Kansas City, MO - Close Up Radio is saluting Amber DiGiovanni, a U.S. Air Force veteran, author, and motivational speaker whose life is defined by resilience and reinvention. From military service to the culinary world—and now to transformational storytelling—Amber is known as “The Dog-Ma” due to her advocacy around canine nutrition, rescue, and the healing bond between people and their dogs. Her latest book, The Flower That Defied the Darkness, explores trauma, healing, and growth through the lens of timeless children’s classics. Please welcome Amber DiGiovanni.

This powerful woman has been a U.S. Air Force veteran, executive chef, author, and motivational speaker, DiGiovanni’s life reflects a rare through-line of resilience and purpose. Raised in a family shaped by military service and culinary tradition, she first followed her father into the armed forces before later embracing her mother’s world of food and hospitality. Each chapter built upon the last, leading her to the work she does today—helping others transform adversity into meaning.

DiGiovanni is also widely known as “The Dog-Ma,” a title earned through her deep commitment to canine nutrition, animal rescue, and the powerful bonds between people and their dogs. Her award-winning book, Dining with the Dog-Ma!, celebrates that bond through thoughtfully developed recipes designed for both humans and their canine companions. Portions of the book are written from the perspective of Simon, her beloved senior rescue dog, whose health and longevity inspired many of the recipes. It will be featured at the London Book Fair this year.

Simon walked beside DiGiovanni through some of the most challenging periods of her life, embodying loyalty, healing, and unconditional love. Hamilton, her younger rescue, later entered her world with unbridled joy and light—together forming a family that reflects the restorative power of connection.

DiGiovanni’s most recent book, The Flower That Defied the Darkness:Timeless Children's Classics as Guides to Life and the Power of Transformation, represents her most personal work to date and is set to be featured at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year as well. In it, Amber draws from her own journey through trauma, PTSD, and healing. The book uses iconic children’s stories as metaphors for growth, resilience, and becoming—again and again.

“After EMDR therapy, I can look at certain memories now as postage stamps in the back of my mind, instead of the gorilla in the room,” DiGiovanni shares, describing the tools that helped her reclaim agency and perspective.

Through 17 re-imagined stories—from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to The Velveteen Rabbit—the book explores how we move beyond pain, find authenticity, and choose growth even after profound hardship.

DiGiovanni’s story is not one of erasure, but of integration—honoring the past while standing firmly in the present. As a speaker and author, she continues to inspire others to nurture what heals, to live with intention, and to bloom despite darkness.

For more information about Amber, please visit https://diningwithdog-ma.com/