Hello, I'm Deb!
After facing cancer, single motherhood, divorce, and many of life's toughest challenges, I discovered the incredible power of sharing stories. I created Surviving Life Lessons so that no one would have to walk their hardest path alone. My mission is to provide hope, encouragement, practical resources, and a supportive community where people can heal, grow, and realize they're never alone.
Professional Highlights
-
MBA graduate with a strong foundation in business strategy and leadership
-
20+ years of IT Project Management experience, leading projects, improving systems, and solving complex challenges
-
Leadership experience in the U.S. Navy, developing discipline, teamwork, and decision making under pressure
-
Management roles across the construction industry, convenience store operations, and fast food, building expertise in operations, customer service, and team leadership
-
Legal Department Supervisor for a car finance company, overseeing legal processes, compliance, and case management
-
Extensive experience in project planning, process improvement, crisis management, and organizational leadership
-
Founder of Surviving Life Lessons, a woman owned and service disabled veteran owned business dedicated to providing educational resources, coaching, guided journals, and community support
Every role I've held has shaped the way I lead today. By combining professional expertise with lived experience, my goal is to create trusted resources that empower others to navigate life's challenges with confidence, resilience, and hope.
What You’ll Find Here :
Heartfelt and inspiring stories
Published books from personal experience
Forums for support, questions, and honest conversation
Resource pages with local and national help lines, community programs, and support options
Encouragement, laughter, and the reminder that you're not alone.
The Professional Backbone
Behind the Mission
Creating a platform that truly helps people heal takes more than passion. It requires leadership, real world experience, and the ability to build systems that serve others well. Alongside my personal journey, I've spent decades developing the professional skills needed to grow and lead a purpose driven business.
I realized that when I was diagnosed with cancer, you can’t take your material things, but you can take all the wisdom you learned from overcoming life’s obstacles.
When I was struggling, God sent people to help me who had already been through what I was facing into my life. Sometimes they stayed for a long time, a season, sometimes just a moment—but they helped me take the next step.
COVID has sent people into their homes, and people have lost their sense of community. People aren’t sharing with other people in person
Technology has become the tool everyone is using to communicate. Families don’t share life lessons, the older generation no longer shares with the younger, and knowledge is being lost. If people are using technology to communicate life’s lessons, then we need to give people a way to share them.
Want to Get Involved?
Support the Stories That Matter
Your support helps keep real, honest stories visible and accessible to those who need them most.
Share Your
Story
Your lived experience can help someone feel seen, understood, and less alone.
Engage With
the Blog
Read, comment, and share posts that resonate with you,
Every interaction helps.
Explore the Blog Catalog
Browse our growing Blog Catalog, organized by life experiences, challenges, and themes.
Join Our Growing Freebie Collection
Sign up to unlock exclusive printables, receive new freebies, and be the first to access our latest resources.
.png){kind=small}
Short Disclaimer
Surviving Life Lessons is built entirely on shared personal experiences and lived stories from our community members and founder. We are not medical, mental health, financial, or legal professionals, and nothing here constitutes professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
This site offers inspiration, encouragement, community support, and peer-shared insights only. It is not a substitute for qualified professional care. Always consult licensed healthcare providers, therapists, counselors, financial advisors, or legal experts for your specific needs and circumstances.
We encourage safe, respectful sharing and remind everyone that individual experiences vary — what helped one person may not apply to another.