Laurie Barr
Writing About the Journeys that Change Us
Her Work
What Laurie Writes About
Laurie's work explores the terrain of caregiving, grief, family, and the quiet courage it takes to walk alongside someone through illness and loss. Whether through memoir, reflection, or story, she writes with honesty and compassion for those living through sorrow — and searching for hope on the other side.
Read praise about the bookFeatured Book
The Long Fade to Morning
In her debut memoir, Laurie Barr shares a powerful and personal account of her unexpected journey into caregiving as her mother's health declines and she is ultimately diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). As a healthcare executive facing burnout, Laurie steps away from her career to care for both her mother and stepfather, navigating a maze of medical crises, emotional strain, and the slow loss of the woman who raised her. Honest, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful, this book offers support, insight, and inspiration for anyone caring for a loved one through illness and decline.
The audiobook is available through Audible and Amazon Music.
Speaker
Bringing the Caregiving Conversation to Your Audience
Laurie draws on her deeply personal caregiving journey — and her years as a healthcare executive — to deliver talks that are honest, warm, and immediately useful. Whether she's speaking to a room of family caregivers, healthcare professionals, or a corporate audience navigating work-life balance, Laurie meets people where they are and leaves them feeling seen, supported, and better equipped for the road ahead.
About the Author
About Laurie
Laurie Barr is a Portland-based author and former healthcare executive whose writing explores caregiving, loss, resilience, and the profound ways love reshapes our lives. Her debut memoir, The Long Fade to Morning, grew from her own experience caring for her mother through a rare and devastating illness. Laurie writes for anyone who has ever shown up for someone they love — and found themselves changed in the process.
Meet Laurie
What She's Working On
New Writing in Progress
Laurie is at work on her second memoir — a deeply personal reckoning with a lifelong struggle with obesity, the physical and emotional journey of losing 130 pounds, and the unexpected challenge of rebuilding an identity on the other side of transformation. More than a weight-loss story, it's an exploration of how morbid obesity shapes a life — the shame of living in a body you don't want, and the disorienting work of learning to inhabit a new one when the weight is finally gone. She has maintained the majority of that loss for over a decade, and the story is still unfolding.
Contact Laurie
Contact Laurie
Share your story with Laurie, ask a question, or suggest content ideas.