Deborah Svec-Carstens, JD, MTS, is a former lawyer turned author, book coach, and spiritual director whose work explores healing after trauma, embodiment, and spirituality. Her debut memoir, Toward the Light: A Year in Paris (September 2026), traces her search for meaning and connection in the months after a traumatic assault in Paris in her early twenties.

Deborah Svec-Carstens, JD, MTS, is a former lawyer turned author, book coach, and spiritual director whose work explores healing after trauma, embodiment, and spirituality. Her debut memoir, Toward the Light: A Year in Paris (September 2026), traces her search for meaning and connection in the months after a traumatic assault in Paris in her early twenties. After nearly twenty years as a government attorney, Deborah resigned and spent a month walking the Camino de Santiago. She then earned a Master of Theological Studies and trained as a spiritual director. As an Author Accelerator certified book coach in memoir, she now helps women write their own stories of healing and transformation. Her award-winning essay “Fireweed” appears in Ember and Vine Nonfiction, and her writing has been recognized by Writer’s Digest, WOW! Women on Writing, and Memoir Magazine. She lives in Central Iowa with her husband.