About the Author

My background

My first love is—and always will be—writing. Writing is the outlet that illuminated the most wonderful times of my life, while also helping me find the sunshine on some otherwise dark days (I’ll get to that in a minute…). I grew up obsessing over Goosebumps and Babysitter’s Club books—I still have these collections in my closet. My love for the written word continued into high school and college, where I obtained a B.A. in English from Southern Connecticut State University. In college, I studied abroad in London at Richmond, the American International University, taking classes in Shakespeare and creative writing. Learning Shakespeare through an immersive experience made me fall in love all over again. I’ll never forget watching some of the best actors in town perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the middle of a lush idyllic park on a warm summer day in London.

After college, my path changed slightly and I fell headfirst into the world of software and technology. Fifteen years and an M.B.A from the University of Massachusetts Amherst later, I now lead the strategic roadmap as the Director of Product for a software company based out of Connecticut. I absolutely love my career and wouldn’t change it for the world. Although I still got to write in the form of marketing and technical documentation, I missed creative writing and storytelling. I knew writing would call me back soon enough…

My cancer journey

In 2018, my world changed overnight (cue the dark days) when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 34—one day after my one-year wedding anniversary. Being told you have stage II cancer is an indescribable feeling, and it changed my life in countless ways. After a journey that included fertility treatments, chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and immunotherapy, I was declared “no evidence of disease” but I learned that the battle was far from over. The mental and physical effects of cancer do not go away once you ring the chemo bell to indicate the end of treatment. In 2020, I was asked to share my story in a non-fiction book called Wisdom from Five Cancer Travelers: Lessons Learned with other survivors. In this book, I share my story through the lens of five topics: my diagnosis, support, hope, living a meaningful life, and saying goodbye. If you’re interested, you can buy a copy here. And if you are going through your own cancer journey—please contact me. I love to connect with other survivors, thrivers, and all-around cancer warriors. We are a community and we are #strongertogether.

Just a little more

Facing a cancer diagnosis at a young age (well, at any age, really) will open your eyes in ways you never thought possible. I discovered how precious life really is and how I no longer wanted to wait to do the things that were most important to me—like traveling, being in nature, and writing. This meant putting pen to paper and writing the story that has been in my heart since 2012—Greetings from Tucson. This novel is so special to me because it’s based on my grandmother’s early life. My grandmother was very special to me and someone I miss every single day. I am so excited to share this book with the world!

I live in Connecticut alongside my wonderful husband/love of my life, Matt, and the other love of my life, Poppy (our shy, but hilarious, Portuguese Water Dog who has webbed feet and a HUGE heart).