At one point or another on life’s long journey, many of us will grapple with the experience of becoming lost.  Our sense of identity may be upended by losing a longtime career or position, letting go of a cherished friend or family member, or we may be faced with an unexpected health crisis or a major financial loss.  

Whatever the cause, this becoming lost can pull our reference points right out from underneath us, leaving us despairing and disoriented.

Like a child in the darkening forest, our best hope at such a time is to find some way back to a place that makes sense to us, a place where the way forward becomes visible once again.  And to find that place, we need some sign or symbol or reminder left by another who has been where we are once or twice and has found their way back to safety.  In short, we need breadcrumbs that we can begin to follow from one to the other, even in the darkest hour.

Laura Fredrickson is such a person; one who has lived through the death of both her parents through suicide, ruinous financial losses in the dot com collapse, and the loss of deep love in relationship. 

More importantly, she is one who found her way through each of these destabilizing life challenges towards a deeper resiliency and a greater flourishing.  And to our benefit, she had the presence of mind to take notes along the way, recording her learnings and molding them into straightforward explanations and processes to help others navigate similar territory.

What you will find in this volume is not simply words or notions, but breadcrumbs.  The chapters herein are designed to help you find your way back to yourself, when you find yourself lost in life’s many twists and turns.  

However this came about, however suddenly or gradually, the crumbs laid down here by Laura and others who have faced devastating loss and challenge, can be a vital resource in remembering your way homeward.

On the path of life we all find ourselves turned around from time to time, and sometimes we wander off the trail entirely or fall off a hidden ledge and find ourselves in need of real help. 

In this book, Laura has worked diligently to assemble an emergency kit — with a compress for a broken heart, a map of what really matters and what leads us astray, and a moral compass pointing the way on our crucial journey back to Self. 

May it serve you in your time of need, and inspire you when your feet are back on the Way.

 —Benjamin Francis Phelan