Katie Joy Duke

Katie Joy Duke is a mindset coach, retreat leader, and former disability attorney.

Her memoir, Still Breathing, chronicles love, loss, Stage IV breast cancer, and reinvention.

When she joined the program, she already had over 100,000 words written across five years. What she didn’t have was clarity, structure, or the courage to finish.

Modern Author Program

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“I was almost so afraid of rejection that it was paralyzing.”

Katie Joy Duke

What Changed?

Katie didn’t need motivation.
She needed structure.

Through developmental editing and guided revision, she:

• Cut thousands of unnecessary words
• Found the true arc of her story
• Turned a nonlinear draft into a clean, chronological memoir
• Discovered healing she didn’t expect

What began as chaos became a concise, 214-page memoir with a clear emotional arc.

The process wasn’t just about finishing a book.
It was about finishing a chapter of her life.

Goal

  • Clarify and organize my ideas
  • Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

  • First-time author
  • Needed structure and accountability
  • Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

  • Nonprofit or mission-driven leader
  • Memoir & Fiction Project