Cheryl Deines

Cheryl Deines was born in a small town in Nebraska. She attended the University of Nebraska, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. She worked for the State of Nebraska for ten years with Child Protective Services. She later returned to school and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Social Work. During her graduate program she began an internship with hospice. Much to her surprise she fell in love with hospice work. She believes that being a caring companion to people during their dying days is exquisite, sacred, and privileged work. She has worked as a bereavement counselor and a medical social worker in hospice for seventeen years.

Cheryl’s intention is to live her life fully. “Settling for less” is not in her stars. She attributes her bold approach to life to the magnificent life lessons she has learned from her dying patients during her many years of hospice work.

Cheryl’s singular goal in writing The Final Dance is to help people live their lives to the fullest. She believes that the direct application of the wisdom she gained in hospice can enhance the lives of her readers. Her hope is that it will help them “reverse-engineer” their lives so that their bucket lists will be all checked off by the time they get to the end of their lives, with no regrets in sight. She continues to work as a hospice social worker. She also facilitates creativity and empowerment groups and is a motivational speaker who shares the profound lessons she has learned from the dying to inspire others to live more courageously.

www.thefinaldance.com