Stefania Fernanda Leão
Brazilian · Mother · Author · San Francisco Bay Area
Stefania is a Brazilian author living in Northern California, and a mother. She is the creator of The Prayer: Rise with Jesus, an award-winning international bestseller published in seven languages.
What began as one woman's private morning prayers has reached readers across five continents, carried into stadiums, churches, and homes around the world.
The Prayer was born during one of the hardest seasons of Stefania's life. Writing one morning prayer at a time, she found her way back to the light, and discovered that meeting each day with faith was enough to rebuild her.
She made the book she wished she'd had during her hardest year. What began as a private rescue slowly became a shared morning, lived by readers around the world.
Every book sold helps support charitable initiatives and ministry projects. For Stefania, writing is not only a craft. It is a way to create real, tangible impact in the world.
That work lives in two places: direct outreach with neighbors experiencing homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a growing ministry partnership in Malawi, where The Prayer was translated into Chichewa and given freely, one copy at a time.
Stefania is currently developing a new nonfiction book, a work focused on self-trust, emotional healing, personal growth, and the quiet practice of reconnecting with what is already within us.
It extends the mission at the heart of her writing: helping readers return to themselves, stronger, steadier, and more at peace.
Stefania is also a content creator, using digital platforms to inspire millions through books, lifestyle, travel, wellness, and personal growth.
It is a space that complements her writing and extends its reach — meeting readers wherever they are, in the language of their everyday lives.
I believe stories can heal, restore hope, and remind us that even in life's darkest seasons, there is always a path forward. My hope is that every book I write leaves readers stronger, more peaceful, and closer to the person they were created to become.
Stefania Leão