Meet the author
Stacy L. Balzer
Author, speaker, leadership coach, and a daughter who sat beside her father through his final journey.
My Story
I never planned to write Holding Watch.
When my dad was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer, I entered a world I knew very little about. I had questions. I had fears. I worried about making the wrong decisions, recognizing the changes, and knowing what to say.
Most of all, I wondered if I was enough.
As the months unfolded, I began writing. Some days I wrote after leaving Dad’s room. Other days I wrote while sitting beside him. Writing became a way to process what I was seeing, learning, and feeling.
There were moments of uncertainty and exhaustion. There were also moments of extraordinary compassion, tenderness, and love.
With the support of hospice and assisted living professionals, I found my way through experiences I had never faced before. But I also discovered questions I wished I had known to ask and things I wished someone had helped me understand.
Looking back through my journal entries, I realized I had been capturing more than events. I was capturing conversations—with Dad, with caregivers, with my family, with God, and with myself.
Over time, those conversations became Holding Watch. And now, they become conversations with you.
I wrote this companion as a daughter who loved her dad and was trying to find her way. My hope is that these 20 conversations help families feel less alone and offer the professionals who walk beside them a deeper understanding of the family experience.
Wherever you find yourself in this journey, thank you for allowing me to sit beside you for a little while.
It was never about watching. It was about loving.
About Stacy
Stacy L. Balzer is an author, leadership coach, and former Ford Motor Company senior director who believes deeply in the power of encouragement, compassion, and human connection.
After more than 30 years in the automotive industry, Stacy founded Uplift+Ignite Coaching and Consulting, where she helps leaders and teams strengthen communication, build trust, and achieve meaningful results.
Yet some of her most profound lessons about resilience, advocacy, and love have come through her family’s caregiving experiences.
From 2010 to 2014, Stacy and her husband, Jason, navigated their daughter Sydney’s journey through leukemia and a bone marrow transplant. Years later, when Stacy’s father was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer, she accompanied him through assisted living, hospice, and the final chapter of his life.
These experiences inspired Holding Watch, written to offer families, caregivers, and senior care professionals the understanding, encouragement, and companionship Stacy wishes she had during those difficult days.
Stacy lives by the belief that encouragement is more than words. It is expressed through presence, compassion, and love. She cherishes time with Jason and their children, Jeremy and Sydney.