Tia Amdurer

Tia Amdurer is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in providing healing around grief, bereavement and loss. She enjoys the art of storytelling whether encouraging her clients in her private practice, producing an award-winning documentary (Heart and Sole: 20 Years of Tap Extravaganza (R)), writing articles in books (Lakewood Colorado, An Illustrated Biography), or writing her annual holiday missive which is sent around the world. As a preteen, she and her sister Laura Minor collaborated with their dad, Carl Schlesinger, to write about growing up in Kenya in a two-part article in Jack and Jill Magazine. Spending eight years in Nairobi, Kenya, provided a rich and varied experience with travel, cultures, foods, and points of view. Tia and her South African-born husband met in New York City and together enjoy traveling, feeding friends and family, and playing extremely competitive Scrabble and Charades! Her two grown children also enjoy travel and cultures, with her daughter settling in Berlin, Germany where she is raising her bi-lingual family, and her son enjoying jazz in any country he travels to. This book is offered as an easy-to-read guide about a not-so-easy topic.

Chris Renaud-Cogswell is a creative, dedicated, and enthusiastic piano teacher with a passion for working with students with special needs. A committed lifelong learner, she is currently pursuing continuing education at Metropolitan State University of Denver exploring technology and designing teaching materials to engage all types of learners. Writing - with both words and music - is her passion, along with spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.