Meet Our Warriors
Terri Luanna da Silva
Terri Luanna da Silva was born and raised on both coasts of Canada by two transcendent artists, Jeanne and Spider Robinson. A self-proclaimed NYC party girl, social worker, stay-at-home Mom and world traveler, Terri was determined not to become a starving artist like her parents. But a Stage 4 Breast Cancer diagnosis compelled Terri to blog about her journey and her unique voice and indomitable spirit inspired people all over the world. Her posthumous memoir, Graceful Woman Warrior: A Story Of Mindfully Living In The Face Of Dying, is a culmination of a promise made to Terri when she whispered, “I think I’m dying. I want you to tell people.” Taken directly from her blog, Graceful Woman Warrior offers a bold blueprint for navigating the sacred cycles of life and death.
Through Terri’s gutsy and openhearted exploration of the grace lessons contained in the suffering, Terri inspires readers to awaken to their own lives and conjure and create the life they envision. Terri received her MSW from Hunter College and was featured on several TV and radio shows. Terri is survived by her husband, Heron, and daughter, the magical Miss M.
Laurie O’Neil (Auntie L)
Laurie O’Neil is a social worker, author, speaker and writer who has devoted her 40-year career to enlightening, empowering, and engaging others in the critical power of loving connection. Co-author of Graceful Woman Warrior: A Story Of Mindfully Living In The Face Of Dying, and creator of the accompanying Grace Lessons Workshop, Laurie also contributes regularly to the online magazine, Herself360, and has appeared on NPR’s The Point, 95.9 WATD-FM’s Powerful Women Revealed, Cape Cod Writer’s Center TV show, Books and the World, and the Engaging Voices. Positive News Now and Widowed Parent podcasts. A graduate of Boston University, Laurie specializes in grief and loss, giving voice to the transformative and healing power found within our shared loss stories.
Photography by Tricia Verronneau
Photography by BelloPhoto
Marisa Alegria da Silva (Miss M)
Marisa Alegria da Silva is a ten-year-old girl, writing songs, making art, having fun and most importantly eating candy. A fifth-grade student at James Quinn School, Marisa is the co-author of Graceful Woman Warrior in which she shares her story of resilience, love, grief and living life to the fullest in the wake of her Mamãe’s death. In her memory, she can picture her and Mamãe baking a cake and licking the bowl together. And even though her Mamãe is not alive right now, Marisa knows Mamãe is busy creating beautiful sunsets, putting Marisa’s favorite songs on the radio, and visiting Marisa by sending a deer or two near her.