Countdown to Boston: ONE WEEK FROM TODAY

My Facebook news feed is filled with the frenzy of pre-marathon activity. Posts of what people will be wearing:


bib numbers so we can track friends and family; anticipated split times and those last minute fundraising efforts.

I sit here looking at the sun streaked no longer snow covered little field across the street from my office window. The trees are poised and pregnant ready to burst forth with the green of Spring. My eyes do drift occasionally to the still unraked dead leaves from the fall and my heart and my thoughts go to how two years ago I was filled with such excitement for Boston Marathon weekend. After my nephew's suicide in 2011, I couldn't celebrate much of anything least of all my 2009 Boston Marathon run but in 2013, I was ready to reunite with my Race for Rehab teammates at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Here's the link to my blog post from two years ago today: Boston Marathon Weekend.

While the events of 4/15/13 wreaked havoc and temporary destruction and devastation, and we all find ourselves in this space of a new normal, nothing, nothing can destroy the sense of anticipation and joy that this time of year brings. Perhaps the events of 4/15/13 magnify our anticipation and appreciation for this time of year and our sacred Boston Marathon.



ONE WEEK FROM TODAY the Red Sox play the Baltimore Orioles. Runners gather in the Athlete's Village in Hopkinton. Spectators line the streets from Hopkinton to the Finish Line. We pack a cooler and head to Beacon Street just before mile 23. There will be reminders of what happened as we see Team MR8 singlets and Team 4/15/13 Strong survivor shirts run by. We will never forget. We will always remember with love; and we will always feel grateful for our new family, that we are alive and well to celebrate another Boston Marathon...ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!

Journey well!

My latest book, "Journey Well" is now available on Amazon along with all of my inspirational books. 50% of book proceeds are donated to the Massachusetts Resiliency Center, a safe, welcoming space for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing to heal and stay in touch with one another; a virtual hub for a widely dispersed community whose lives have been impacted by the tragic events of April 15th and the events that followed.

When terror struck the world's oldest and most beloved marathon on April 15, 2013, it was a defining moment in Mary McManus’ life and the lives of all those in Boston and around the world. It was her wake up call to return to the sport and community that have been medicine and a lifeline for her throughout her marathon of healing the late effects of paralytic polio and experiencing 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent. Mary captures the essence of Boston Strong through her experience of the 2014 Boston Marathon and as she profiles the people who are Boston Stronger. Through her blog posts, poems and journal entries woven together with excerpts from her memoir, “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility,” you will experience, through one woman’s journey of transformation and healing, that no matter what happens to us, we can all learn to journey well.