About the Author

The most important thing to know about Genae Girard is that she is who you have come to know her to be in these pages – and that she likes coffee ice cream. She enjoys the challenge and the thrill of ‘belonging’ in any environment, from motorcycle rally to a high-society gala fund raiser. And she has an amazing memory for recalling specific colors, which she uses frequently when choosing a paint color or designing computer graphics without the benefit of physical samples. Although these are the things that matter, there are distinctive life turning points to be appreciated about the journey of this first-time author.

As a self-proclaimed over-achieving type-A personality, Genae typically takes on monumental goals (remember – she likes challenge) and wins them. A native Texan, in 1994 at the young age of 26, Genae started a veterinary distributorship located in Central Texas. During her 13 years with the company, it was listed for three consecutive years in the Austin Business Journal’s “50 Fastest Growing Private Companies”, and #82 on the Inc. 500 list of “America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies”. In July 2006, that all changed when she got her diagnosis. This book is that story.

Three years later, she has now created a new corporation, www.ScreamingZebras.com, which focuses on reducing corporate stress, increasing personal productivity and supporting a vital corporate culture. She volunteers as a counselor for cancer survivors, is a patient advocate for self-education and taking personal control of treatment through a personalized plan (vs. the medical system dictating a ‘fit-into-the-box’ solution), and regularly participates in a local young survivors social group. Her humorous, real-world portrayal of getting through the trauma and recovery from breast cancer, as well as her zest as a patient advocate, has landed her the role of Stress Reduction Mentor and Speaker for many groups, organizations and events.

Genae is a plaintiff for the ACLU; together, they are fighting the U.S. patent office for granting one laboratory a patent on the breast cancer genes BRAC1 and BRAC2. She has been featured and interviewed by numerous news programs, magazines, and radio shows such as:  60 Minutes, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CBS News and others.

A few more important things to know about Genae – she currently lives in Austin, Texas with her boyfriend, Bryant, and her two four-legged furry best friends. She often visits her horse, Blue, who helps cancer patients feel better through equine therapy. In her spare time, she maintains her passion for painting acrylics and donates many of her custom dog paintings to charities to raise funds for animal shelters (www.BowWowArt.com) and local breast cancer groups.