The compelling story of heroic women across the country who, despite personal trauma, found grace in difficult times and transformed their personal adversity into pay-it-forward wins by founding nonprofits that help and sustain others, mother to mother.
In the midst of environmental chaos, economic uncertainly, and an endless array of health issues, mothers remain the backbone of our families and exponentially impact their communities. Such is the case of the brave women featured in A Mother’s Grace: Healing the World One Woman at a Time. Author Michelle Moore is founder and president of Mother’s Grace, an award-winning nonprofit organization that supports thousands of mothers and their children in crisis each year. She endured overwhelming trauma as a young girl when her mother died suddenly, and later struggled with divorce, cancer, and a son with juvenile diabetes. She begins by recounting how women in her circle of mom friends helped heal her childhood wounds and empowered her to claim victories in adulthood. Along the way, through divine intervention, she meets the ten remarkable women featured here whose personal tragedy-to-victory stories changed her forever.
Readers seeking guidance during the challenging times we all face in life will find inspiration and hope as they meet mothers who have lived through dire poverty, the death of a child, a spouse’s suicide, terminal childhood cancer, and devastating natural disaster. The poignant and powerful stories of how each found the grit and grace to not only defeat these challenges but also turn them around to impact the world is enlightening and motivating.
Finally, Moore calls readers to rise from the depths of their challenges and gives them the tools to do so. Lessons from the moms in this book provide specific life strategies anyone can use to improve her situation and the world around her—one woman at a time.
Read on for an interview with Michelle Moore, author of A Mother’s Grace.
Q. What advice would you give to women in a crisis?
A. I would always say find your faith. It looks different to everyone. Grace will lead you to do the right thing versus trying to place your controlled M.O. on everything that feels forced, difficult, and pain filled. Find people that can support you unconditionally, a “posse” that just shows up without being asked. You must have two to three “go-to” women that you can call and they will drop what they are doing and come to your aid.
Q. How can women be change agents in their own communities?
A. Women do not have to start a 501c3 to be change agents. You can bake cookies for an assisted living facility, take homemade food to a family that is dealing with crisis, be a sponsor, or write a lovely email to someone who is experiencing grief. Do something. If we all did one small thing for someone once a month, the world would be a different place.
Q. Why did you start the organization Mother’s Grace?
A. Moms are truly the backbones of their families and they need a community to lean on. I was in a crisis dealing with my own cancer and child with a life-threatening illness. I was diagnosed with cancer at the same time as two other friends (moms my age) and they both died within a year. I could not for the life of me figure out why I was spared. They were both such wonderful women and way more wonderful than I. In some ways I felt like I needed to earn my spot on this Earth and do something good with my time.
Q. What lessons do you have for women philanthropists who want to start their own entities?
A. Surround yourself with women who are givers, doers, and who have no personal agenda but to help others. Capitalize on each woman’s individual gifts and you will have the puzzle pieces to make something beautiful. It is truly who you surround yourself with. One lesson I learned is that you cannot do it all yourself. You need a cohort of strong and assertive women to support and take a piece. If you trust them and they know their “stuff,” let them run with it. No micromanaging needed at all.
By day, author Michelle Moore oversees the COVID-19 testing response as a senior vice president for Laboratory Corporation of America; by night, she is the founder of Mother’s Grace, a nonprofit organization that has raised more than $5 million for families in acute crisis, assisting more than 6,000 mothers in the state of Arizona and throughout the world. Mother’s Grace addresses the critical needs of mothers and their children in the midst of tragic life events by helping them with housing costs, medication, meals, housekeeping, childcare, transportation, and a host of other immediate needs. Through mentorship and seed grants, Mother’s Grace also assists women in starting their own nonprofits, with the goal of producing a new generation of women leaders.
