This fall, I will have the privilege of sharing two deeply personal pieces of my journey through two very different books: She Means Business and The Year I Wore Pink: 25+ Years Beyond Breast Cancer.
At first glance, one book is about business and the other is about surviving a major illness. Yet for me, they are connected by a common thread: the courage to move forward when life does not follow the plan.
In She Means Business, I join nine women in sharing stories of entrepreneurship, leadership, and purpose. My chapter, “The Roles Were Never About the Jobs,” reflects on my professional journey from corporate leadership to building Jarvis Consultants. Throughout my career, titles and responsibilities have changed, but the qualities that shaped my work have remained constant: curiosity, resilience, relationship-building, and a willingness to keep evolving.
Entrepreneurship requires more than having a good idea. It calls for confidence when the outcome is uncertain, flexibility when circumstances change, and faith in what you are building even before others can fully see it. My chapter is a reminder that our careers are not simply a collection of jobs. They are opportunities to gather experiences, discover our strengths, and prepare for the work we may one day be called to do.
My second book, The Year I Wore Pink: 25+ Years Beyond Breast Cancer, tells another part of my story.
More than 25 years ago, I was a healthy, active young woman building a career and living a full life when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. In an instant, everything changed. The year that followed included surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, fear, faith, and the unwavering support of people who helped carry me through.
But this book is not only about the year I had cancer. It is also about everything that came after.
Life after a major illness is not simple as returning to who you were before. Survival can bring gratitude, but it can also bring scars, questions, grief, and the ongoing work of learning to trust your body and your future again. I wanted to share the honest story of what it meant to move beyond treatment and gradually reclaim my life.
Both books grew from my belief that our stories can serve a purpose beyond ourselves. A business lesson may give someone the confidence to pursue a new opportunity. A story about illness and recovery may help someone feel less alone. Sometimes, simply seeing how another person navigated uncertainty can help us imagine a way through our own.
These books represent two important parts of who I am: an entrepreneur who believes experience should be used intentionally, and a survivor who understands that life after cancer is its own journey.
I look forward to sharing more about both books as their releases approach later this fall. My hope is that these stories will encourage readers to recognize the strength in their own journeys and to believe that even the most unexpected chapters can lead to meaningful new beginnings.
WAYS TO WORK WITH JARVIS CONSULTANTS!
Strategies: We help small to mid-size companies develop business, marketing, and event management strategies.
Business Coaching: We coach Founders of small to medium size businesses who want to take their organization to the next level.
Project Management: We support companies that don’t have the personnel resources internally; we help them create projects from the development stages to implementation; and a tactical management process.
New Business Development: We help clients research and explore new business opportunities and/or emerging trends that can be optimized and generate incremental revenue including content.
Contact sonya@jarvisconsultants.com