Hyla Molander
Hyla Molander—author, inspirational speaker, social media maven, photographer, widow, wife, and mother of four—is the founder of Social Good Project, Widowed Web on Facebook, and co-producer of Women Rock It.
Eight years ago, during her seventh month of pregnancy, when she and her 17-month-old daughter watched their beloved Erik, 29, drop dead on the kitchen floor, Hyla knew she had to make meaning of her tragedy. Through her writing, speaking engagements, and social media journey, she has found that meaning.
As a spokesperson for the Masonic Medical Research Lab, Hyla raises awareness about Brugada Syndrome—the unrecognized genetic problem which led to her late husband’s death. In addition, she helps companies define what they believe in, so that they can use social media to forge authentic connections that make a difference in the world.
Hyla’s book, Finding Light: Images and Words of Hope, encourages those who have experienced any type of tragedy to push through their darkness. Other writing projects include her forthcoming memoir, Drop Dead Life: A Pregnant Widow’s Heartfelt and Often Comic Journey through Death, Birth, and Rebirth, and her marketing guide, Secrets of Scribd Success: How Writers, Entrepreneurs, Non-Profits, and Corporations Can Grow Their Audience with Scribd.com.
Hyla Molander had received interest from several literary agents for her memoir DROP DEAD LIFE…
Unfortunately, all of them told Hyla she first needed to grow her readership to get a deal from a publishing house. She’d never heard of Scribd.com, a social reading and publishing website, but she hoped uploading short pieces there might help attract an audience for her writing.
Less than a year later…
In just eight months after putting a short essay on Scribd, Molander accumulated over 100,000 reads. The first chapter of her forthcoming memoir, DROP DEAD LIFE, has been read 18k times on its own.
Hyla’s interviews and speaking engagements include AllFacebook Expo, Power of eMarketing Conference, Social Space Savvy, Writer’s Digest, The Creative Penn, The Mama Monologues, Marketing the Muse, National Association of Memoir Writers, HealthyPlace Mental Health Radio Show, National Widowhood Conference, Southern California Writer’s Conference, San Francisco Litquake Festival’s Alternative Forms of Publishing Panel, and JW on Purpose.
FINDING LIGHT by Hyla Molander
Her writing has been featured in The Good Men Project Magazine, Single Mom Seeking, Life360, Marin Magazine, Writing Mamas, and Scribd.com, where she now also acts as Scribd Author Advocate.
Hyla married her new husband, Evan Oliver in 2007; they met on Match.com. Evan adopted her daughters conceived with Erik, and she embraces his son from a previous marriage. They now have another wonderful baby boy together.
She and her family live in beautiful Marin, California.