We never really know where our path and purpose may fall in life, and sometimes it may be a touching experience that changes our course completely. Known throughout the Tampa Bay area as a highly accomplished business woman and leader, Linda Burhans has always been passionate about helping others find their true happiness and bring out their inner strengths.

Founder and CEO of The Party Crew Inc., founder of Professional Women Empower and CEO of SendACard 123.com, Burhans has honed her gift of communication, and it’s how she changes lives daily. Burhans takes the time to share words of thanks, encouragement and appreciation to those around her. A nurturer by nature, she has made it her life’s work to help others grow and achieve personal success through guidance, mentoring and personal coaching.

She does not stop there. Burhans also started a movement that is not only fun and contagious, but it has affected many people in a positive way. Inspired by her mentor, her father, David McCauley, Burhans created what she calls The Dave Game in support of World Kindness Week. Participants express simple random acts of kindness, inspiring others to do the same. She speaks to teens and other groups to spread the word. To support the cause, her young grandson brings out cold water bottles for the sanitation workers who pick up their trash each week. It’s a way to show that we are grateful for the service they are performing.

But it was through the journey of losing her beloved mother to colon cancer that Burhans found her true calling. As primary caregiver to her mother, affectionately known as Mama, during her treatments and care, she went through the entire process at her mother’s side. After two rounds of chemotherapy, her mother told friends and family that she was cured, but in fact she was not. Burhans recalled how amazing their last year was together as they traveled, spent time with friends and shared many humorous times.

“Cancer strengthened our love. The experience of being a caregiver was a gift,” Burhans said.

Burhans moved in with her mother locally at Freedom Square when her health began to take a turn for the worse. Becoming involved in Hospice when the time came gave her support and strength as the journey was nearing its end.

That year of grieving became the construction for her book Good Night and God Bless, a memoir of her lifetime and journey with her mother through her last days. Her heartfelt story also brings light to the emotional and physical challenges caregivers face, and she offers hope and love for those embarking on this beautiful journey.

“Caregivers are not alone; others are walking in their shoes, and they don’t always realize it," Burhans said. "This can be the worst experience of one’s life or the most beautiful experience. It all depends on how you receive it and how you choose to handle it.”

As she promoted her book, which was published in 2010, many caregivers approached her to become an advocate. She soon realized she had a following. As a result, Burhans teaches workshops to help address the needs of caregivers through Harmony Home Health, an agency that offers professional senior assistance in the home. She is also available to speak at organizations and events across the Tampa Bay area as a personal consultant.

Regarding caregiving specifically, Burhans offers insight to caregivers on how they should care for themselves, caregiver support, family dynamics, when it’s time to consider assisted care and many other topics that are vital to their personal journey. Her workshops empower caregivers and family members that they can do this and that they can find peace.

Burhans has taken her very personal and life-changing caregiving experience and has offered up her love and support to others embarking on this new path. It has become her mission, and her passion is changing lives.

Contact Linda Burhans at lindaburhans@aol.com or call her at 727-365-8383.

To purchase her amazing book, Good Night and God Bless, check out retailers on her website or order online.