I was born in South Korea in 1974 and left on the street. There, I was found by a passerby, and four months later I was adopted by my parents. About two weeks shy of my fifth birthday, my father died after battling cancer. My mother remarried a few years later, and I was adopted for a second time, at which point my last name became Meekhof. I’m a graduate of Kalamazoo College with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. I completed my master’s in social work at the University of Michigan and am a licensed social worker. In 2007, when I was 33, my husband (a teacher and veteran) of four years was diagnosed with advanced adrenal cancer. Approximately eight weeks later, he died. I spent the next three years interviewing widows from all walks of life, combining their stories with practical advice in my book, A Widow’s Guide to Healing. When I’m not writing, I enjoy traveling, training for half-marathons, and eating chocolate-chip cookies.