SARASOTA, Fla. - s4story -- At 3:33 on Thursday afternoon, Julie Wright Halbert's husband, Jim, took his last breath. Their sons each held one of his hands. Julie rested hers on his knees. Together, they let him go.

What followed shattered her life—and began a journey toward living with loss while remaining open to love.

In Live and Die Awake: On Love, Loss, and Living Fully, Halbert shares a story of great love, sacred dying, and rebuilding after loss. Part memoir and practical companion, the book explores how grief can deepen our relationship with life.

"My soul did not break. It cracked wide open," Halbert writes.

A Love Story—and a Companion Through Loss

Halbert explores questions that follow profound loss: Who am I now? How do I carry this love forward? How can I live fully when someone I love has died?

Rather than offering a timetable for healing, Live and Die Awake creates space for reflection, remembrance, and possibility while honoring enduring bonds.

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The book speaks to those grieving, supporting someone through loss, facing end-of-life experiences, or seeking a more conscious relationship with life.

Practices That Extend Beyond the Page

Readers will find journaling prompts, reflection pauses, and QR-code access to a companion library featuring guided meditations and resources.

These practices connect Halbert's story with her work in grief literacy, end-of-life education, and transformational coaching, inviting readers to explore love, loss, and living awake.

Praise for Live and Die Awake

Grief therapist and author Claire Bidwell Smith describes the book as "both a love story and a field guide," praising its meditations and practical guidance.

Best-selling author Sara Connell calls it "a blueprint, a balm, and the beginning of a global movement whose time has come."

Tina Powers, evidential medium and author of Reporting for the Other Side, calls it "a must-read for all of us as we navigate this life and beyond."

About Julie Wright Halbert

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Julie Wright Halbert, Esq., is a transformational speaker, end-of-life educator, grief literacy advocate, and founder of Rising Phoenix LIFE. She helps individuals and communities navigate loss, transitions, and healing with compassion and love.

A certified transformational soul coach, Halbert trained as a death doula through Going with Grace and volunteers with Empath Health Tidewell.

Before founding Rising Phoenix LIFE, she spent nearly three decades as a national education attorney, shaping education policy for our nation's urban school districts.

Mother to Jacob and William, she invites others to discover how love endures and grief can become a doorway to living fully.

Book Availability

Books are available in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover editions.

Book: https://a.co/d/06WvNOE
Website: https://www.liveanddieawake.com (https://www.liveanddieawake.com/living-awake)