At this end of 2018, I am looking back on the year and rejoicing with my authors, the ones whose books I have been privileged to edit. As your book editor, I have spent many hours connecting mentally and emotionally with you and your message. Your message has changed me. I would like to share with each of you how each of you has changed me, empowered me, inspired me, and taught me things I didn’t know.
I would also like you to know about the writing company you have been keeping.
From Sue Dumais, an intuitive healer and spiritual advisor, I learned that I have to look in my heart to live out my unique potential. Her book is Stand UP, Stand OUT, Stand STRONG: A 30-Day Guide to Navigate Life As the SHIFT Hits the Fan.
Barbara Morningstar, someone who worked in the hospice field for twenty years, inspired me with her intriguing “stories of mystery, love, and healing around end-of-life transitions.” Barbara’s book is Honoring the Mystery: Uplifting Insights from the Language, Visions, and Dreams of the Dying.
Ellen Rondina is a licensed master social worker, a certified coach, and a metaphysical minister who teaches, speaks, and writes about wellness, spirituality, and human behavior. From her empowering self-care paperback and kindle book, Self-Care Revolution: 5 Pillars to Prevent Burnout and Build Sustainable Resilience for Helping Professionals, I learned that self-care is where wholeness begins.
Marilyn R. Wilson is a freelance writer with a passion for interviewing and learning from her interviewees. Her latest book, The Wisdom of Listening: Pieces of Gold from a Decade of Interviewing and Life, offers scores of examples of the golden wisdom she has gleaned over the years. I am inspired to recall much of the wisdom I’ve gleaned.
Jaisa Sulit was working as an occupational therapist in 2010 when she suffered a motorbike accident that resulted in a partially severed spinal cord. She spent the next years getting through the pain, lack of muscular function, and imbalance; regaining self-confidence; and learning to walk again. Her inspiring personal testimony is called Purpose in Paralysis: From Chronic Pain to Universal Gain. She is a walking inspiration to all.
Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Asheville, North Carolina. She and her husband and their two sons took a circular road trip with very few plans. Through American Nomads: Consciously Connecting on a Minimalist Family Road Trip through the Western US, I visited national and state parks in the US, slept in a yurt, and learned some great road trip games to while away the hours in a car.
Geoff Affleck is an author who helps thought leaders publish books and build their platforms. He wrote a couple of quick reads: 5 Things Every First-Time Author Needs to Know and 10 Ways to Build Your Author Platform. He has an excellent ebook bestseller bootcamp, which I am finding very empowering.
Jodee Prouse is the author of the 2017 book, The Sun Is Gone: A Sister Lost in Secrets, Shame, and Addiction, and How I Broke Free. This year she has been writing articles to spread the love message she has for her addicted brother who died by his own hand.
Alfred DePew’s Odalisque was a departure for me, from my regular inspirational, self-help, and transformational nonfiction field to fiction. Thérèse, the fictional and fiercely independent prostitute of mixed race—the protagonist—would not leave Alfred alone until he set her down in print. From Alfred, I learned about perseverance and the birth of modern Quebec.
With a wide range of traditional and alternative training, David Monroe has a consulting practice based in West Hollywood, CA. He wrote an ebook for his clients, The Trance-Busters Manual: Rapid Trauma Resolution Training Guide. I learned there is no reason to hang on to past trauma.
Holly Howe is a Sauerkraut Wizard! She wrote Fermentation Made Easy! Mouthwatering Sauerkraut: Master an Ancient Art of Preservation, Grow Your Own Probiotics, and Supercharge Your Gut Health. With my training as a holistic nutritionist, I appreciate Holly’s dedication to improving gut health.
Kathryn Johnson has spent over fifteen years studying consciousness, personal growth, and self-improvement. Born with cerebral palsy, she believes that living with a disability has given her a unique perspective of the world that she wants to share. She wrote The Joy of Obstacles: Celebrating the Silver Lining in Difficult Days. I too know that we get stronger in the areas where we are most challenged.
It has been a joy working with each one of you. I am grateful. And for those of you whose book has yet to complete, May an Easy Flow of Good Penmanship Be with You! I look forward to another exciting year of learning and being inspired in 2019.