Though she’d navigated life and death challenges, when Caryn Sullivan became a widow and single mother of a blended family of four, she was ill prepared. Now keenly aware that life is temporary, the recovering attorney, award-winning author and columnist, blogger, and inspirational speaker not only offers tools to help audiences plan for the inevitable, she urges them to evaluate whether they are living the legacy they hope to leave.
Caryn Sullivan had navigated childhood trauma, a blended family, autism, breast cancer, and a bone marrow transplant when she learned her husband had died at United Hospital, surrounded by strangers. Recognizing she could be bitter - or she could be better - she not only chose better, she resolved to help others to make the same choice. A recovering attorney and inspirational speaker, she shares her resilience expertise in her award-winning memoir, Bitter or Better, and on carynmsullivan.com. The parent of an adult son with autism who lives in St. Paul, Caryn captained the Friends of Fraser St. Paul team in the recent WCCO Pulling Together Tug of War. She serves on the Fraser board of directors, a Masonic Children’s Hospital Advisory Committee, and the Spare Key advisory board.