.

How does traditional gender-role content relate to attitudes toward women leaders?

Men who frequently encountered the content examined in the survey were more than three times as likely as infrequent viewers to agree with statements suggesting that men are naturally better suited for leadership or that women are too emotional for high-pressure roles. The findings do not establish a causal relationship.

What workplace experiences did women respondents report?

Women who reported hearing three or more of the gender-related statements examined in the survey were about four times as likely to say they had been told they were not seen as leaders. They were also more likely to report feedback describing them as too emotional.

Does the survey prove that social media causes workplace discrimination?

No. The survey identifies associations between online exposure, expressed attitudes and reported workplace experiences. It does not prove that online content causes discriminatory behavior or specific employment outcomes.

Who founded Lean In?

Sheryl Sandberg founded Lean In, an organization focused on supporting women’s advancement and leadership. Its research examines workplace experiences, gender-related attitudes and obstacles affecting women’s professional opportunities.

The Missing Step in Every Recipe

Women's Journal Staff on October 23, 2026

Federal researchers found that restaurant workers wash their hands about one time in three when they should. A humor book about bathroom etiquette makes the case that the holiday cooking season is a good time to ask how the rest of us are doing.

By Daniel Reyes

Open any cookbook to any recipe and read the instructions. Preheat the oven. Dice the onion. Fold in the egg whites. What you will not find is the step that matters most, because it happens before the recipe begins, and it happens in another room.

Wash your hands after using the bathroom. Use soap and hot water. Dry them well. Then, and only then, touch the food.

It sounds too basic to need saying, which is exactly the problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, restaurant workers wash their hands when they should only about one time in three. In the agency’s observations, workers faced roughly nine moments an hour that called for handwashing and washed two or three times. Only one worker in four washed after handling raw animal products or dirty equipment. Only one in ten washed after touching their own face or body.

Those numbers matter because of where they lead. The CDC says germ spread from workers’ hands to food accounts for nine of every ten outbreaks in which a food worker contaminated the food. The food itself is rarely the villain. The hands that prepared it often are.

A reminder close to home

Earlier this month, health officials in Tennessee began investigating a possible foodborne illness outbreak associated with a meal at a Walmart fulfillment center in Lebanon. Emergency crews triaged roughly 25 to 30 patients at the site, and 19 people were taken to the hospital. The Tennessee Department of Health has not named a cause, and it would be irresponsible to guess whether hands, ingredients or something else is to blame. The investigation is still open.

But the episode is a fair reminder of what is at stake whenever food is prepared for a crowd. A single shared meal can sideline a workplace in a night. Multiply that by every office potluck, church supper, school fundraiser and family reunion on the calendar between now and New Year’s, and a thirty-second habit starts to deserve more respect than it gets.

Why smart people skip it

Nobody believes dirty hands are a good idea, so why so many skipped washes? The answer has less to do with character than with circumstances. The CDC found that workers washed more often when they were not busy, when their restaurant provided food safety training, and when there was more than one hand sink, with at least one in plain view. Younger workers and non-managers washed less often than older workers and managers. The agency’s advice to restaurants follows from that: train people, especially younger employees, remove obstacles like hard-to-reach sinks and time pressure, and redesign prep steps so fewer washes are needed in the first place.

In other words, handwashing is partly a design problem. If the sink is far away, the line is long and nobody has shown you why it matters, you will cut the corner. Most of us would.

Anyone who has hosted a party knows the setup. The kitchen is crowded, the guests are hungry, and the soap dispenser has been empty since Tuesday. Good intentions do not survive that.

An unlikely messenger

One of the more unusual attempts to get the message across is a book of bathroom-etiquette verse, The Legend of Confuse-us: Timeless Bathroom Wisdom from the Ancient Scholar, by Laurence Grant. Published in hardcover in September 2025, it is a collection of rhymes, commandments, song parodies and jokes built around an invented philosopher, a supposed contemporary of Confucius who cared less about the nature of virtue and more about whether the guest bathroom was properly stocked. The sage is entirely fictional. The advice, in this case, is not:

When done in the bathroom, I certainly hope That you wash hands with water and soap Before touching food, don’t be a dope.

Grant says in the book’s introduction that he spent more than eighteen years as an account executive in the nutrition field, much of it on the road, and came to see hundreds of bathrooms along the way. He does not claim any medical expertise. His method is the rhyme, and he writes in the introduction that he hopes readers will remember some of the jingles. In a chapter on food handling, he warns that anyone who rushes from the bathroom to the kitchen without being sanitary might make loved ones sick, “just like good ole’ Typhoid Mary.” It is not subtle, and it is not meant to be.

There is a serious point under the silliness. Public health agencies have asked people to wash their hands for generations, and the message still slips past because it feels obvious. Humor is one way to get an obvious message to land a second time.

What to do before the holidays

You do not need a new gadget or a new law. A few small commitments will do, plus a few small upgrades if you plan to have company.

Wash properly. The CDC’s standard guidance is simple: wet your hands with clean running water, lather with soap, scrub for at least 20 seconds, rinse, and dry with a clean towel or the air. Twenty seconds is longer than it feels. Humming “Happy Birthday” twice gets you there. Wash the backs of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails, not just your palms.

Make the wash the first step, every time. The cook who just came back from the restroom, the guest who is “just going to help with the rolls,” the teenager who has been handling a phone: all of them go to the sink before they touch anything edible. A host who says “sink first” sounds fussy for about four seconds and thoughtful for the rest of the evening.

Stock the room like you mean it. The CDC’s findings suggest that easy access matters. At home, that means soap that is actually in the dispenser, hot water that actually runs hot, and a clean, dry towel or a stack of paper ones within reach. If guests have to hunt for any of that, they are less likely to do the job. A second sink in view, whether in the kitchen or the powder room, helps even more.

Hold employers to the same standard. If you manage a restaurant, a catering crew, a school cafeteria or a church kitchen, the research is on your side. Train people early, show them why, and fix the sink. Grant’s book puts the point to employers in a couplet: your employees will serve us with clean hands, we hope, so fix the hot water and stock plenty of soap. A good manager does not have to rhyme to get there.

The simplest safety measure we have

Foodborne illness is not a mystery with a complicated cure. Much of it is preventable with a bar of soap and a little patience at the right moment. The CDC has told us what the gap looks like: about one correct wash in three.

Closing that gap will not make headlines. The meal will go as planned, the guests will go home well, and no one will ever know what did not happen. Good food safety is invisible when it works.

So before you carve the bird or plate the appetizers, take the one step that no cookbook prints. You will be in good company with an imaginary philosopher and every real public health agency.

The Legend of Confuse-us: Timeless Bathroom Wisdom from the Ancient Scholar, by Laurence Grant, is available on Amazon. More at confuse-us.com.

Sources: CDC, Food Worker Handwashing in Restaurants (reviewed August 2026); WSMV-TV reporting on the Tennessee Department of Health investigation in Lebanon, Tennessee (October 12, 2026).

Author and Founder of Modern Consciousness Stacie Shifflett Releases Treasure Map to Joy, a Parable That Rewrites the Rules of Rebuilding After Loss

Women's Journal Staff on October 23, 2026

There is a particular cruelty to disruption when it arrives all at once. Divorce does not wait for the right season. Job loss does not check whether grief has already taken up residence. Health challenges do not politely delay their entrance until the previous crisis has been resolved. When life collapses in layers, most self-help literature hands the reader a ladder and points upward. Stacie Shifflett does something far more honest in Treasure Map to Joy: One Woman’s Journey from Disruption to Joy. She hands the reader a lantern and says: start here, in the dark.

Shifflett built and led multiple companies across a decades-long career, acquired a $50 million software enterprise without a single dollar of upfront capital, and was among the first to roll out IBM desktop technology in a major federal agency. None of that professional scaffolding prepared her for the losses that followed: a 28-year marriage that ended, the death of a son, a health challenge now reshaping her independence. She understands disruption from the inside out, which is precisely what separates this book from the crowded shelf of recovery narratives written at a comfortable distance from the wound.

Treasure Map to Joy arrives as a parable, a deliberate and courageous structural choice. The protagonist Maureen faces divorce and sudden unemployment simultaneously. Through her conversations with Leina, a coach who asks rather than prescribes, Maureen begins to untangle the habits of mind that have kept joy at arm’s length. Shifflett resists the genre conventions that typically flatten transformation into a linear arc with a tidy conclusion. What she delivers instead is something more truthful: a portrait of how healing actually moves, which is to say, in spirals, in reversals, in quiet moments of recognition that arrive when no one is watching.

The book’s central argument is deceptively simple. Joy is not a destination parked somewhere beyond the difficult years. It is not the reward issued to the sufficiently resilient. Joy is a practice, something one chooses to return to rather than arrive at, something waiting inside rather than outside the chaos. Shifflett captures this through Maureen’s gradual shift from asking what she has lost to asking what is still alive. That pivot, small as it sounds in summary, is the emotional engine of the entire narrative.

What distinguishes Shifflett’s voice is its refusal to perform certainty. She does not write from the summit looking down. She writes from the middle of the ascent, which gives every insight a quality of genuine discovery rather than rehearsed wisdom. Readers at their own crossroads will recognize the terrain. Those who have tried to metabolize loss through productivity or status-seeking will find their own patterns reflected back without judgment and without flattery.

The Elevate Your Life framework that underpins Shifflett’s practice at Modern Consciousness runs quietly beneath the narrative, surfacing not as a curriculum but as a sensibility: the idea that clarity precedes change, and that looking inward honestly is the most radical act available to anyone starting over.

Treasure Map to Joy is short in page count and substantial in consequence. It is a companion for people who are tired of being told to be strong and are ready, instead, to be real.

Pick up Treasure Map to Joy by Stacie Shifflett on Amazon and begin the only journey that has ever mattered: the one back to yourself.

She Lost Her Husband in Three Weeks. Then She Trained as a Death Doula Alongside Her Mother.

Women's Journal Staff on October 23, 2026

By: Jordan Jerome

When loss arrives, women are often the ones who make the calls, sit at the bedside, comfort the children and keep the household running, with little room left for their own grief. Julie Wright Halbert knows that role from the inside, and her new book asks a question many women have never been given permission to ask: what if grief could wake us up instead of wearing us down?

In 2018, her husband, Jim, was diagnosed with cancer and was gone three weeks later. He was fifty-one. At 3:33 on a Thursday afternoon, their sons each held one of his hands. Julie rested hers on his knees. They let him go together.

“My soul did not break,” she writes. “It cracked wide open.”

Live and Die Awake: On Love, Loss, and Living Fully (Rising Phoenix LIFE, November 4, 2026) is the book she wrote on the other side of that moment: a love story, a guided healing practice and a hand reaching back for every woman who has stood where she stood.

Julie and Jim met as students at the University of Miami School of Law, where their love story began. Together they built a family, and Julie built a career spanning nearly three decades as a national education attorney with the Council of the Great City Schools, helping shape K-12 (kindergarten through high school) education policy for the nation’s largest urban school districts.

When Jim died, she discovered what so many widows do: none of that expertise could tell her how to grieve, or how to begin again.

Her path forward took a turn few would expect. In the fall of 2025, Julie trained alongside her mother, Cynthia, and became certified as a death doula with Going with Grace, the end-of-life organization founded by Alua Arthur. A mother and daughter learning side by side how to accompany the dying is its own quiet lesson: mortality can draw a family closer.

Today Julie volunteers as a death doula at the bedsides of the dying with Empath Health in Sarasota, Florida, and works as a transformational soul coach through Rising Phoenix LIFE, the organization she founded. She has become a national voice for grief literacy. Seven and a half years after Jim’s death, she writes that she carries him with love and gratitude, not sorrow. It is not a claim that grief is ever finished. It is a glimpse of what years of practice can make possible.

At the heart of the book are the Living and Dying Awake Framework™, which moves through Descent, Witnessing and Rising, and the Seven Presence Vows™. The first vow may be the most generous words a woman stretched thin can hear: I vow to return to presence. It does not demand that you stay present every moment, hold it all together or grieve the “right” way. It asks only that you come back, again and again, as many times as the day requires. Presence stops being one more thing to get right and becomes a direction you keep choosing. There is much more inside: a transformational healing arc each reader can walk at her own pace, and plain-spoken guidance on hospice, palliative care and what a death doula can offer a family.

Claire Bidwell Smith, author of Conscious Grieving, offers readers this invitation: “Read it with your heart open and your hand on your own life.” Meditations, journaling prompts and reflection pauses invite readers to stop and tend their own hearts, and QR codes open a companion library of 20 guided meditations in Halbert’s own voice, along with a poem read aloud. The library opens on November 4. The first guided meditation is free now at LiveAndDieAwake.com, a gentle place to start that asks nothing of you but presence.

As a mother who spent nearly three decades shaping policy for students in the nation’s largest urban school districts, Halbert is also working to make sure no child grieves alone. She advocates nationally for bereavement programs in schools and for grieving students to receive 504 plans, the formal support plans schools create for individual students, along with other accommodations. In Florida, she champions the expansion of the Blue Butterfly Grief Care Program of Empath Health Tidewell, so that no grieving child walks through loss without language, support and care.

Her message is one every woman can carry: grief is for everyone who lives and everyone who will die. The only question is how awake we choose to be.

For the widow and the caregiver, the daughter walking a parent toward the end, the mother helping her children through loss, and every woman who senses there must be a more awake way to live, and a more sacred way to leave.

Live and Die Awake: On Love, Loss, and Living Fully by Julie Wright Halbert publishes November 4, 2026. Pre-order your copy on Amazon, begin with the first free meditation at LiveAndDieAwake.com, and make a little room for your own grief.