Alessandra Olanow is a writer and illustrator beloved on Instagram as @aolanow. Her work explores life’s unexpected turns with honesty and grace, drawing from her own experiences with loss, reinvention, and the courage to begin again. She has also worked as an end-of-life doula, an experience that deepened her understanding of life’s cycles of transformation and renewal. Her books include I Used to Have a Plan, Hello Grief, and—coming in March 2026—Begin Again, And Again, And Again. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her daughter, Coco.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​