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):

Going the Distance: Making Peace With My Past - Creating the Path to my Future

The other day I wrote a blog about what I imagine and feel in my dreams as I move forward in my healing journey; healing the effects from paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma. Daily meditations provide the time for me to quiet my mind, get clarity on my life and connect with the Divine Intelligence that is within me and that surrounds me.

During my meditation this morning the thought "Make peace with your past. Make peace with your body. Clear the way for the future. Forgive." came to me! I've been seeing stories about the power of forgiveness and know about the power of forgiveness and gratitude for healing in my own life. There was a but in my journey of forgiveness as I experienced self-righteous indignation and anger that was hard for me to release. The anger and frustration manifested of course in my body and thus a loop was created. The more I experienced the anger and frustration, the more I felt stuck and heavy in my body and the more I felt stuck and heavy in my body, the more I felt anger and frustration.

This morning in my meditation, it was as though a boil had come to a head with those thoughts about making peace and forgiveness. I follow Dr. Joe Dispenza on Facebook. The last several testimonials have been stunning synchronicity with what I am healing in my life.

This morning's testimonial was a gift from God as Henry shared his experience during Dr. Joe's workshop about forgiveness. Here is my comment on the Facebook video:

"Bless you for sharing Henry. I too grew up in an alcoholic home and experienced the same cycle of violence followed by apologies and asking for forgiveness and then having it happen all over again. The first line of my father's suicide note was please forgive me for what I am about to do. You are so right when you say forgiveness is for us and when we open our heart and allow the Divine to bless and heal our wounds, we are free. Recently I was in a "business" relationship with someone who would blow up at me and then ask me to forgive him and then tell me how wonderful I was. By doing the work and practicing my meditation I was able to walk away and just leave it behind but then had to work on releasing the anger and feeling forgiveness and compassion in my heart - feeling compassion that I was drawn to and stayed in that relationship and replace the rage and self righteous indignation with forgiveness. I think of Nelson Mandela's quote. Bless you for creating the environment for healing and wholeness to Dr. Joe and your team whether "in the room" of the workshop or through sharing these testimonials via the quantum field and collective consciousness. I am manifesting a trip to the Advanced Workshop in Toronto in August of 2018. Bless you again Henry and to you and your beautiful family--health, wholeness and healing!

Another friend shared this on Facebook this morning:

Be healed. I love those two mystical words. So simple and yet with so much spiritual authority. Be healed of all that harms you. Be healed of sorrow and grief, of anger and guilt, of envy and pride. Be healed in your mind, body and spirit. Be healed of illness, of fatigue, of pain. Be healed of worry and of fear. Be healed of broken relationships, doubts and suspicions, betrayal and separation. Be healed by being made whole, by acceptance, understanding, release and forgiveness. Be healed from deep within your soul. Be healed by the Spirit who loves you. Be healed.

It is time for me to make peace with my past. To heal and to make new to create the path to my future free from the shackles of the past. It is time for me to go the distance on my healing journey.

To going the distance with strength and courage
From my heart to yours,
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):

#WithCompassion Reconciliation Meditation

Give the Dalai Lama, who has dedicated his life to peace and kindness, the ultimate 80th birthday present: share how you will make the world a more compassionate place using #WithCompassion. The Dalai Lama is turning 80 years old on July 6, but he doesn't want any gifts.

A few years ago I wrote this poem about compassion: (which will be in the soon to be released Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life)
The Flower of Compassion

She takes root
this fragile flower
at heart center
tendrils travel
outstretched arms
a hand to hold
a gentle sigh
petals glisten with gentle tears
a warm knowing smile
beauty to behold
holding space
for the flower of compassion to bloom.



During my meditation the other day, I felt my heart open as I felt compassion for many people who have hurt me through the years. Shortly after being diagnosed with post polio syndrome in what now seems like another life time, I wrote letters of forgiveness to both of my parents. My dad asked for our forgiveness in his suicide note and so it was easier to forgive him but I know how important forgiveness is to create peace and harmony within and in the world. It was more challenging to experience forgiveness for my mother and my grandmother and it had been very challenging for me to forgive people who I experienced during the past few years of my healing journey.

In the quiet of my mind and in the openness of my heart, I was able to experience their suffering for their treatment of me was clearly a manifestation of their own suffering. I did not set out to experience a reconciliation meditation, it just happened and Tom helped me to name it after I told him what I experienced.

With compassion, with a consistent meditation practice and having like-hearted, tender-hearted people be a part of my life now, my natural state of Being - joy, gratitude, compassion, LOVE, peace, contentment, laughter, vibrancy and wholeness rise to the center of my life. Anger, frustration, judgment and hurt settle like silt and no longer have power over me. It's a beautiful practice of settling down and settling in to my natural state of Being.

When we heal ourselves with love and compassion, when we practice reconciliation and forgiveness, we heal the world!

Happy Birthday HH Dalai Lama.

Cheers! To life! To compassion! To loving ourselves well and to feeling the heal.



You can find all of my inspirational books on Amazon.

Countdown to Boston: Resilience, Joy and Determination!

Remember the theme from "Cheers"? Where everybody knows your name.... Well today out on Beacon Street on part of the Boston Marathon course nobody knew anybody's name - well except for that special moment when I saw my friend Jess Lanzoni out on Beacon Street - yet everyone knew each other. Wearing my 2009 Boston Marathon Jacket and that knowing smile of a marathoner, I got in my 2.75 miles (more about my run in another post) among those either getting in their last long run for Boston or tapering to the big day two weeks from Monday.

People in the greater Boston area awoke to thunder, lightning and pouring rain. Hafsa Lewis Labreche, running for the Brittany Fund for Trauma and Recovery had posted on Facebook yesterday for us to please pray for not pouring down rain for the entire time of her 20 mile run. I thought Mother Nature was very amusing after the winter we had to put on this display early this morning as marathoners are preparing for Marathon Monday but I remembered that everyone had joined in prayer for Hafsa's run. I heard the thunder fade into the distance and the rain end. I smiled.

Runners were running the course in both directions. After I had reached my halfway point, I turned around and was greeted by throngs of runners training for this year's Boston Marathon. We'd smile, high five and I'd see that eye of the tiger in everyone who passed me. No words were exchanged but we knew...we carried in our hearts the magic that is the Boston Marathon. True to this year's slogan, There's only one Boston.



Several runners from Team MR8 passed me. I applauded and cheered them on. No words were needed. We all knew. We exchanged glances, and then smiles and high fives. It's what Martin Richard would have wanted; no more hurting people peace and being united for the good of all.



The wind kicked up and I was running against the wind and uphill but there was an energy that carried me through to the end of my run. Boston's resilience was evident once more as the sun was shining and despite the wind, everyone seemed to know Spring is returning to Boston. We weathered another Boston winter and came out victorious just as we weather the wake of the events of 4/15/13 and continue to run the race set before us with endurance.

After my run I came home, showered and got ready to meet Hafsa and Brittany at the base of Heartbreak Hill.

Their smiles were radiant! Hafsa had done her longest run yet with 3 more miles to go to put her final long run in the books and Brittany ran with her on the hills for FOUR miles! Talk about strength and resilience. Although I had not met Hafsa in person and only met Brittany once at her fundraiser, we hugged each other with the love that family has for one another with a familiarity and a knowing sharing the joy of feeling Spring returning to Boston. We talked about the power of prayer and how on Marathon Monday the energy of the crowd along with all of those praying for her journey will be like the tailwind that was at her back today carrying her through the Newton Hills

While Boston now has a new normal as we countdown to Boston runners' resilience, joy and determination was palpable along the Boston Marathon course. Out of the cloud of destruction that happened on 4/15/13, the sun is shining and runners, survivors and their families transform the darkness into goodness and light.

It is:
2 weeks
15 days
379 hours
22757 minutes
1365428 seconds

and counting ... until Boston runs as one again.

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.

Change the Channel

I was having a difficult time on Tuesday allowing my energy to flow and finding comfort in my mind and in my body. I hadn't slept well Monday night and I've been having what I call trauma dreams. I am limiting my exposure to news and to the trial of the person accused of the Boston Marathon bombing. I am focusing on all the amazing people I have met in the survivor community and how I reconnected with the running community after 4/15/13. There is so much goodness and kindness that have come out of the events of that day. Love certainly wins every time! I was able to go into a movie theater for the first time since 4/15/13 and the trauma dreams happen with much less frequency.

Regardless...it's an anniversary time. Winter seems endless. My husband just transitioned to a new job; a magnificent new job at Boston College but there is stress that goes with a job change.

I was feeling cranky and grumpy and out of sorts. I focused on all I have to be grateful for but my gratitude practice couldn't seem to pierce through the grey cloud of my thoughts.

I thought to myself, "If you were watching a TV show and it made you feel this lousy, you would change the channel."

That still didn't get me out of my funk.

I was going to take a nap but somehow knew that a nap was not the answer.

I began to pray. "Dear God ... help me to find peace and equanimity. Help to lift me out of my cloud of thoughts that are not serving me right now."

I remembered how Joseph, my mind/body therapist at Sollievo Massage and Bodywork told me on several occasions, peace is always available to you. It's as close as putting your hand in your pocket. I remembered when he posed the question, "Why is it that we spend so much time getting to a place we have already arrived."

Larry Rosenberg, founder of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center has said, "Where is peace to be found? The same place as sorrow. How convenient." But I didn't want to have to go through more sorrow. I wanted to experience peace period peace and equanimity. I realized that by not allowing the sorrow and any other feelings that needed to flow, flow, I was creating more suffering.

I was getting closer to an energy shift.

And then I heard Spirit say to me... "Take a hot shower."

Sollievo packages their own self-care products.



The office manager, Anne, told me that in fact Joseph packages the products at Sollievo.

I dug into the Dead Sea Salt Scrub and gently massaged it into my face, arms and legs. I continued to pray for comfort, calm, peace and equanimity.

And then I felt the energy shift. I felt Joseph's presence and wisdom that of course is the wisdom I have inside of me that he reflects back to me.

Even though I felt tired, I felt energized; an odd dichotomy for sure and was able to take care of things that I needed to take care of along with writing which always delights my heart and soul.

It's not always easy to do and it takes practice, but once we realize that our thoughts are just like a TV show and once we become aware of them and decide that we want to change the channel, we can discover that the remote is right in the palm of our hand.

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.



I was finally able to change the channel of my thoughts and my energy flowed.

Joy in Letting Go - Peace in Surrender!

"Your right leg is leading the journey," Joseph, my mind/body therapist at Sollievo Massage and Bodywork suggested to me after my treatment two weeks ago. "I don't really have words for this but I'm waiting for your left leg to tell its story. It's still encased." He verbalized for me what I experienced in my body but had not yet brought fully into my awareness. I realized it was time to delve into healing the experience of paralytic polio.

I'd been experiencing intermittent knee discomfort for months. Sometimes during Aquatics Therapy my left leg would lock. My right IT band , my right knee and right heel would experience pain to different degrees at different times. Running would help mind, body and Spirit to keep everything flowing. Several weeks ago my left knee was hurting after a run. After taking it easy and two treatments with Joseph that incorporated leg traction it felt much better. After our cat Jamie's dental surgery, I was getting up and down off of the floor and I knocked something out of whack on my left knee. Biking and Aquatics Therapy helped but at times, there was swelling and discomfort.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do the Miss Santa Holiday 5K yesterday. I knew that I had to wait and see how I felt when I woke up. We were signed up as walkers so there was no pressure for a pace. We just wanted to be a part of the day and enjoy ourselves which we did!





I felt wonderful doing a race walker pace. It was cold but I loved being a part of the race put on by RaceCancer. {Be sure to check out their website for more information about this amazing organization!} There was a group of walkers that caught up to us and we were all out there to have a good time. There was a longer part of the loop to go to finish the 5K but we all decided to go over the bridge to the finish line. When Alain greeted us with his warm Alain hug, we told him that we took a shortcut. He smiled and said, "Oh you cheated huh?" I told him we were honest cheaters. It turned out to be a blessing that we didn't go the extra half mile or so.

As we walked to the car to head to the after party I could feel my knee swell. It became more and more of a challenge to walk. Despite what was happening in my knee, we enjoyed a delicious Breakfast Club (minus the bacon) sandwich and the festive atmosphere at the Hill Tavern. We were about to leave when the Silent Auction began.

Tom said we should stay and bid on the Boston Strong basket that no one had bid on.

We won our bid on this fabulous basket of Boston Strong activities to do in Copley Square:



Since I was limping, I told Alain about my knee. He told me to go home and ice it and then posted this to my Facebook wall reminding me that laughter is the best medicine:



Tom helped me get into the house and I began a regimen of ice/heat, elevation, advil and meditation. Tom was my crutch in every sense of the word and helped me get to the bathroom and back.

I was amazed at what my left leg was finally able to release after all these decades.

I was letting go of the pain and struggle I held ever since contracting paralytic polio. I allowed fears to come and go and bathed them with compassion and the mantra, "I trust in my body's ability to heal." Trust. Power. Strength. I felt strength returning to my left leg and knew that powerful healing was happening.

I came to a realization. I need to stop running. I choose to stop running. It's a struggle for me to run and while I have had an amazing run these past 9 months, it's time to enjoy activities and sports that will not take such a toll on my joints. Twenty three years ago I had reconstructive leg surgery to avoid a total knee replacement. My surgeon said he'd give me a ten year guarantee. I plan on making it a lifetime guarantee and one of the ways I can do that is to take the stress off of the joints. There are ways for me to get a runner's high without running. I get it on my recumbent bike now and I get a runner's high during Find your Aquatics Strength class at Spaulding. It's been a gradual letting go which began in my blog post, "That's Enough: Finding the Joy in the Journey." I know that there are wonderful articles about the benefits of running as we age and that running can actually be good for the joints. But for me, for now (and we never know how long now is going to last) with the combination of my knee issues and needing to heal the effects of paralytic polio, I choose to stop running.

Tom and I will always be Team McManus and will share in races together. I told him that he has a chance to shine in his age group now. Unlike the last time I stopped running, I am going to be an integral part of the running community. I am going to volunteer at races and be support crew during Boston Marathon training season.

I wrote this in "Journey Well,"

And if the time comes when in my physical form I am no longer able to run, running will always be a part of who I am. All that I have learned and become through running shall remain forever.

I feel incredible joy in letting go of running and racing. I look forward to long leisurely walks on warmer sunny days in winter and walks on the beach or around the reservoir enjoying being in my body - relatively pain and struggle free. I feel peace in being able to surrender to the experience of paralytic polio and look forward to continued healing in mind/body/Spirit. Today my body feels better than it has in a few months giving it this time to rest and heal. My heart and soul are filled with joy and at peace.

I am blessed!

Surrender

Surrender and heal unpack the bags of the past
surrender, let go, feel free
struggles be gone, there’s too much to do
let energy flow, it’s time to be me.
A woman of strength, courage and fierce
I had to fight my way to get to where I am today
time to take off the gloves, stop working so hard
be soft and gentle, let love light the way.
Nothing to prove, nothing to do
there’s no more time to waste
let fear be gone as ghosts disappear
all the demons have now been faced.
Surrender and heal my new mantra for peace
my body can now heed the call
with help from an earth angel healer
we rewind to that moment when I first took the fall.
Surrender and heal, let joy and possibility flow
everything’s perfect right here and now
let angels surround and be the guides
they’ll lead the way to the how.
To feel whole and balanced in my earthly home
my river of life, my beautiful chi
unceasingly easily flowing
for the first time in my life no more braces I’m free!

Journey well my friends!


"Journey Well" available on Amazon, 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. I am thrilled that Sollievo Massage and Bodywork is hosting the Book Release Party for "Journey Well" on January 10th from 5:30-7:30pm.





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

Sweet Victory!

Zig Ziglar was spot on when he said:



When I was interviewed on the Jordan Rich Show in September, Jordan asked me how I didn't become angry and bitter with all of the violence I experienced as a child and adolescent. He paused for a moment and went on to observe that I was angry but I turned the anger against myself despising my body and being filled with shame, blame and guilt.

All of that has slowly transformed during the past 8 years. During the past 7 months, the healing process has accelerated thanks to the combination of meditation, running, Aquatics Therapy at Spaulding Rehab and weekly treatments at Sollievo Massage and Bodywork.

After my last treatment with Joseph, I was inspired to write the poem

Sweet Victory

On the battlefield of life
when we fight the good fight
with compassion
a heart for a heart
to the victor goes the spoils.

A treasure trove of Truth
scars merely badges of honor
wounds healed
secret weapon of loving kindness
vapors of fear
tears spilled
water bathing the garden of my soul
yielding to joy
as treaty signed with forgiveness
sweet reward of peace.

Lush landscape
fragrant green grass
a winding road leading to everywhere
I run
unencumbered
untethered
strapping and healthy
free to be me
my victory lap.

Give someone a bit of your heart rather than a piece of your mind today. You'll feel a wave of peace of heart and mind flow back to you. You'll experience the sweet taste of victory over the enemies of fear and anger that keep us from being who we are truly meant to Be.




Knowing the challenges first hand of living with a neuromuscular condition, on Thanksgiving, I will be running the Boston Volvo 5K Village Road Race to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society New England Chapter. When we unlock the key to one neuromuscular condition, we can unlock the door to many. You can donate to my run on my fund raising page.

The first 7 years of my healing odyssey are chronicled in Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility available on Amazon. I donate 50% of royalty payments to The One Fund Boston to help survivors and their families who were affected by the tragic events of 4/15/13.



I'm working on my 2nd book, "Journey Well," due out later this year:

Eighteen Months Later - We ARE Boston Stronger

Tom Grilk's voice filled the air at the start of the Tufts Health Plan for Women 10K saying we are Boston Strong and we do what we always do, we run together. Have a great race everybody.

Eighteen months today since lives were forever changed and we as individuals, as a city and as a global community of runners have had to dig deep and find our strength.

After 25 years, after being diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, at the age of 60 years old, Dave McGillivrey became an Ironman at the Ironman World Championship triathlon last weekend at Kona. He wore a Boston Strong Team MR8 singlet. He ran for the Martin Richard Foundation After the shootings in Newtown Connecticut in December of 2013, Martin made a sign that said, "No more hurting people. Peace." The photo of him holding that sign became a symbol for how to manage in the wake of the events of April 15, 2013. His family created the Martin Richard Foundation to carry on the spirit of their son to honor Martin’s message of peace by investing in education, athletics and community.



Leo Fonesca is now the CEO of Stephanie's Restaurant Group. Photos of him carrying his close friend to safety wrapped in a blanket are but memories in the background of our lives. He is now a 2014 Boston Marathon finisher. He had never run before taking on the challenge of the 2014 Boston Marathon but he was determined to make it to the finish line for those who couldn't this year. He will be running the New York City Marathon in just a few weeks as part of Team MR8 and has already exceeded his fund raising goal of $5,000.

The call is going out for charity runners to send in their applications for the 2015 Boston Marathon. What a different journey runners will have on the road to next year's marathon no longer counting down the days to or from Boston Marathon 2013. That knot in the stomach we had when we woke up on the 15th day of every month for that first year is gone.

I chose to wear my L Street Running Club t-shirt for the Tufts 10K. On the back it says "We run as one" and has the signature yellow and blue Boston Strong ribbon.



The ladies running Tufts sported Boston Strong attire:



As I passed police officers and State Troopers along the course, I thanked them for their presence and was moved to say Boston Strong as I ran. On some level I sensed the upcoming 18 month anniversary of when our lives changed forever.

Yes - our lives changed forever and we are Boston Stronger. We have learned how to journey well!


The first 7 years of my healing odyssey are chronicled in Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility available on Amazon. I donate 50% of royalty payments to The One Fund Boston to help survivors and their families who were affected by the tragic events of 4/15/13.



I'm working on my 2nd book, "Journey Well," due out later this year: