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I wrote Who Holds the Leader? A Memoir of One Executive’s Grief and a Call for Organizational Change after navigating personal grief and loss while continuing to lead. The book begins with my own experience and reflects on how that season shaped my perspective as an executive. Along the way, it explores how many corporate environments struggle to thoughtfully support leaders during times of loss, and how those moments can be approached with greater intention and care.

Who Holds the Leader? is both a compelling story and a call to action for organizations to support leaders through disruption with compassion and intention.

On February 22, 2025, Tamara O'Neil's husband, Steven, passed away from a massive heart attack. Within weeks, the high-performing executive faced a devastating truth: while organizations have protocols for employee bereavement, many lack effective protocols when grief reaches senior leadership.

This is the story of what happened next.

Who Holds the Leader? is part memoir, part reckoning. With unflinching honesty, O'Neil chronicles the collision of profound loss with organizational life. The silence, the fractured trust, the impossible choice between healing and staying, and the systemic failures that almost broke her.

For grieving leaders, this book offers validation and permission to be human without sacrificing credibility.

For organizations, it offers a stark warning and a path forward.