Leslie Haskin

Leslie's story begins in Chicago ---- The youngest girl of a family of fifteen, she describes herself an outspoken, independent thinker who was always in trouble.

Leslie excelled in college and in business. By 2000, she was one of only two African American executives for one of the largest insurance companies in the country. Living all the privilege of an executive's life, Leslie surrounded herself with all of the "right" people and "right" things.

Then at 8:43 am on the morning of September 11, 2001, everything changed.

Leslie was in her office on the 36th floor of Tower One when a Boeing 747 airplane slammed into her building, her friends...her life. From that precise second, time was both accelerated and suspended as that once privileged corner office sky, filled with furniture, paper and unimaginable things. Panic was instantaneous, and a mad dash toward the exit stairs began. She closed her eyes and prayed, "God help us."

In the months that followed the terrorist attacks, Leslie was committed to a mental hospital and diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eventually the medical bills mounted, the illness intensified and Leslie Haskin lost everything that she had worked for. She became homeless with her son, Eliot Hill.

Today, Leslie is successful author and the founder and director of Safe Hugs Ministries. She provides consultation to international humanitarian organizations such as Save the Children, and travels internationally encouraging thousands in their journey with the Lord God. Her message is a simple one, "God is bigger than our burdens."

She has become a favorite on national media such as CNN, The 700 Club, Moody Radio and others. And her books, HELD, God Has Not Forgotten about YOU and the best seller, Between Heaven & Ground Zero continue to inspire readers internationally.

Leslie Haskin makes her home in the catskill mountains of New York.