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WIDOWS WEAR STILETTOS
MEET THE AUTHOR
GRIEF RECOVERY EXPERT,
CAROLE BRODY FLEET
PLEASE NOTE: For Ms. Fleet's full-length biography (including awards and accolades, media / personal appearances and testimonials, please click here.
"Please know that the grieving process is vital to healing; however, you are not destined to live in a place of sorrow forever. You do not have to settle for where you are, if where you are… is not where you choose to be. In other words, you can honor your past, you can treasure your past, you can and you should love your past - but you do not have to LIVE in your past…and while your loss will definitely shape you, it does not have to define you."
Carole Brody Fleet is the multi award-winning author of the critically praised, thirteen-time international bestseller and winner of the Firebird Book Award, "Widows Wear Stilettos..." (Armin Lear Press, Second Edition); as well as the #1 release, "Loss is a Four Letter Word..." (HCI Books); the #1 release, “When Bad Things Happen to Good Women…” (Viva Editions); and “Happily EVEN After..." (Viva Editions); winner of the prestigious Books for a Better Life Award, one of the top national awards in publishing.
In the late 1990's, Carole had left the legal profession from where she hails by education and degree and was enjoying a successful career in the upper management levels of the beauty industry. Proud parents to daughter Kendall, Carole's husband Michael was both an award-winning 28-year veteran of his police department and a Vietnam combat veteran of the United States Air Force. Their world was shattered in 1998, when Mike was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS / Lou Gehrig's Disease). Mike's brave battle with ALS came to an end on December 19, 2000; leaving Carole a widowed parent of an eleven year-old daughter and in both financial and emotional ruin.
Several years after the deaths of both her husband and her father a mere four months later, Carole set out on her journey as an author. Just over one month after completing her first book, "Widows Wear Stilettos...", she was signed by a literary agency. Carole quickly thereafter made her first appearances in national media and became an international bestselling and award-winning author, sought-after media contributor and international speaker.
Widely recognized as America’s go-to expert on life adversity and grief recovery, Carole is also an eight-time contributor to the iconic Chicken Soup for the Soul book series; as well as a previous top invited contributor to The Huffington Post. A veteran of over 1,300 radio appearances, Carole has made frequent appearances on television, radio programs and podcasts in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom and is a featured expert in national and
international print and web media. Most recently, Carole’s work was optioned and published by a major international greeting card company.
Carole has also been regularly called upon by the media to offer advice, insight and encouragement during extraordinary current events, times of crisis and national tragedy (including subsequent anniversaries, observances and remembrances). Established in 2006, the Widows Wear Stilettos website has become a respected resource worldwide for the bereaved; as well as a comforting online presence for those who seek support, education, inspiration and most importantly...hope for a brighter future beyond the scope of bereavement and grief. With her inimitable message of "What Now and What Next", Carole's body of work continues to offer practical, emotional and even humorous guidance to the millions who have experienced loss or any kind of life-challenge in their lives.
Carole is a native Southern Californian, who continues to make her home there. In addition to spending time with her family, Carole enjoys traveling, Zumba, Pilates and weight-based workouts ("My can't-live-without-it, must-do...it's my oxygen!"); live concerts of all kinds, comedy clubs, the beach, guided meditation, the NFL and of course...shoe shopping.
"Grief is the tremendous price that we pay when we love fully, passionately, unconditionally and without limits. It is a painfully difficult cost…but imagine how empty life would be if we chose against paying that price; instead keeping our love locked away forever in our hearts."
--Carole Brody Fleet