When Someone Dies: What You Can Do and When Someone Is Seriously Ill: What You Can Do are also titles from her pen.

Davies' books have been the top-selling titles at many psychology and counseling conferences. They are recommended by Hospice and hospital chaplains, the Centre for Living with Dying, and are used at the National Death and Bereavement Library and by Critical Incident Stress Debriefing team members in many countries. These self-help books are beautiful, appropriate gifts of compassion at the time of illness, loss of a loved one or during other difficult life challenges.

Her writing career began after her thirteen-year-old son, Derek, was killed in a commercial mid-air collision. Dylan, their first son, died shortly after birth, fourteen years before Derek's death. Due to her learning disabilities, her writings were intended only for her private -- and possibly her family's -- use and not originally for publication. Yet, as she slowly came to grips with these tragedies, Phyllis resolved to somehow share what had helped her family in an effort to help others struggling with the death of loved ones or other life crisis. She shared her private journal with an ill and depressed stranger. That woman's physician encouraged the publication of GRIEF: Climb Toward Understanding. In addition to the healing story, the book has a personal survival guide with tools to help individuals, strengthen a family and bring order into a very stress-filled, difficult time.

This crisp, fresh and powerful story portrays an insight-filled journey toward peace and new meaning. It is a comforting and encouraging book that allows readers to gently move with and through their own struggle toward healing. The hope-filled writing combines comfortably with a resource guide she developed for her own extended family as they subsequently worked their way through a wide range of illness and death experiences. Included is a practical day-by-day checklist and extensive section detailing hundreds of pro-active choices of what can be -- or may need to be -- done upon or prior to a death.

Much of her time is devoted to leading discussions and workshops for health care professionals, The Compassionate Friends, Bereaved Parents of America, Hospice and other support organizations, or meeting with families and individuals as she travels. Phyllis frequently assists bereaved family, community and school staff members as they begin to cope with a traumatic event, as she has done, after TWA flight 800 and other tragedies.

Phyllis is a 1966 California Polytechnic State University graduate in agriculture. In 1990, she was the university's Honored Alumnus for Poly Royal. She is a frequent speaker on her lifetime interest in ways of solving hunger and health problems with sustainable methods. This fascination was galvanized by the death of her own sons. She has led international study tours into remote areas of many two-thirds world countries and attended the United Nations Summit Forum in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 where she participated on the negotiating teams for the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Treaties. Her daughter Dawna says, "My mother has her ear to the heartbeat of the world."

A broad range of experience contributes to her perspective, which includes 30 years as a property management specialist as well as a teacher. She taught in the Watts area of Los Angeles shortly after the 1965 Watts Riots. Her deep interest in agriculture led her to produce and direct a televised movie on the industry. She and her husband Bill Davies currently live near the California coast in the Los Osos Valley, where she enjoys being a grandmother, cooking, motorcycling, working horses and gardening, when she is not on tour. Their daughter Dawna lives nearby with her husband and four children.

This photo of Bill, Phyllis and Dawna was taken shortly after Derek's death when Dawna returned home from college.

Read what critics and readers have to say about her books.

Interview questions frequently asked of Phyllis.

Learn about her international involvement.