Annelise learned about the importance of competent and loving caregivers when she was recovering from a serious illness at 19. She applied what she had learned when her grandmother and mother were dying. At twenty-seven, her grandmother’s passage took her fear of death away because it was so peaceful. She found herself spending time with elders who showed her how to live, and how to die. Caring for her mother was so profound that she left the corporate world and became a hospice caregiver.

Twenty years later, she was telling a friend about the wise and remarkable elders she had the privilege of caring for. Her friend exclaimed, “You have to write these stories down!” Annelise eagerly started writing, and over the next seven years, her book expanded into a comprehensive guidebook.

Annelise has a bachelor’s degree in Portuguese and Spanish and a Certificate in Human Resources Management from the University of California, Irvine. She received advance level certification in Chi Nei Tsang in 2002, and has worked as a translator and interpreter for Spanish and Portuguese.