About Sue Montgomery
I’ve been a registered nurse for over 40 years in roles from staff nurse to administrator in critical care, hospice, the health insurance industry, and as a medical writer. I’m a former certified hospice and palliative care nurse (CHPN), was the primary caregiver for my mom for nearly a decade, and am now helping my husband care for his mom.
I was heavily involved in healthcare technology for many years, and am the former senior content editor for a global digital health company — a role in which I collaborated with experts from around the world.
Through my business, Organize the Essentials LLC, I provide writing and editing services for clients, covering a range of healthcare sectors, as well as the supply chain industry.
I hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Kent State University and a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism and Design from the University of South Florida.
In addition to my nursing and writing careers, I’ve been a professional organizer and a certified health coach.
So, I’ve been able to enjoy a lot of variety in my work!
But what I’m most grateful for is that my husband and I were blessed to have my mom live with us for nearly a decade and I was able to take care of her through the end of her life.
Accompanying Mom on her journey in her final years was fabulous — a season filled with love, joy, and the privilege of caring for her and supporting her empowerment as she aged.
Dad died fifteen years before Mom, after struggling with the debilitating effects of pulmonary fibrosis for a number of years. Mom was his primary caregiver, and though we lived 1100 miles apart during those years, I was blessed to be able to help intermittently and have many conversations about his wishes as he neared the end of his life.
Writing adventures
Since I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, I eventually decided to start my own business so I’d have more control over my schedule and be able to work from home.
Although it didn’t start as a writing business, a nudge from my mentor in a Christian Writer’s Guild (CWG) course sent me in that direction, and I’m sure glad he did. By God’s grace, I’ve been humming along as a freelance writer — largely working with healthcare content in one way or another — for well over a decade.
But my years-long dream of being a novelist persisted, and I’ve had just enough encouragement to keep me going. I’ve won awards for my fiction in various contexts — and my medical suspense novel, Despite An Oath, was a finalist in CWG’s Operation First Novel contest in 2012.
I was so excited! I thought I had my ticket to starting a new life as a successful novelist. But, as many on this journey have experienced, my agent couldn’t find a home for it within the traditional publishing world.
About that time, life intervened and I put my fiction aspirations aside as I focused on balancing work and family priorities. There’s a long story there about the blessing of those years with my mom and the support of my wonderful husband.
The short version is that they’ve both been my unconditional cheerleaders who always encouraged me to hang onto my fiction dreams.
And if you’d like to learn more about the upcoming publication (in early 2025) of my debut novel, you can do that here: Check out Final Moment.
Counting on God’s grace
I’m a Christian and count on God’s grace every minute.
I know that without His help none of my journey would’ve been possible. And honestly, I bathe everything I do in prayer.
So, when I considered the types of resources I wanted to offer here, it became clear that they would need to include a foundation of faith.
That doesn’t mean you’ll get battered with the Bible. Rather, it means that I believe empowered living is only possible by leaning on Jesus.
I want our time together to be authentic, and to be able to share the things I’ve learned along the way to help you. If I tried to present my journey any differently, it just wouldn’t be the truth.
I recognize that such an approach might put some readers off. However, my intention isn’t to build walls of dogma or create faith-based exclusivity.
That wasn’t what Jesus did when He was here. Instead, He embraced everyone and made the most broken and shunned in society His leaders.
I lean on that truth every day, beyond grateful that His grace extends to my mistakes and brokenness as well.
All of that is to say that regardless of where you are when it comes to faith, I think you’ll find resources here that will benefit you.
However, I have to admit that if you don’t yet know Jesus, I’m going to be praying that will change during our time together.
And if you do, that you’ll find yourself abiding ever more deeply in the One who loves you most.