Take a walk in my shoes for a moment. I have my own Cinderella story. Once upon a time…

I had a pretty great life. Then I went through a difficult divorce and raised my kids as a solo parent for the last 16 years. I had to give up my vocation as a stay-at-home mom and tried to return to my career in broadcasting but I was told at the ripe old age of 31 I was 'too seasoned' to be on TV. Yikes! I was broke, jobless, and desperate. I had lost nearly everything.

I switched careers and started working in gerontology—the study of being 'too seasoned’ where I fit right in! :) I found my passion working with older adults. I rebuilt my life carrying my kids on my back as I climbed the career ladder. I am now Associate State Director for AARP Michigan and a TV personality with ABC & NBC affiliate stations. I co-host lifestyle TV shows and produce infomercials about the upside of going down over the hill (aka the benefits of growing older). I was named one of the “50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan” as an influencer in positive aging. And I found new love. Life is better than ever!

Through my work, I discovered there are a lot of non-fiction books about aging, but not many fiction books about the topic, so I decided to spice up libraries and bookstores and write a witty book about growing older in my debut novel, Not Your Shoe Size. It captures the heart and soul, wit and charm of women finding the silver living after becoming silver.

I tied up my shoes and used grit to reinvent myself, and I put on my own glass slipper. Ladies, you don’t need to wait for a man to do it for you. You have the power in yourself to do it!

Fun facts about me….

What’s your favorite hobby?

I don’t scrapbook. I don’t quilt. I shoe! The hunt for the perfect shoe at a rock-bottom price is like the equivalent of a man hunting for sport. My sport is shoepping. If you don’t speak Shoepanese that’s shoe shopping.

An older adult who made the greatest impact?

My maternal grandmother. She was the smartest person I knew as a kid. She read to me from the dictionary and taught me words that expanded my vocabulary. This is how I grew to love the English language. Small in effort; big in impact. She passed away when I was only 19 and I can only wonder how many more words she could’ve taught me. Like Pimpkles. Colette, the main character in my novel uses this work to explain how at 50 you can still get pimples, while also having wrinkles (like me). I looked it up in Webster’s Dictionary. It doesn’t exist. It should!

Childhood Best Friend?

My BFF for 30 years was Julie. She’s who I dedicated this book to. We were like sisters. We grew up a few houses apart and became friends when we were toddlers. We went to school together and were college roommates. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and we were planning hers when she died unexpectedly of a health condition. She is the only person I know who had a larger shoe collection than me! The stars aligned and the publication of Not Your Shoe Size launched on what would’ve been her 50th birthday!

Favorite Childhood Memory?

I had a neighborhood group of friends and we would ride bikes, swim in each other’s pools, and play outdoor games like ‘bloody murder’ and ‘statues’. I grew up in a time when we left the house in the morning and didn’t return until the street lights came on. The technology we had was Atari and just a few video games to play so it didn’t hold our attention the way technology does today. My childhood fun came from being active outside with friends.

Who do I relate to more—Colette or Julia?

Both. I think that Colette and Julia live in each of us. We want to see youth and beauty reflected in the mirror, but we also reach the point where we’re comfortable in our own skin.

Are any of the vignettes true?

Some are! I can say the letter Colette wrote to her daughter is similar to the one I wrote to my son when he went off to college. The incident with underage driving may or may not be true (wink, wink… I wouldn’t want to incriminate anyone without knowing the statutes of limitations). There are many more! If you want to find out which ones, book me for a book club appearance.