Stephanie Lopuszynski was born in Ashtabula, Ohio and she was the second of four children. She went to Catholic school through high school, then earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism (Public Relations) with a minor in English and communications. She worked in several large corporations, but generally did not use her writing skills extensively in business.

It was after several corporate downsizing experiences—and doing volunteer work with hospice—that Stephanie decided to pursue another bachelor’s degree in nursing. She began working on a Medical-Surgical and Oncology nursing unit after obtaining her nursing license. Several other nursing positions followed, one focused on research that was published in a nursing journal, and two personal nursing stories published in anthologies.

While in both corporate and nursing settings, Stephanie had opportunities to hone her public speaking skills. Whether in small groups or in front of full auditoriums—with laypersons or executive level leaders—she finds common ground with any audience to provide both serious topic discussion mixed with wit and humor.

Over the years, Stephanie has dabbled in other personal writing projects, but these manuscripts were shelved when work, travel, business opportunities, or life experiences intervened.

Then, a devastating cancer diagnosis reminded Stephanie of several things: life needs to be lived with hope and happiness, and having adventures (big or small) is paramount.

Stephanie’s first book Killing the Alien: Finding the Light on a Cancer Journey was begun during the first week of chemotherapy to treat Stephanie’s inoperable tumor. Her goal was to provide others with the benefit of her lived experience as a cancer patient, but also from the perspective of a nurse and compassionate individual. Providing something beneficial to others was the focus of the book. A percentage of the proceeds from book sales will be donated to cancer support groups, cancer treatment for those with financial challenges, or cancer research.

Currently, Stephanie continues her work as a nurse educator for a large healthcare system in Atlanta, Georgia. She is considering a follow-up cancer book focused on life lessons learned from the perspective of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, and spouses of cancer patients.