In The Swim of Things and the Miracle of Healing

The other day I reflected on remembering when... in my healing journey and a subtle yet miraculous transformation that happened when I was able to organize myself neurologically to get off the toilet seat even though the door was ajar and Tom was in my line of vision. It's so important to appreciate every gain big and small in this wondrous miraculous journey of health, wellness and well being after my body was ravaged by paralytic polio and enduring years of violence at the hands of family members.

I'm still celebrating my 3rd Bermuda Half Marathon in as many years and now it's time for me to get into a rhythm of workouts without having an endurance goal on the horizon. I can feel how there is a part of me that would love to join Tom and Ruth Anne on the road to RunTheBluegrass but I know that I need to give myself time to continue to regenerate neuromuscular connections, build strength and allow everything to heal from the training for 3 endurance events in as many years.

My life has been so blessed by Dr. Bernie Siegel or bernie or CD for Chosen Dad as he likes to be called. I learned about his work while I was in the hospital with a serious bone infection in my right shoulder in the early 1980's. I had an earth angel of a nurse, Beth Jordan, who realized that I needed to heal my life. She brought in his cassette tapes and I bought his book, "Love, Medicine and Miracles." His wisdom continues to be a part of my life every day. We just purchased his meditation CD's again after I found an autographed CD case in a drawer that I usually don't open unless I am looking for documents. I couldn't find the CD's anywhere in the house so we took it as a sign that we needed to buy them again and incorporate them into our healing meditations. Fortunately, Wisdom of the Ages had them for sale.

Bernie taught me about the power of the mind/body connection and the power of self-love for healing.

I am immersing myself in healing allowing my body to continue to transform and transcend the past.

Tom and I did a pool workout together yesterday. It was his time for cross training during half marathon training while Ruth Anne did rowing, stretching and an upper body workout. I know that next week I'll be incorporating weights into my pool workout again and I look forward to when I can get back to two days of outdoor running. I'm so blessed and grateful for a gym with great cardio equipment and awesome classes for when I'm ready to branch out into working my body in new and different ways. I also have working with a personal trainer on my 2018 health and wellness plan.

I have decided to put any endurance running on the back burner for now while I find new and exciting ways to both challenge my body while I stimulate healing.

For the first time after pushing myself to the edge of my physical capabilities, I am not injured! I do have a right hip/groin/back that needs time and tlc to heal from the rigors of training but overall I am doing so well! I'm allowing the miracle of healing to continue to unfold in my life while providing the best environment I can for health and wellness with good nutrition mind, body and soul, exercise, meditation, rest and a good night's sleep. For the first time in these past 11 years after the diagnosis, I feel the joy in the journey; the joy to create something new and to be connected to Source to guide my way.

It's time to be in the flow and in the swim of things and experience where this beautiful current of life leads me.

To your health and well being
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.

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):

Going the Distance: I remember when....

This morning as Tom stood in the doorway of our bathroom and the door was slightly ajar, I said to him, "Watch this!"I got up off the toilet seat without holding on and without him needing to move out of the way so I could neurologically organize to get up off the toilet seat without using the sink to support me!

Three years ago I could not get out of a chair without using a support nor could I get off of a toilet seat without using the sink. I met Dr. Ryan J. Means after a very serious knee injury. I was an injury waiting to happen since I was pushing myself to PR race after race and was not doing any cross training or strength training. I also had not healed a lot of the residuals of paralytic polio and trauma in mind, body and soul. Dr. Ryan suggested exercises for me to do to grow a new gastroc muscle in my left "polio" leg and gave me a regimen of strength training exercises to do. He taught me the proper way to squat using the wall so I could get the neurological proprioception in place and fire up new neuromuscular connections that had been wiped out by polio and that couldn't regenerate because paralytic polio was followed by severe childhood abuse.

He turned me onto the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza. I had been meditating ever since the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006 but combining Dr. Joe's work with the work of Dr. Bernie Siegel and partnering with Dr. Ryan in chiropractic care, I was on a powerful healing path. I realized that my difficulty in standing up was a result of the stuck memory of my father's violence when I tried to stand up or when he'd push me down hard into a chair. How liberating to be able to stand up with strength and courage for myself transforming into the person I was always meant to be.

I had difficulty organizing myself neurologically if there was anything in the line of my vision but not today. I cued myself with "Mind over matter" and stood up with ease.

I remember when I couldn't walk up the stairs in my house without clutching the bannister.

I remember when I didn't have the strength or energy to do grocery shopping and we used Stop and Shop's peapod.

I remember when I needed a leg brace and a cane and whenever I was going to walk for any distance, I needed a wheelchair.

I remember when everything hurt in my body and my muscles and nerves burned all the time.

I remember when I had to drink through a straw and use a chin tuck and dry swallow so I wouldn't aspirate my food.

I remember when I couldn't pass the initial evaluation from my personal trainer that I hired after completing outpatient treatment at Spaulding Rehab.

I remember when I declared I would run the 2009 Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital!

In February of 2007, I wrote poetry to inspire my mind, body and soul to heal. I remember how amazing I felt as I wrote poem after poem after poem imagining myself running free, unencumbered; dancing in the rain without my leg brace despite being in chronic pain and having doctors tell me that if I used it I would lose it.

What a journey this has been healing my life! Once I started to heal my heart and soul from my past, I was able to experience physical changes in my body. I experienced gratitude for my prayers being answered and for the gifts of polio and the violence and trauma I endured. I began to love myself and my life for the very first time in my life. It's a constant work in progress and a journey that I am deeply grateful to experience.

The other day I was at the pool at Boston Sports Club. The pool closed down unexpectedly when Tom and I were about to go for a swim on Sunday. We did the bike instead and I went back on Monday morning to swim. I noticed a woman staying close to the wall gingerly doing exercises. She asked me if she could share my lane just to go up and back. I was inspired to connect with her. She told me her story about when she had an episode of transglobal amnesia and the neurologist in the hospital noticed there was "something off." She went through a battery of tests and was told she had a rare genetic disorder along with osteoarthritis. I told her my story. I told her about my history, and how I ran 3 Bermuda Half Marathons in 3 years. I told her about the work of Bernie and Dr. Joe. She told me that her son is in medical school and he has been doing meditation. "He's really into the mind/body connection. He has been encouraging me to meditate but I just can't seem to "get it". I suggested one of Dr. Joe's videos on Youtube that is only a 17 minute meditation. "That seems so long," she said to me. I told her to just do it. She said that she was going to mention me to her son. The worst that can happen is she can heal. Her eyes filled with tears and hope. As we were getting ready to get out of the pool she said to me, "I just want to be able to walk."

I remember when that was my goal .... and I remember the days I prayed for the things I have now.

My heart overflows with gratitude and I continue to find joy and excitement in the journey of health, wholeness and well being.

To going the distance with strength and courage
From my heart to yours
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.

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):

Run Bermuda! Run Happy! A Good Ache - On Training Together and A Choice I Made 11 Years Ago

The miles are building and so is the soreness. When the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning I reminded myself that we have 10 miles on tap for Saturday's long run on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend. Strength training is vital to preventing injuries and keeping the mindset sharp for going the distance.

Team McManus had an energizing 30 minute strength training workout. Training together boosts my energy and confidence. Tom mirrored me as we did the upper body strength training circuit. Ahhh the power of mirror neurons to help my muscles and nerves fire up creating new neuromuscular pathways with each workout.

We find ways to make the workout fun while acknowledging the pain, the sweat and the trembling that accompanies training to go the distance.

This morning on Facebook I just "happened" to see this article about chronic fatigue syndrome. I wanted to throttle my computer as I read how the CDC is reversing its advice about exercise and psychotherapy for those who suffer with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Almost 11 years ago this December I was told that if I use it I would lose it. I was told a cautionary tale about managing the symptoms of Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. Conserve your energy. You have a limited number of nerve cells available to you because contracting the polio virus at the age of 5 wiped out your nerve cells and they continue to die off as you age...It's only going to get worse unless of course, as was implied, you stop living your life and live in fear of the progression of your symptoms.

They told me that I needed to quit my job if there was any hope of stabilizing the symptoms where they were. I was an award winning social worker at the VA just 3 years shy of retirement. I knew I was at a crossroads in my life and had to do something radically different if I were going to have any quality of life.

I asked for Divine Guidance, and after poetry began pouring out of my soul in which I visualized myself as healthy, whole and running free without a leg brace or cane or wheelchair, dancing in the rain, I took a leap of faith leaving my almost 20 year career to heal my life.

After intensive outpatient rehab at Spaulding Rehab Hospital and an angel of a physical therapist who inspired me to heal, I left the VA on 5/25/2007.

I began to feel a little better and as Divine Intervention would have it, I met a personal trainer in October of 2007. I asked her if she thought I could improve in my functioning. I couldn't get off of a low toilet seat or couch. I couldn't pass her initial evaluation to measure conditioning and strength. She said to me that I was too young (at age 54) to be as debilitated as I was. She told me of success stories she was having with clients with Parkinson's Disease, cardiac disease and clients who had never run a marathon before running Boston.

Well I sure as heck had no plans to run the Boston Marathon in the state I was in.....

Our finisher's photo from the 2009 Boston Marathon:


After my first training session with Janine, I could barely move. I had muscles I had no idea existed in my body.

But after that first session I made a choice.

If I was going to experience pain, I may as well hurt on the side of health and wellness.

And so it began....

In December of 2014, I suffered a very serious knee injury. It was a blessing as it lit a fire under me to rededicate myself to my healing journey.

I was incredibly blessed to meet Dr. Ryan J. Means. He is a chiropractor, a healer, a Boot Camp fitness instructor and well versed in the world of quantum healing. He turned me onto the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza. I went back to all that I had learned from Bernie Siegel. Harnessing the power of the mind/body connection I had dissolved a breast tumor through thought alone, so why couldn't I grow a new gastroc muscle, heal my knee injury and continue to heal from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma?

I was going to take a hiatus and not run the Bermuda Half Marathon in 2018.

I see that God had other plans for me using Race Director Anthony Raynor as one of his earth angels as it is vital that I continue to spread my message of healing, hope and possibility to anyone and everyone who needs it.

Training together, Tom, Ruth Anne and I provide emotional and moral support to one another and for me, encourages the physical healing of my body.

I am sore and have that good ache and feeling tired which will ease once I get to my two rest and recovery days before taking on double digits on Saturday.

That choice I made 11 years ago - the vow I made to hurt on the side of health and wellness is as powerful today as it was then. Listen to your body, heart, and soul - not what anyone else tells you about what you should or should not do based on a diagnosis.



Go the distance with strength and courage,
Mary

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):

Run Bermuda! Run Happy! Why a Half is a Whole Big Deal for Me!

After last week's play it by ear long run, Team McManus decided to nail down a route that would result in the exact mileage we needed for today - 9 miles!

Oh gosh - I can't believe we are at 9 miles already on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend.

This week's training paid off big dividends during today's run. Having gone farther than we planned last Saturday and digging deep in the cross training, strength training and tempo run, made today's run relatively easy. We picked up the pace and the miles seemed to fly by. There was a lightness and a joy in today's Team McManus training run.

After doing our core work and having a solid breakfast, we headed off to Castle Island where the fog gave an air of mysticism to our run. We had spacious sidewalks along Boston's beautiful Harborwalk passing runners heading in the opposite direction. There was high humidity but the fog and cloud cover with a mild sea breeze made for perfect running conditions. We stopped at every mile to hydrate and then practicing what we will do at the Bermuda Half, fueled at miles 3 and 6. We packed crackers and apples for quick refueling after our run before heading home for lunch.

You can see by the smiles how happy we were with our 9.05 mile run:


Running a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon is a whole lot of big deal for me.

In December of 2006 I was given the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards. I was told that if I used it I would lose it; referring to the fact that because I had lost so many neuromuscular connections during the initial polio virus that if I used my body, I would use it up and overtax what was left of my neuromuscular system. This is an outdated way to think about the body given what we now know about quantum healing and the body's tremendous capacity to heal when we nourish it with the proper beliefs and an environment that stimulates healing. For more on this I refer you to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza and Dr. Bernie Siegel.

In December of 2014, as a result of too much racing (9 races in 9 months with 3 PR's) and no cross training or strength training, I had a very serious left knee injury. I was told to hang up my running shoes and prepare for a total knee replacement within a few years. The MRI indicated that there was not enough cartilage to perform arthroscopic surgery. I had bone spurs, degenerative changes from osteoarthritis and reconstructive leg surgery that I had over 20 years ago now. There was fatty infiltration and virtually no gastroc muscle, bone spurs and a fatty lipoma.

I pursued the path of Western Medicine for about a New York Minute and then was blessed to find my way to chiropractic care and my dear friend and healer Ryan J. Means, DC.

He set me right back on my healing path using all of his techniques and tools as a chiropractor, the support, encouragement and guidance as a personal trainer, and the readings of Dr. Joe, and watching the movie, "What the bleep do we know..."

Under his guidance, after he asked me the question, "Why set limits?", I set the goal to run the 2016 Bermuda Half Marathon; a race that had been on my bucket list for years but one that I thought was out of my reach given how difficult it was for me to get traction on my healing journey.

I wasn't planning to run a threepeat in Bermuda and really believed that my body needed more time off in between training for another half marathon. The original plan after Bermuda 2017 was to run a Half Marathon in the Fall or Winter of 2018.

But here I am and here we are as Team McManus!

It takes a lot for me to get out there and train for another half marathon given that I am still a work in progress recovering from the effects of paralytic polio followed by 9 years of unrelenting violence at the hands of family members. But the rewards are great as I defy the diagnosis and create my own path for healing; a road map that will hold me in very good stead in my later years.

So while a half marathon might not seem like a big deal for some, for me it's not a half of anything. It's 13.1 miles and that's a whole big deal for this almost 64 year old woman healing the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.

Go the distance with strength and courage,
Mary

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):

Run Bermuda! Run Happy! Sweat - Smile - Repeat -- Training for a Threepeat!

It was invigorating to walk into Boston Sports Club on Boylston Street this morning being greeted by the staff who signed me up for my membership and having them say, "Have a good workout."

It's day 4/5 of our training cycle. Ruth Anne went for a run with a friend. Tom is going to run this afternoon and I, who runs twice a week and cross trains 3 days/week (learning the hard way of what happens if I don't - can you say knee injury?) headed to Boston Sports Club!

Part of me missed the comfort and familiarity of my old health club at Wave Health and Fitness but being surrounded by trainers, sweat and people who are fierce about their training fired me up to get in a great workout. Changing things up a bit is vital to creating change in the mind/body!



About halfway through my workout on the Arc Trainer one of the new Team members came up to me to hand me a towel. He told me he is new at the Club and this is one of his jobs. We smiled and exchanged names. Was it the power of suggestion or my renewed dedication to being the best I can be on the road to my threepeat of the Bermuda Marathon Weekend that I felt sweat pouring out of me!

After my 20 minutes on the Arc Trainer I stretched and headed for 30 minutes on the upright bike. More sweat poured that seemed to emanate from the fire that is lit within me as I go the distance for January 2018.

I posted this photo on Facebook with this description: #runbermuda #runhappy #transformationtuesday #momentum Day 4/5 --- Cross training with Arc Trainer and Bike today on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend for a threepeat! Feeling fierce and fired up! And this my friends is what determination looks like! #postpoliosyndrome #traumasurvivor I'm a thriver going the distance!


I have my mantras in place that my body recovers from workouts and training runs with ease. I remind myself to focus on the wave not the particle as Dr. Joe Dispenza emphasizes in his book, "You Are the Placebo." I remember how I felt training for the 2009 Boston Marathon. Even before knowing the work of Dr. Joe, but knowing the work of Dr. Bernie Siegel and having his unconditional love and support, I was creating change in my body through thought alone.

I'll be 64 years old in December. My body, mind and soul have been to hell and back. Training for my threepeat of the 2018 Bermuda Half Marathon is the journey of a lifetime. During these next 6 months I look forward to a lot of days where I sweat - smile - repeat!

Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

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):

Going the Distance: Celebrating 10 Years of Healing: It's All In Your Head

Facebook reminded me that two years ago today I watched, "What the bleep do we know...". It was recommended to me by Dr. Ryan.

Early on when I first started experiencing this array of symptoms that was eventually diagnosed as Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards, my primary care physician at the time told me it was all in my head. He prescribed Paxil which I quickly flushed down the toilet and told me to see a psychiatrist. He could not find anything wrong with me by objective internal medicine tests and so deduced that it was a psychiatric problem.

When I went to the Spaulding Rehab's International Rehab Center for Polio and Post-Polio, they focused solely on my physicality.

Truth is what was happening to me was a result of having contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 followed by 9 years of unrelenting violence against me mind, body and soul.

Candace Pert, Ph.D., one of the teachers in What the bleep do we know... who, coincidentally Dr. Ryan met while studying chiropractic medicine tells us that it was all in my head and that the mind is everywhere in the body. Our thoughts create our biology.

I had dissociated, despised and ignored my body in order to survive. However, I paid a terrible price for that survival coping mechanism.

As I wound and wielded my way through 8 years of my healing odyssey I was desperately trying to find a way to heal mind, body and soul. Writing inspirational poetry sparked my imagination to see myself as healthy and whole and certainly took me far - 26.2 miles to be exact in being able to run the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Once I met Dr. Ryan, he reopened my mind, body and soul to the world of quantum healing. I'd experienced the power of the mind/body connection with Dr. Bernie Siegel.

Bernie knew the power of the subconscious mind and what happens when we get out of the way and allow our subconscious mind to take over. He would use the power of positive suggestion while his patients were under anesthesia. I was blessed to find an anesthesiologist who knew about Bernie's work.

From "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":
I knew the power of suggestion and visualization. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in the 1980’s. I would always get sick after anesthesia. I talked with my anesthesiologist before yet another gynecological surgery to repair my reproductive organs. I asked him if he heard of the work of Bernie and if he would be willing to give me the suggestion “You will wake up comfortable and hungry and pain free,” while I was under anesthesia. He was on board.

I woke up in the recovery room after the procedure. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me and then in the middle of the wave of nausea, it stopped. I suddenly had a craving for a barbequed hamburger.

“Can I have a barbequed hamburger?” I asked through the haze of general anesthesia.

Everyone in the recovery room laughed. They knew what the anesthesiologist had said to me while I was under anesthesia.

With the compilation of stress and trauma in my life coupled with the unhealed effects of paralytic polio and trauma, I wasn't able to get traction on my healing journey.

Once I had the power of therapeutic touch, healers who could join with MY intention to heal, and infused myself with the works of Dr. Joe Dispenza, Dr. Candace Pert and allowed the teachings from "What the bleep..." to settle into my cells, I was able to experience a quantum leap in my healing journey. I experienced the physical manifestation of the transformation, mind, body and soul I had written about for years in my poetry.

Tomorrow marks 10 years since I left my 20 year award winning career as a VA social worker to heal my life. If ever you wonder about the mind/body connection, I'd like you to do a simple little exercise. Take a moment to think about the menu at your favorite restaurant. Think about your favorite dish on the menu. Do you feel your mouth salivate and have a sensation of anticipating the delicious food you are about to savor? That's the power of the mind/body connection! Remember - it's all in your head!

Tomorrow I officially celebrate 10 years of healing and am so excited to see what the next 10 years will bring!

To going the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

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):

Going the Distance: Running in the Rain - Celebrating Ten Years of Healing

When I was still in a leg brace, using a wheelchair at time for mobility 10 years ago, I had a dream about splashing in the puddles without my leg brace a la Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.

That dream prompted me to write this poem included in my poetry book, "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life"


Come Out and Play
Arms flung open wide dancing in the rain
pure abiding joy to feel alive again
healing tears fall and blend in God’s puddle
no time to sit in a corner and huddle
all the old rules driven by fears
washed away now by God’s loving tears
the imprint dad left no longer remains
rain washes away all of the stains
baptized with love, Truth lights my way
the sun shines through on this rainy day
splashing and laughing my heart opens wide
embracing and flowing I’m one with the tide
God takes my hand release the old way
bathe in my glory come out and play!

In my youth, I never experienced the unbridled joy of splashing in puddles and running in the rain. Contracting paralytic polio at age 5 and then, 3 years later, experiencing unimaginable abuse and torture that went on for 9 years resulted in, what the trauma experts call, tonic immobility. I was stuck in my body unable to heal from paralytic polio and dissociated my mind from my body.

Tom and I saw yesterday's forecast but after being on the treadmill for a good part of the winter, we decided it was important to brave the elements - especially since temps were in the 60's.

It was a gloriously sloppy run around the Reservoir as we dodged mud puddles and experienced the waves of mist, drizzly rain and full on showers. There was magic to seeing the Reservoir poised for Spring, draped in fog and mist and imagining what verdant colors will burst forth once the sun shines again.

Here's our runfie once we were back home after completing 5 miles in the rain.



That's a Blue Diamond Medal Athletic Display in the background - Loving life one mile at a time!

Ten years ago I was told that I should adapt our Cape home, prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair and to anticipate that the symptoms of difficulty swallowing, aspirating food, experiencing chronic pain and fatigue, depression and anxiety would only worsen as a result of Post-Polio Syndrome.

It was a wake up call for me to make some serious changes in my life. I took a leap of faith leaving my award winning career as a VA social worker just 3 years shy of retirement on May 25, 2007. For those of you doing the math - yes that was 10 years ago!

There have been peaks and valleys, trials, triumphs and tribulations.

In December of 2014, I experienced a serious left knee injury and was told I needed a total knee replacement, should stop running and really needed to get back to the Post-Polio clinic. The Universe and I had other plans. I found my way to Ryan J. Means, DC, an incredible chiropractor healer who helped me get back on my healing path to go the distance again and turned me onto the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza. I reconnected with Bernie Siegel's work again. We joke that I am a slow learner.

Here's to running in the rain celebrating ten years of healing!

Here's to the next 10 years!

To going the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

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):


Mary McManus, MSW knew challenges since she was five years old beginning with contracting polio followed by enduring nine years of violence at the hands of family members. Those early challenges prepared her for taking on the challenge of the diagnosis of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease in December 2006 when she was at the height of her award winning career as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Asking for Divine Guidance as she had throughout her trials and tribulations, she discovered the gift of poetry in her soul. Her first poem, “Running the Race,” foreshadowed her 2009 Boston Marathon run. “Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance,” chronicles Mary’s journey as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma, as a runner and a woman who refused to quit. Eight years after her diagnosis, she was finally led to two healers, a chiropractor and a muscular therapist, who helped her reclaim her life and go the distance, a woman transformed who embodies the power of endurance.