Entrepreneur Who Adopted 3 Sisters Reveals Secrets of Resilience, Including 'You're Allowed to Cry'

Nicole Walters, who starred in the USA reality series "She's the Boss," has guided her family through cancer, addiction, divorce and more. Now she shares her story in a new book, "Nothing Is Missing."

The last decade has been challenging for influencer Nicole Walters, who adopted three sisters from Baltimore and supported them as one battled cancer and another drug addiction.

“In 10 years, I’ve experienced 10 lives,” Walters, now 38 and living in California, tells PEOPLE. “One [daughter] we thought had six months to live. One was in rehab. I built a company and went through a divorce. It was a lot of life.”

The entrepreneur, motivational speaker and former reality star (USA's She's the Boss) reflects on the journey in her memoir Nothing Is Missing, out Oct. 10.

One of her biggest takeaways? “Real women press start," Walters, the child of Ghanaian immigrants, says about her resilience. "But sometimes you are also going to eat a copious amount of cheese in a Target parking lot."

That's the levity that Nicole — a self-described "former top-selling corporate exec" who launched business training firm Inherit Learning Company in 2021 — brings to her memoir. It details her multiple challenges, including building her empire, her ex-husband Josh Walters’ health crisis and their divorce, finding new love, her father’s Parkinson’s disease, her own health issues, her daughter Krissy’s cancer battle and her daughter Daya’s addiction struggle.

“You have to confront and be empowered. But first you are allowed to cry. Are we going to cry or put on the big girl panties? Both. We are going to do both,” Nicole says of facing the obstacles her family has encountered.

Nicole and Josh adopted their three girls after a chance meeting on Oct. 14, 2014. She and her then-husband were having a date night when they noticed a woman panhandling with her toddler daughter Ally, 3.

At first they just offered money to help, but Nicole could not walk away. They returned to buy them sandwiches. She says that led to going to the family’s apartment, where she met the older girls Krissy, 11, and Daya, 14. She continued to give support to the family after the girls' mom was sent to prison. Soon after her release, the girls' mom gave the Walterses full legal guardianship of her daughters in September 2015.

Related: NICU Nurse Who Adopted Teen Mom of Triplets Has 'Seen Her Blossom' Into 'Such a Hands-On Parent'

“I thought I would be a mentor, but it turned into being mom,” Nicole says. 

The mom moments came hard and fast. In October 2019, Nicole began noticing Krissy was having some physical issues, including fatigue. Doctors discovered Krissy had Hodgkin’s disease.

For children and adolescents with Stage I or Stage II Hodgkin lymphoma, the overall survival rate is over 90%, according to American Childhood Cancer Association. However, for children and adolescents with Stage III or Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma, the overall survival rate may be as low as 70%.

“I was happy because we had a good shot at beating it,” Nicole says. “At first we were told she had Stage 4 cancer, possibly six months to live. But the chemo worked. Kids are so resilient. She acts as though nothing happened.”

Related: Brothers in Foster Care Are Adopted Together by Single Dad: ‘We Get to Have a Family’ (Exclusive)

Just days before Krissy's 17th birthday in May 2019, Nicole recalls, they were told she had no potential for recurrence in the future.

“She’s my hero," Nicole says. "From the day she was diagnosed, she said, ‘I’m not going to die from this’ — and that was her energy.”

As the family concentrated on Krissy's recovery, they were also dealing with Daya’s addiction issues.

“There were signs as early as 2016, but I thought it was just normal teen things,” Nicole says. “She entered recovery in 2021 and is now almost two years sober.”

My Extraordinary Family is PEOPLE's new series that explores fascinating families in all their forms. If you have a sweet story the world needs to know, send the details to love@people.com. 

Ally, who turned 12 on Sept. 20, says she doesn’t remember much of her early impoverished life with her older sisters.

“It helps that we are all a little weird and open with each other,” Ally tells PEOPLE. “When I came into this family, I knew they would be super nice, but also strict enough to make sure I got my stuff done.”

Meanwhile, Nicole says she has relied on a strong support system, especially during her split from Josh in 2021 after 14 years of marriage.

“I’ve had beautiful support, a series of fresh starts and pivots,” says Nicole, who has been engaged to a musician named Alex since 2022.

“What is great about me and my family is that we are good on our feet," says Nicole. "What we can do is choose each other and we still do.”

Related: Doctor Raises Teen Whose Parents Died After Seeing Former Patient’s Facebook Post: 'Meant to Be' (Exclusive)

Through it all, Nicole says that she has been helped in her parenting by her “Internet Aunties,” her online community.

“I have followers who have watched the girls over the past decade and keep an eye out for us,” Nicole says. “There’s a misconception out there that we are all on our own. We are never truly alone because people want to help.”

Nicole says that even though she's earned millions in her career, "I needed something more."

Adopting her daughters gave her more, as well as hope that others will open their eyes to those in need.

“People don’t pay attention to Black girls. Whether they’re lost, whether they’re missing, no one keeps track of them,” she writes in her memoir. “No one sees them. One of the greatest hurts of my heart is that my girls lived down the street for almost four years and I didn’t even know they were there.”

For more on Nicole's journey, pick up a copy of her book, Nothing Is Missing.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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