I’ve spent my life chasing stories—the kind that change us, shape us, and sometimes help us heal.
But for most of that time, they were other people’s stories.

Now, I’m writing mine.

For over a decade, I worked as a professional broadcaster, bringing news to the public and helping people feel more connected to their world. But something shifted in me in 2009. That shift changed my path—from television anchor to nonprofit change agent.

That same year, I founded and grew the largest, most efficient up-cycler of children’s books in the Southeast, distributing over 20,000 books a month to children living in Charlotte’s book deserts.

But even then, something deeper called to me.

I couldn’t forget the many kids who said, “Thanks for the books... but I don’t like to read.”
And I couldn’t ignore the quiet knowing that many of the books we were giving away didn’t truly reflect the children we were serving.

I realized what I really wanted was to help children connect—
to their imaginations, their breath, their books, and their own power.

That calling led me to create Living Libraries® and the LiYo Literacy Yoga Fusion® method, which blends movement, breath, and brain-based learning to help kids fall in love with reading.

It also led me to write 11 books (and counting) that we use in our nonprofit programs—including a genre-bending, flip-tastic series where storytelling and social-emotional growth come alive in unexpected, often hilarious ways.

We write books for kids who thought they didn’t like reading.

And it’s time we start sharing them with the world—because every child deserves to know they are a Living Library.

My transformative, award-winning work lives at the intersection of social-emotional learning, healing, and creativity—and so do I.

This site is where I share the journey.
The words I’m writing.
The shifts I’m feeling.
And the ripple I hope to leave behind.

Let’s flip the story together.

📍Based in Charlotte, NC
💡 Speaker. Workshop Leader. Children’s Book Author.
🎙️ Host of the upcoming podcast Bound and Determined

Awards

• Award-winning television broadcaster, various, 1996-2010

• YWCA’s Women of Achievement Award, 2012

• Charlotte Chamber’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal Contest, 2nd Place. 2012

• Seed20 On Stage Presenter, 2013

• Charlotte’s Top 50 Most Influential Women, 2012 and 2017

• The Dale Earnhardt Foundation Legend Leadership Award, 2013

• Leadership Charlotte Legacy Award, Community Service, 2016

• Sustain Charlotte, 1st Place in Waste Reduction Category, 2016

• Mecklenburg Country Wipe Out Waste Winner, 2017

• Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, 2018

• Lead Creator and Proprietor of LiYo Literacy Yoga Fusion 

• Books with Color, Inc. Co-Founder, 2021

• Leadership Charlotte Class Class 43

• Cruise has authored 11 diverse and inclusive children’s books, 10 of which are bilingual

Affiliations 

• Junior League of Charlotte, 2003 to Present

• Women's Impact Fund

• Rotary International, Two-Time Paul Harris Fellow

• Books with Color Author Alliance Founding Member, 2021

• Business Leaders of Charlotte Board Member

• Kappa Kappa Gamma