What if the greatest act of love…was letting go?

Because I Loved You is a breathtaking memoir that begins as a once-in-a-lifetime love story and transforms into a courageous, heart-wrenching journey through terminal illness and the powerful, legal choice to die with dignity in California.

When Stephanie met Jeff, during a chance encounter, their connection was immediate, electric, and undeniable. They built a life full of laughter, dreams, and quiet mornings together—until a diagnosis changed everything. Faced with the cruel reality of a terminal illness, they found themselves confronting the unimaginable: how to say goodbye with grace, intention, and love.

This book is not just about death, it's about life. About what it means to stand beside the person you love most as they choose how they leave this world. It's about honoring their wishes, navigating heartbreak, and finding the strength to begin again when the person you thought you'd grow old with is gone. Through sharing their story, with Jeff’s blessing, she aims to open dialogue around the taboo-topic of dying with dignity while offering hope, awareness, and inspiration in the face of one of life’s most difficult choices.

Raw, vulnerable, and deeply human, Because I Loved You invites you into the sacred space between love and loss, courage and surrender, holding on and letting go. For anyone who has ever been a caregiver, lost someone too soon, or faced the ache of goodbye, this story will hold your heart and remind you: you can grieve and still choose joy. You can love and still release. You can lose someone and still find your way home.