About Graceful Woman Warrior

A former NYC party girl, world traveler, social worker and stay-at-home mom, Terri Luanna da Silva started this blog in 2011 after a Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. Reeling from the recent death of her mother to cancer, visionary Canadian artist, Jeanne Robinson, the name for this blog came from the name Terri was given at birth—Luanna— which means graceful woman warrior.

Exploring motherhood, marriage, spirituality and self-discovery, Terri asked the big questions in her quest to understand the grace lessons contained in the suffering. Questions such as: Why in God’s name, or Buddha’s or the Universe did cancer strike me down at 37? How do I decide which treatment path to pursue? Who gets to choose? How do I parent my two-year-old through cancer? How do I find the strength to live my truth, go against the grain and chart my own holistic path? How and when do I decide it’s time? Time to die…

Faced with that final question in November, 2014, Terri whispered one last request: “I think I’m dying. I want you to tell people.”

So I too picked up my pen…

Continuing this blog through Terri Luanna’s death and beyond, became my lifeline to her. Chronicling my grief journey, alongside her sweet, precious daughter, Miss M’s, offered me a sacred space to heal my aching heart.

On December 5, 2018, four years to the day Terri Luanna’s story ended in the physical world, Terri’s legacy of open-hearted love, resilience and transformative grace lessons was risen anew with the release of Graceful Woman Warrior: A Story Of Mindfully Living In The Face Of Dying.

As with all stories, Terri Luanna’s story holds meaning in today—in my today, in Miss M’s today, and I truly believe it will hold meaning in yours.

Miss M and I cannot wait to meet you on our “Dream Book Tour,” hear from you on the blog, and engage in life-changing conversations with you—about life, about loss, and about living beyond.

Become part of our shared story…

With Love,
Auntie L (Laurie O’Neil)