Heartbroken Open: A Memoir Through Loss to Self-Discovery »

Kristine Carlson, wife of international phenomenon Dr. Richard Carlson (author of the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It's All Small Stuff series), is the coauthor of national bestsellers Don't Sweat the Small Stuff in Love and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Women. Carlson has appeared on national radio and television broadcasts, including the Today show, The View, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Carlson has served on the board of directors of the Global Leadership Council for Challenge Day. She helped to raise more than $600,000 for the nonprofit organization, which inspires children and adults to "be the change they wish to see in the world."

Kristine Carlson had an idyllic life. She and her husband, Richard, had a romantic marriage, two beautiful daughters, and—thanks to the success of Richard's bestselling Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series—all the comforts of the American Dream. But on December 13, 2006, that perfect story took a sudden turn when, on a typical flight to New York, a pulmonary embolism would take Richard's life, catapulting Kristine into heartbreak and uncertainty. It was the end of life as Kristine knew it and the beginning of a journey through the depths of grief and mourning that would reveal to Kristine her true strength and an immeasurable love that cannot be broken.

This book is a courageously honest memoir. It is the true story of a wife, a mother, a woman forced to come face-to-face with fear, insecurity, and the painful but ultimately precious teachings Kristine Carlson discovered along the way. This wise little book offers a timeless message of inspiration, empowerment, and courage for anyone who has experienced loss or hardship of any kind.