Media Kit - Susan VanePol
Susan VandePol - Long Bio
Susan is the widow of Los Angeles City Firefighter Robert Ortega, an author, speaker, founder of “A Life After Breath Experience A Widow’s Calling” widow’s retreats, creator of the “Families of the Fallen” protocol for fire departments and the “Life After Breath” protocol for churches. The “Families of the Fallen” protocol was accepted by the International Association of Firefighters in 2006, and is endorsed by experts in the fields of grief, crisis, trauma, suicide prevention, CIR, PTSD, and CISM, and is being used in fire departments around the country. The protocol supplies a model for fire departments when coming alongside a widow of a fallen firefighter, as well as providing firefighters with a pragmatic way to express their own grief. The congruent “Life After Breath” protocol was developed primarily for churches and faith-based organizations, and is a way for the Body of Christ to answer its Biblical call to care for widows, so that they can thrive in their new role, and fulfill their set-apart calling. Susan is the author of “Life After Breath - After Her Husband Takes His Last Breath, and After She Tries to Catch Hers” (Morgan James Publishing) and has been a contributor to several other publications as well, including “Stories of Faith and Courage from Firefighters and First Responders.” Her most recent project - “Catching Your Breath,” a booklet on spousal loss with Our Daily Bread’s Discovery Series is available at discoveryseries.org. Susan is certified in Grief, Crisis and Trauma Counseling, Grief Coaching, Master Life Coaching, Individual Crisis Intervention, Victim Response, and Basic and Family Mediation. Her speaking engagements include a keynote at the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation’s World Congress, The California State Firefighters Convention, the Honor Guard at the International Association of Firefighters Memorial, Fire Rescue International, Firehouse World, and the Calvary Global Network International Ministry Conference. Susan homeschooled her three children without ever succumbing to pressure to wear Birkenstocks, and now lives with her husband whom she shamelessly manipulated into falling in love with her. He obliged by sweeping her off her feet with a large broom.
Susan VandePol - Short Bio
Susan is the widow of Los Angeles City Firefighter Robert Ortega, an author, speaker, founder of “A Life After Breath Experience A Widow’s Calling” widow’s retreats, founder of the non-profit "Matters of Life and Breath," creator of the “Families of the Fallen” protocol for fire departments and the “Life After Breath” protocol for churches.
Life after breath
Life after breath is a faithful friend and companion to a widow’s grief that will enable her to look into grief and heal when others want to look away. It gives resolve without insisting on an answer and prepares a widow to champion her own Biblical cause in a way that no other book or resource on the market offers. There are countless millions of widows crippled without a voice; life after breath breathes life back into a grieving woman and prepares her apart for a set-apart calling.
Publisher - Morgan James Faith
Publication date: April 7, 2015
ISBN -10: 1630473421
ISBN - 13: 978-1630473426
Page count - 204 Pages/40 Chapters
Artwork
Benjamin Ortega, Susan & Bob's youngest child, can remember watching his Mom mourn his Dad's death...
He would later describe it as feeling like he was watching her through a tunnel, seeing her in another place, far away grieving. When Susan and her publisher "Morgan James" began the process of attempting to find appropriate cover art for the book, she thought to ask Ben to attempt to put to paper what his memory of watching her grieve looked like...and that's when the woman and the candle came into focus. The first draft (shown here) took everyone's breath away, including Susan's publisher & marketing team...the only needed change was to add color, quickly giving life to the now-recognizable paperback cover.
Reviews for “Life After Breath”
““A Masterpiece!” ”
““MOST PEOPLE WALKING THE PLANET TODAY HAVE EXPERIENCED GRIEF AT SOME TIME IN THEIR LIVES, BUT MOST DON’T HAVE THE GIFT OF WORDS TO PUT PEN TO PAPER THE WAY THAT SUSAN VANDEPOL DOES. LIFE AFTER BREATH IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN EXPRESSIONS OF GRIEF I HAVE EVER READ.””
““LIFE AFTER BREATH” IS AN INCREDIBLY INSIGHTFUL BOOK. ITS PROFOUND TRUTH WILL DRAW YOU BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN AS YOU DISCOVER THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH GOD HAS SET YOU APART.””
“Life After Breath is not best read quickly - it’s best read slowly, thoughtfully, and more than once. The 40 short devotional-style entries offer poignant details of her husband’s death and ooze with Scripture and word pictures that bring theological truth into technicolor view.”
“AFTER 55 YEARS OF MARRIAGE, I FIND MYSELF A NEW WIDOW - IN THE 2.5 MONTHS SINCE HIS DEATH, I HAVE READ ABOUT A DOZEN BOOKS ABOUT BEING WIDOWED. NONE COMPARED TO THIS BOOK. IT WAS FLAWLESS IN ITS FORM, COMPOSITION, AND UNDERSTANDING. HER GENTLENESS MADE ME FEEL THAT WITH THE GRACE OF GOD, I CAN GET THROUGH THIS.”
“This is the best book I’ve ever read on the subject of grieving.”
“THIS AUTHOR ADEPTLY WRITES IN A UNIQUE LANGUAGE, THAT I CAN ONLY DESCRIBE AS “WIDOW-SPEAK”; A TONGUE THAT CAN BE EASILY TRANSLATED VIA A BROKEN HEART.”
“I have been a widow since December 2014. I breezed through the first 10 months, I guess because there is so much business to take care of and things to finalize. I was busy. Then I got up one morning and realized, ‘this is as good as it’s going to get.’ I went to the bottom and could not get back up. Then, here was this book. I have read many things to help me navigate this chapter in my life but this book is over the top good. She
spoke to my heart and blessed my broken soul. I am going to go back and study it now and highlight and absorb it. I will definitely be gifting
this book when needed.”
““.....AMAZING, TENDER, BEAUTIFUL, MEMORABLE.....””
““POIGNANT, TRANSPARENT, LYRICAL, AND GUT-WRENCHINGLY HONEST, LIFE AFTER BREATH IS A GIFT TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE DEEP SORROW OF LOSING A LOVED ONE.””
“Susan was kind enough to send me copies of her book, “Life After Breath,” which I devoured. I was fascinated by her skills as a writer, the short but all-powerful chapters, and the God-inspired prose.
After most chapters all I could say was, “Wow.” Thought provoking and life-changing.”
“Who knew a book on grief could be a page-turner? Writing in a style reminiscent of C.S. Lewis, Susan VandePol recounts the story of her loss - but so much more.”
“Got my book yesterday. Already read it the same day. I don’t know what to say, because mere words are so inadequate to express what your book did to me!”
“THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS, INFORMATIVE BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT THE UNIVERSAL AND TRAGIC EXPERIENCE OF GRIEF, BUT “LIFE AFTER BREATH” GOES BEYOND THE EMERGENCY OF DEATH AND INTO THE METAPHORICAL “BURN UNIT” OF ITS RECOVERING SURVIVORS.”
“From its opening lines, I learned that the author understands the inestimable power of story, and thus she captured my attention from the first. Intimate. Deeply personal. Wise. Compassionate. I could imagine each topical chapter read daily, piecemeal, as a devotional of sorts. I could also imagine the book swallowed whole in one, searing gulp. In these pages, Susan VandePol offers hope, and encouragement (by which I mean she inspires one to take hold of courage), and something I’d never before considered as attached to widowhood: purpose. She writes, “You will see … that you are meant to be one of [God’s] greatest allies in these times of faint hearts and tribulation. As a widow, you have been called for a great and unique purpose.” Called for a purpose — really? What a gift, for one suffering an unspeakable loss — to be shown that the pain of that terrible severing might not be for naught.”
“As a “bookaholic” I can say I’ve never had a book grip me like this one has.”
“In these exceptionally readable pages,
you will also encounter another kind of miracle, which is this woman’s sacred ability to put life’s most wrenching experiences and most complex emotions into the most exalted, heart-penetrating language. As a journalist and a man of words myself, what can I say? It has to be a gift from God Himself.”
Catching Your Breath
From the Editor:
Susan "... writes with unusual realism, empathy and spiritual experience.” "Catching Your Breath" is “…soothingly personal, emotional, and spiritually rich. It isn’t the kind of manuscript I could criticize. Instead, I found myself needing and wanting to listen in reverence to one who has been physically exhausted and mystically strengthened in faith, hope, and love in loss. I think this is a manuscript that will be read, treasured, and re-read by those who find themselves on the same path.”
Fire Department Protocol
Church Protocol
Photography & Graphics
Robert Miranda Ortega
12/26/52 - 4/7/2005
Videos
"A Life After Breath Experience - A Widow's Calling" annual Widow's Retreat.
The Book Trailer for "Life After Breath - After Her Husband Takes His Last Breath, and After She Tries to Catch Hers."
Previous TV, Radio & Podcast Appearances:
100 HUNTLEY ST.
MOODY RADIO - WEST MICHIGAN
MOODY RADIO - CHICAGO
THE HARVEST SHOW
HOMEKEEPERS - CHRISTIAN TELEVISION NETWORK
WKTO RADIo - DAILY MOMENTS
KBRT/KCBC RADIO - THE BOTTOM LINE
WGVU RADIo - THE MORNING SHOW
WBCL RADIO - MID MORNING
WHKW RADIO - LIVING THE WORD
WFIA RADIO - JUST ASK JOYCE
THE DEBBIE CHAVEZ SHOW
KCIS RADIO - LEGACY OUT LOUD
KMSC RADIO - ON A POSITIVE NOTE
KAJN RADIO - CAJUN TALK
ADVANTAGE RADIO - SECOND CHANCES
WWIP RADIO - HEART TO HEART
WMPC RADIO - OFF THE BOOKSHELF
WMUZ RADIO - THE BOB DUTKO SHOW
KNEO RADIO - AUTHOR'S CORNER
KLFC RADIO - GOOD MORNING OZARKS
HERITAGE OF TRUTH - JEANNE DENNIS
HEART OF THE MATTER - CYNTHIA SIMMONS
KGMS RADIO - WOMAN TO WOMAN
KKMS RADIO - ON THE WAY WITH PAUL RIDGEWAY
THE DOTTIE COFFMAN SHOW- VICTORY TELEVISION NETWORK
WTLN RADIO - PERSPECTIVES
NICK CADY - THEOLOGY FOR THE PEOPLE
LANA BACH - THE COMPASS IN THE STORM
Interview Questions:
Tell us a little about your story; where did it all start?
Give us some insight into the painful loss of your husband Bob.
How did God supernaturally speak to you, and the unusual circumstances that directed you to writing “Life After Breath” and the founding of the one-of-a-kind ministry that followed.
Share with us a few of the sacred and surprising lessons God has shown you.
Tell us about the unique way God showed you about applying Scripture to our grief.
Why is the death of a woman’s husband so sacred, and why don’t others understand?
What insight did God give to you about the well-known Scripture in James 1:27?
Tell us about how God literally stopped you from meeting your deadline with your publisher, and how that orchestrated the entire trajectory of this ministry.
What was the main lesson God taught you early after you gave your life to Jesus, and how has that formed how you have walked through your grief?
Where can we find out about your next widow’s retreat, and how can someone connect with you?
Sample Speaking Topics:
“A Woman’s Fear”
“The Secret Life of Abiding”
“Your Grief”
“Their Grief”
“A Widow’s Grief - “Why it Hurts, and Why No One Understands”
“Living Holy in a World of Contrasts”
“Why We Were Never Meant to Say Goodbye”
“The Content of Contentment”
“Women and the Art of Speaking Wickedness”
Statistics:
Over 7,000 new widows each year in the U.S.
Between 65% and 75% of all married women will be widowed at least once.
The average age of a widow in the United States is 55, with 1/3rd of those under 55.
There is an estimated 258 million widows worldwide, but that is only a guess, as widows in many other countries are not considered human, worthy of counting or given an address.
Of the 13 million widowed people in the United States, over 11 million of those are women.
Widows are considered the most abused and marginalized people group in the world, but God's Word tells us that how we care for them is a litmus test for our Christianity.