Book Review - "Conversations with an Angel: A story of healing through the passageways of grief"

If you were to look up the meaning for "wise soul" in the dictionary, you'd find photos of Charlie Siegel:


Charlie Siegel, the grandson of Bernie Siegel, possesses a wisdom far greater than one would expect for a twenty something year old in the world today.

Charlie has woven together a beautiful story set in Central Park, New York to create a primer for healing in the wake of the loss of a loved one. His descriptions are as vibrant as the photo that he took in Iceland that adorns the book cover for "Conversations with an Angel: A story of healing through the passageways of grief":


It's a book you can read in one sitting yet one that will leave a lasting imprint on your heart and soul. I felt immersed in a beautiful meditation as I read Charlie's creation. As Charlie points out in his book, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the waves of grief and the cloud that seems all encompassing after we lose a loved one. Charlie's book calms the storm in our hearts and brings a message of light, love and peace.

"Conversations with an Angel" begins with a quote, "Death could not kill love, and so through the bridge that was love, we would always be together."

In the Introduction Charlie writes, "Sometimes it takes an intervention from someone else---or in my case, something else--to find the perspective it takes to really rise above the storm; to fly above the clouds as the eagles do. Sometimes it takes the touch of an angel to help you realize things you need to know for the healing process to take place. When this happens, it does not mean you are doing anything wrong. It simply means the steering wheel was quite heavy to turn, and another pair of hands has come in to offer you their help."

It reminded me of this quote:


Charlie is, as he writes about in a poem at the end of the book, an agent of the angels bringing a powerful message of hope, healing and grace available to us all if we open our hearts and pay attention to the signs around us.

From "Conversations with an Angel" book description:
Raised in a spiritual lifestyle with generations of family members spending lifetimes focused on studies of spirituality, Charlie wishes to pass on the lessons he has been given in order to help others.

While he was raised in an environment that supported his spirituality, he possesses his own incredible gifts as an author, an inspirational poet and a photographer. He sees the world through the lens of the Divine capturing what we all need to see to move beyond the daily humdrum and mundane reconnecting with the Source of all that is.

Charlie's book is available from Amazon and through Wisdom of the Ages, a gem of a store that Charlie manages with his mother Jane.

You can hear an inspiring interview about Charlie's journey and a beautiful conversation with his grandfather, Bernie Siegel on DreamVisions7 Radio by following this link.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc. Be sure to visit us at Booth 758 during Boston Marathon Weekend.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

Lessons learned from a crashed hard drive

The dreaded swirling thingie was going full tilt on my mac laptop on Friday evening.



Fortunately my husband is a techie and I asked him for help.

As we tried different ways to reboot, there was bad news. The hard drive had crashed.

Tom tried calling the Apple Store and decided to make a trip down there without an appointment gently taking my laptop with all of my poems and journals, quotes and images to the Apple Store. We had two back ups but didn't know the last time it was able to back up. While he took my computer to the Apple Store, I took out pen and paper and tried to recall recent entries.

I had started a poem about the Shifting Sands of Time and it was a wonderful opportunity to be still and finish the poem.




The Shifting Sands of Time

She wades into the water past present and future swirl at her feet
wringing out with cleansing sobs tears bitter salty sweet.
Gazing on horizon contemplating all that went before
oddly grounded in this moment shifting sands upon the shore.
As seagulls soar above her they remind her she's now whole
from holy hell to journey well she traveled in her soul.
Drinking in the sunshine once doused fire now is lit
a brave and mighty Spirit running free she breaks the bit.
The warmth of sand between her toes her hair a mighty mane
resounding rhythm lapping waves echo life's refrain.
Unbridled joy and freedom breath heaving heart is light
footsteps sure and steady soon disappear from sight.
With an inner knowing smile drenched in sweat her pace can cease
no longer seeking she is found and walks her path of peace.

Tom came back in short order telling me that the only time the Genius Bar had available was on Tuesday. He explained that it just needed a new hard drive. "Oh we don't sell hard drives here. You'd have to leave the machine. We order it and then you come back to pick it up."

Tom was going to try to make it to Microcenter where they sell hard drives before they closed at 9 pm but since it started snowing decided to come home.

I suggested that we just reboot it and asked the angel techies to come and help save my computer.

Tom decided to allow me to give it a try.

We walked away and were patient deciding that we'd probably need to leave it overnight to do whatever it was going to do although Tom, with his 35 years in the computer industry told me to not be too hopeful. I suggested we join together in optimism that somehow the machine would fix itself.

About a half an hour later I walked by and said, "We have a screen saver."

Tom suggested we leave the machine overnight as planned and on Saturday morning he ran a utility program that was able to restore the hard drive and it's working better than ever without any more swirly thingies.

If we would have panicked and Tom tried to get to Microcenter to buy a hard drive and/or a new mac before they closed, we would have wasted a lot of precious time and money. Now it could have happened that it did not restore itself and we would have addressed that but it's amazing what can happen with patience, faith and the magical touch of a seasoned techie to restore a computer when it had a very grim prognosis.

All of my documents were there although I was fully prepared for whatever might have been lost knowing about the impermanence of all things.

I am, however, extremely grateful that my work is in tact and embrace the wonderful lessons learned from a crashed hard drive.

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.

Calling All Angels

The leaking began with the downstairs window frame in the kitchen last Wednesday. After not getting to Aquatics Therapy class on Tuesday because of yet another storm hitting Boston, I knew I had to get to Spaulding and into the pool. I unplugged the toaster and moved it out of harms way. I put saran wrap on the window sill, asked the angels to please watch over the house and went to Aquatics.

When we got home, I was inspired to suggest to Tom that we use duct tape to seal off the leak. It held. We began the quest to find someone who could remove our ice dams.

Fortunately no one was available. As we sprung more and more leaks, we escalated the search believing that the culprit was the ice dams. A search on Craig's List brought us one individual who was going to charge us $2500 and was not going to write up a formal proposal to do the work. We trusted our gut and despite the leaks, knew we had to move forward with care asking Spirit to guide us every step of the way. I cast a wide net filling out contact forms, contacting HomeAdvisor and networking with my friends.

We received an email from one company yesterday. Six men crew. $1900 cash or check or money order. We were planning to have him come on Friday but this morning at 4 am we heard 3 beeps wake us up.

"Is that your phone going off? Tom asked. "No is it yours?"

We got up and realized it was the CO detector. I immediately felt dizzy and nauseous and had a headache.

"Oh no what do we do?"

We googled the signals for the CO detector and found out that it's 4 beeps not 3 that indicate dangerous levels of CO. Besides our detectors in the basement and on the 1st floor had not gone off.

Whew! Dodged that bullet. It was the anxiety I felt that was causing the symptoms!

And then we heard the familiar drip drip drip. More leakage and that's what set off the detector.

We put a bucket underneath the leak and decided to get a bit more sleep before it was time to get up for Aquatics. With the drip drip drip as my meditation soundtrack, I repeated my mantras of "All will be well. All will be well. Let the Universe take care of you Mary." I prayed. I called on all of my helpers seen and unseen to see us through.

We got up and got ready for Aquatics leaving plenty of time for traffic. We made it to Spaulding in only a half hour.

We had an absolutely magnificent Aquatics Therapy class with only 3 participants. We channeled our inner ballerina, did water yoga and did gentle aqua jogging with a noodle in the deep end. We did a lot of stretching which felt amazing after all the tension I was feeling around the leaking in our house. I knew that staying home would only serve to increase my anxiety so as we left, I asked the angels to keep watch over our house and to please send someone to help.

I checked email. The company was going to try to get someone to the house tomorrow and would send a formal proposal.

I received voice mails for scheduling appointments in 3 weeks to remove ice dams. One company called and said he would do only snow removal for $1600 and that he doesn't recommend removing ice dams because you can destroy the gutters. One landscaping company told me he had a crew in the area and they would come and break up the ice dams. He couldn't give me an estimate and said that if they came to look at the job, we would have to hire them to do the work.

And then ... "Hi Mary - Eddie from Brookline Roofing. You left a message. What do you need me to do?"

I told him.

"You at home?"

"We will be in about half an hour."

"Great. I'll meet you there."

And my angel in the form of Eddie Linehan who has been in the roofing business for over 23 years came to the rescue. He explained to us that the damage from the ice dams was already done. If he removed the snow and the water that was trapped between the cold snow on top and the water trapped from the warmth of the house and the ice dams, the leaking would stop. Removing the ice dams is costly and dangerous. He and his partner worked for about an hour clearing the snow off the roof, freeing up the water to either refreeze or roll off of the roof and took care of the snow and ice on our awnings. They took off whatever ice they could safely remove. He told us to make holes in the ceiling to allow the water to drain and dry out and to call our insurance company to file a claim. He said it would take at least several hours for the leaking to stop.

Our window frames have stopped leaking and we have the sound of drip dripping into a bucket in our upstairs hallway. The droplets that extended the length of our hallway ceiling have resolved and now we are patient ... and grateful ....

grateful to have heat and to know that if we have any problems with our heat we have Boston Standard Plumbing to call. We are grateful for electricity and food and that the damage is contained to the hallway. We are grateful that Spirit intervened and we only had to pay $400 for the roof snow removal and the guidance about our next steps. I believe that my Aunt Barbara who was married to my father's brother, Uncle Al, who was in the roofing business sent Eddie to us. All of my friends' prayers and intentions to help us find a contractor manifested. We are grateful that Spring is on its way and that we have the practice of meditation to see us through. I am grateful that I have a wonderful partner with Tom. We work well together as Team McManus.

I'm calling all angels for my friends who need contractors, heat, electricity and the strength and fortitude to navigate these next few weeks until Spring arrives in New England. I'm calling all angels to watch over us and keep us safe knowing they are here with us before we even have to utter a word!

Journey well!

"Journey Well" and all of my inspirational books are available on Amazon.

"Journey Well" is a book about resilience, strength, courage and how we are able to journey well no matter what conditions life hands to us. I profile the people who are Boston Stronger and share how 4/15/13 was a wake up call to me to return to my healing path from contracting paralytic polio at age 5 and 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent.



50% of all book proceeds are donated to AccesSportAmerica where people of all ages and abilities achieve higher function and fitness through high challenge sports and training.