Obituaries

Bestselling Self-Help Author and La Jollan Debbie Ford Dies at 57

Debbie Ford, author of self-help book "The Dark Side of the Light Chasers" died in San Diego on Sunday of cancer.

La Jollan and bestselling author Debbie Ford died Sunday at home after a long battle with cancer. She was 57.

The Huffington Post reported the sad news on Monday. The online publication said that Ford's book The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, released in 1998, spawned a self-help enterprise for Ford including online courses and personal coaching.

Ford's sister, Arielle, said in a statement that the author wanted to help people break free from their emotional baggage and fear, the Huffington Post reported.

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In September 2009, Ford discussed and signed her latest book at Warwick's in La Jolla. The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse:A Breakthrough Program for Connecting with Your Soul’s Deepest Purpose outlined a program for spiritual renewal, emotional transformation, and reconnection with the soul’s deepest purpose.

Warwick's reported that Deepak Chopra, another La Jollan, had praise for Ford's book.

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"Once again, Debbie Ford offers a simple and elegant process to get you in touch with the deepest part of your being, so you can live a life of meaning and purpose." he said at the time.

On Ford's website, her sister said that she was "tired and ready to go."

"She had accomplished her mission, even though she would have liked more time with her son Beau, her family, her devoted Julie, her gazillion friends and many beloved co-workers and community members. 

"Debbie wasn’t just my little sister. She was my friend, teacher, biggest supporter, and sometimes unmanageable client. (She was always stubborn which served her well these past two and half years when she defied the odds of cancer."

She also said:

Debbie innovated groundbreaking work around the human shadow and grew into her role as a teacher, sharing her insightful shadow work through her many books, lectures, workshops, coaching programs, TV and radio shows, and even a movie—helping hundreds of thousands around the world transform their pain into “their best life.” Debbie helped so many people go beyond their limited perspective of themselves and reconnect to the love, joy, and peace of their true selves. 

Her legacy and work will live on through the programs she developed and through her loving and devoted staff at The Ford Institute for Transformational Training.

Ford's family invites the community to post memories and stories about her, prayers, or messages for the family at RememberingDebbieFord.com 


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