Karen Nielsen, an author and speaker, is the co-founder of Widow Women Connect, a sisterhood of widows who connect, mentor and support each other through the wilderness of life after losing their spouse/partner. Karen lost her husband Robert to suicide in January of 2018, and through her pain and grief, realized she had a platform in which to help others. She speaks to groups on suicide prevention and mental health awareness, both of which plagued her late husband, as well as to those who have been left behind after losing someone to suicide. Being a witness to her late husband’s struggles in life, and his death, as well as her own life story, led to her first book: “Pathways: From Victim, To Survivor, And Beyond”, published in September 2018. Her second book “7 Ways to Heal from a Loved One’s Suicide” is due out in 2020. She received an International Literary Award in August 2019 from The Professional Woman Network for her writing on the loss of her husband and her journey after his death, in the women author’s anthology “Women of Courage”.
Karen and her Widow Women Connect co-founder Roni Ketchum are co-authoring “You Are Not Alone ~ Widow Women Connect”, due out winter 2019, detailing their shared loss and their vision of being in service to other widows. Karen’s topics of speaking do not end with life after losing a spouse, she also speaks on overcoming adversities, finding your new normal, and letting go of unwanted negative labels. And she passionately speaks on childhood sexual assault trauma and healing, placing a child for adoption, which includes being a birth mom, and her own battle with depression, anxiety and PTSD. Karen is also a mentor to women of all ages, helping them to find their self-worth and cultivate the ability to overcome adversities in their lives. She spent 30 years in the corporate world and only after her husband’s death, did she fulfill a lifelong dream of writing and becoming an author.
Karen is an encourager of everyone she meets, she loves to smile and laugh and has a zany, sarcastic sense of humor; a trait she learned from her Dad who she says is the ‘king of puns and one-liners’. She has one adult son Chris, who she is delighted to call one of her best friends, and currently lives in her favorite city on earth, Boise, Idaho along with the man in her life, a black cat named Puma.
Karen is available for Keynotes, Retreats and Seminars based on her book “Pathways", and also on her upcoming book “You Are Not Alone ~ Widow Women Connect”.
You can reach Karen at:
email: karen@karennielsen.com
website: karennielsen.org
cell: 208-412-6650
