We are Eric and Kate, and we are the parents of five kids: Isabelle, Alex, Olivia, Grace,and Jill.

​

Our family has always been the kind that likes projects, ideas, plans, and a little bit of

chaos. We like building things, making things, growing things, and figuring things out

as we go. We moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a quieter life, more space,

more nature, and more time together. We live on 15 wooded acres where we spend

our time fixing up our old house, gardening, baking bread, raising chickens and ducks,

and trying to build a simple, meaningful life.

​

In October of 2024, our daughter Grace passed away unexpectedly in her sleep at 17

years old due to a cardiac arrhythmia. Our world changed overnight.

 

In the months that followed, we struggled with the same question that every family in

grief struggles with:

 

What do we do now?

 

At some point, we realized that Grace had always had big plans. She wanted to go

everywhere. She had lists of places she wanted to see, concerts she wanted to go to,

colleges she wanted to attend, and big dreams for her life.

 

She didn’t get the time to do those things.

 

So we decided to find a way to do something that would have made her excited. Something that would have felt like her. Something that would keep her spirit in motion instead of letting everything stop.

 

That’s how Gracie Goes Everywhere began.

 

We created Gracie as a character who could go to the places Grace wanted to go, try new things, feel nervous sometimes, be brave sometimes, make mistakes, learn, grow, and keep going. The books are about adventure, but they’re also about big feelings, courage, curiosity, and learning that you can do hard things — which felt like a message Grace would have wanted other kids to hear.

​

This series started as an idea at our kitchen table, and we are building it one book, one place, and one step at a time.

 

A portion of proceeds from this book series will be donated to the SADS Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing sudden cardiac death in children and young adults through heart screening, research, and awareness.

 

Our hope is that these books help kids be brave, be curious, try new things, and see just how beautiful the world can be.

 

This is our way of taking something that was the worst thing that has ever happened to us and trying to turn it into something that might do a little good in the world.

 

This is our way of keeping Grace’s spirit moving.

 

This is how Gracie goes everywhere.