Debbie Ford

{{Short description|American author, coach, lecturer, and teacher (1955–2013)}}

{{For|the New Zealand cricketer|Debbie Ford (cricketer)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Debbie Ford

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = October 1, 1955

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|02|17|1955|10|01}}

| death_place = San Diego County, California, U.S.

| occupation = Self-help author

| notable_works = The Dark Side of the Light Chasers (1998)

| website = {{URL|https://www.debbieford.com/}}

}}

Debbie Ford (October 1, 1955 – February 17, 2013) was an American self-help author, coach, lecturer and teacher, most known for The New York Times best-selling book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers (1998), which aimed to help readers overcome their shadow side with the help of modern psychology and spiritual practices. In following years, she went on to write eight more books including Spiritual Divorce, Why Good People Do Bad Things, and The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse, which have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 32 languages. She led workshops on "Shadow Process" and hosted TV and radio shows, and also established the "Ford Institute for Transformational Training".{{cite web |title=Debbie Ford, author of 'The Dark Side of the Light Chasers,' dies |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0219/Debbie-Ford-author-of-The-Dark-Side-of-the-Light-Chasers-dies |date=February 19, 2013 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=February 20, 2013}}{{cite magazine |title=Bestselling Self-help Author Debbie Ford Has Died |url=http://world.time.com/2013/02/19/bestselling-self-help-author-debbie-ford-has-died/ |date=February 19, 2013 |magazine=Time |access-date=February 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222011313/http://world.time.com/2013/02/19/bestselling-self-help-author-debbie-ford-has-died/ |archive-date=2013-02-22 }}

Career

After Oprah Winfrey discussed Ford's first book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers (1998), on her show in late 2000,{{cite news|title=Debbie Ford, Author of Self-Help Books, Is Dead at 57|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/books/debbie-ford-57-author-of-motivational-books.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1361430115-Kiovh0XAsSp2EfCuM3Vz2Q|work=The New York Times|author=Willian Yardley|date=February 20, 2013|access-date=February 21, 2013}} it spent several weeks on The New York Times bestseller list in late 2000 and early 2001.{{cite news|title=Paperback Best Sellers: February 11, 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/11/books/paperback-best-sellers-february-11-2001.html?scp=11&sq=%22Debbie+Ford%22&st=nyt|work=The New York Times|date=February 11, 2001|access-date=February 20, 2013}} Her other books that made the list were Why Good People Do Bad Things (2008){{cite news|title=Hardcover Advice (2008)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/bestseller/0330besthardadvice.html?scp=3&sq=%22Debbie+Ford%22&st=nyt&_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=March 30, 2008 |access-date=February 20, 2013}} and The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self (2010), written in collaboration with Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson.{{cite news|title=Best Sellers: Advice, How To And Miscellaneous|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE4DF173EF933A05756C0A9669D8B63&scp=4&sq=%22Debbie+Ford%22&st=nyt |work=The New York Times|date=May 30, 2010|access-date=February 20, 2013}}

Over the years, in a career spanning 20 years, she gave workshops and lectures across the US and trained coaches on the "shadow process".{{cite web|title=Teachers: Debbie Ford|url=http://www.eomega.org/workshops/teachers/debbie-ford|publisher=Omega Institute|access-date=February 20, 2013}} She appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, and Fox & Friends, and was a regular contributor to Oprah.com{{cite web|title=Contributor:Debbie Ford|url=http://www.oprah.com/contributor/debbie-ford|publisher=Oprah.com|access-date=February 20, 2013|archive-date=December 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228050140/http://www.oprah.com/contributor/debbie-ford|url-status=dead}} and Huffington Post.{{cite web|title=Debbie Ford|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debbie-ford|work=Huffington Post|access-date=February 20, 2013|archive-date=February 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221110632/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debbie-ford/|url-status=dead}} She hosted a weekly talk radio show on Hay House Radio, titled Shadow Talk.[http://www.hayhouseradio.com/hosts.php?author_id=78 Debbie Ford: Shadow Talk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302151904/http://www.hayhouseradio.com/hosts.php?author_id=78 |date=2013-03-02 }} HayhouseRadio.com. She produced and appeared in the documentary The Shadow Effect (2009), and also in 3 Magic Words (2010).{{IMDb name|3101257}}

She appeared as a life coach helping people with divorce on ABC's short-lived reality series The Ex-Wives Club (2007). In 2012, she appeared on Super Soul Sunday (Season 2), a talk show hosted by Oprah Winfrey, airing on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network in an episode titled "Debbie Ford: Out of the Shadows", in which she talked about her eleven-year-old struggle with cancer.{{cite web|title=Highlights from Oprah and Debbie Ford's 'Super Soul Sunday' Conversation|url=http://www.oprah.com/own-supersoulsunday/blogs/Highlights-from-Oprah-and-Debbie-Fords-Super-Soul-Sunday-Conversation|date=July 10, 2012|publisher=OWN|access-date=February 20, 2013|archive-date=May 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508185624/http://www.oprah.com/own-supersoulsunday/blogs/Highlights-from-Oprah-and-Debbie-Fords-Super-Soul-Sunday-Conversation|url-status=dead}}[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/author-debbie-ford-oprah-super-soul-sunday_n_2717732.html Debbie Ford On 'Super Soul Sunday': God Is 'A Spiritual Energy' (Video)]Huffington Post|access-date=February 20, 2013.

Ford lived in the seaside community of La Jolla, San Diego County. She died at her home on February 17, 2013, after a prolonged battle with cancer, aged 57.{{cite news|title=Debbie Ford, bestselling self-help author of 'Dark Side of the Light Chasers' dead at 57|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/debbie-ford-bestselling-self-help-author-of-dark-side-of-the-light-chasers-dead-at-57/2013/02/18/baa27b16-7a4e-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 19, 2013|access-date=February 20, 2013}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Works

  • Embracing Your Shadow. Hay House, 2002. {{ISBN|1561709433}}.
  • Spiritual Divorce. Hodder Hb, 2002. {{ISBN|0340820950}}.
  • Dark Side of the Light Chasers. Hodder & Stoughton, (Reprint) 2011. {{ISBN|1444717456}}.
  • The Best Year Of Your Life Kit. Hay House, 2005. {{ISBN|1401904793}}.
  • A Letter from Heaven: God's Gifts to a Mother, Through the Death of Her Daughter, with Allen Guyer. Morris Pub., 2003. {{ISBN|0974088706}}.
  • Why Good People Do Bad Things. HarperCollins, 2009. {{ISBN|0061756148}}.
  • The Secret of the Shadow. HarperCollins, 2009. {{ISBN|0061847372}}.
  • The Right Questions. HarperCollins, 2009. {{ISBN|0061870072}}.
  • The Best Year of Your Life. HarperCollins, 2009. {{ISBN|0061738980}}.
  • The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self, with Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson. HarperOne, 2010. {{ISBN|0-06-196265-1}}.
  • The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse: A Breakthrough Program for Connecting with Your Soul's Deepest Purpose. (reprint) HarperCollins, 2010. {{ISBN|0061783692}}.
  • Courage: Overcoming Fear and Igniting Self-Confidence. Wayne Dyer (Foreword). HarperCollins, 2012. {{ISBN|0062068997}}.

References

{{reflist|2}}