Austin Agent Crystal Washington’s New Book Offers Light After Loss to Grieving Families
by ELLIMAN INSIDER TEAM
November 2025
Last spring, when Crystal Washington published her first book, The Baby That Whispers from Heaven, the Austin-based agent hesitated to share the achievement with her colleagues at Douglas Elliman. That’s because the illustrated children’s book stemmed from the profoundly painful experience of losing her first child, Rose, which she channeled into a story meant to comfort those grieving a similar loss.
“My initial feeling was fear,” Washington admitted. “I thought, ‘This is so personal—will I just get more questions?’”
While she wasn’t exactly surprised by the heartfelt, enthusiastic responses she received from her work family, she was entirely unprepared for the outpouring of appreciation she has received from so many people from around the country who had somehow encountered and lovingly embraced this self-published debut.
As word continues to spread through social media and Amazon reviews, Washington spoke with Elliman Insider about the experience of sharing her story, connecting with those in need, and finding light after loss.
How did the idea of writing this book take shape?
The book started with a poem I wrote after I spread my daughter's ashes, and the first thing that came to me was: “Before there was you, there was me, a tiny spirit so wild and free.” And then I just kept adding to it. After our son Chase—our miracle baby—was born three years ago, I began to imagine this dynamic of an Angel baby in Heaven and an Earth baby. And then when Cruz was born, a year ago now, I was able to imagine it visually—the idea of Earth babies and Angel babies growing together. Because in my faith, I believe that the spirit lives on.
Obviously, losing a child is traumatic and heartbreaking, and I hoped that writing the book would give me peace and hope. I've also met so many people who have had this sad experience and didn’t have anything to help them explain it to their children. So, I wrote it and shopped it around to some publishers. They wanted it, so I knew it had something, but I decided to self-publish it. It was my story, and I wanted the control over the images and how it was marketed and the pace of everything.
Had you done anything like that before?
No, I had not. I used to be a news reporter and anchor, but to publish a book was something else. When I was pregnant with my second baby, in those insomnia hours when you're just large and can't concentrate, I would research how to publish a book, how to find an illustrator, how to get companies like Target and Barnes & Noble and Walmart to purchase it from you.
A girlfriend I used to work with in TV published a children’s book a couple years ago, and I loved how whimsical the illustrations were, so she connected me with her illustrator, Lana Lee. As soon as I interviewed her, I knew I absolutely loved her. She asked me questions about the images in ways that other illustrators didn't. She really understood the vision that I wanted to create for the connection between Heaven and Earth.
From there, I just kind of winged it, and here we are!
Was this the first time you had been so public about your own experience?
It was the first time that I’d ever even spoke about it all. There’s a lot of stigma around the subject of losing a child. But the way the book has been received has been so beautiful—it’s more than I could have ever imagined.
The comments on Instagram and Amazon have been amazing. I really feel like it's filled a gap for women and families in a way I couldn't have envisioned when I wrote the book. Some moms have told me it’s the first time they've ever actually talked to their kids about a lost sibling that they love but have never been able to explain to them. I've been getting a lot of message from dads, too.
I think filling that gap and providing some comfort sort of parallels what we do as agents. We’re really caregivers to our clients. Our job is to alleviate, be their fiduciary, and take them through all the stress.
Like anything in life, real estate is up and down. When things are hard, it’s a reminder to just hold on, because they'll soon change. And when things are great, we need to really enjoy it, because it'll soon change again.
Where can people find the book?
You can buy it online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Black Pearl Books. And locally, in Austin, it will soon be on shelves at BookPeople, on N. Lamar. We have most of our reviews on Amazon.
Everything has been completely word of mouth. There’s no real marketing—it's just me and an assistant emailing news stations and posting social media. So, it’s been one person buying it for a friend or a family member who’s had a similar experience. We've also had hospital staff purchase it.
My next goal is to get it into a big box store like Target. I would love to walk my kids into Target and for them to be able to see the book.
I received a message from a woman in Nashville whose son was stillborn. A friend had given her the book. She said, “You shared this beautiful book with the world, and it made it to a family who really needed it.”
That’s exactly my hope: that anyone who needs the book can find it.
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