Upcoming Books: Snapshot

Over the the past year, much of my internal healing from lifelong trauma (and ways I manage my current stress load) have been centered on the following elements:

1. sunshine
2. positive connections to animals, people & nature
3. access to the ocean
4. nutritious food
5. writing/journalism
6. music
7. movement

As you will note, these elements are not readily available in mainstream hospital settings in the United States of America. I took a radical (shall I say "daring at times" approach?) and continued to adapt and integrate these healing items into my life, despite severe psychological abuse from several members in my family/community. Although I had integrated these items in my life for decades, I have had to really lean into them more since last August (2023). Prior to this time period, I managed a misdiagnosis of a highly-stigmatized mental health condition and was forced to take multiple medications for nearly 15 years. As I learned in my nutrition studies at Bauman College a decade ago, there is no 'free lunch in nature'. In this case --> meaning medications: which do have a lot of value in treatment plans, very often come at a negative physiological cost to the body, despite their healing effects. There is a time and place for prescription medications, but definitely not in the way the US currently distributes them in the modern day 'sick-care' - system in place, with doctor's often over-prescribing them, as one misuse of these powerful drugs. In my experiences, I've witnessed up close many individuals get addicted to these meds - such as Xanax and hydrocodone. While I personally can't undo any harm these meds have done to my body, what I can do is move forward with grace and knowledge.

From the ashes of my struggles, my first full book was written this past summer "Unconventional Therapy: Lessons & Takeaways From My Most Revealing 1-1s" in which highlights one dozen individuals I've met in my life who have positively impacted me. Embedded in the interactions with these men and women, are lessons on humanity that may shock you, make you giggle or both, like me! Humor, wit and sarcasm greatly help me manage life's affairs, as kindred spirits would heartily agree on this approach. When you've been through even a fraction of my trauma, finding ways to laugh and re-frame events and people sure helps you to move on and truly heal.

Rather than focus on negativity, which would have been easy to do, given my circumstances (especially this past summer!), I chose to review with gratitude the experiences I had with gentlemen (my primary focus) in my life, who offered me friendship and a listening ear - This is why I am extra proud of this book draft!

Here is a sneak peek at a few other titles of my ultra-resilient, tenacious works of art:) 

1. Unconventional Healing From a Broken Set of Systems/"An Ultra Coastline Experience"
2. Coffee Talk: Steamy Stories from my Grinds with Men
3. Heidi’s Winter Healing Adventures via Car, Plane, Bus, Boat and Train

Many genres are covered within these books including psychology, self-mastery (my self-coined upgraded version of 'self-help'), memoir, sports biography, political corruption, retribution, spirituality, suspense, thriller, nutrition, technology, history and travel guides! You may laugh - but my life's experiences and choices have brought me into some interesting situations and I've met the full spectrum of humanity at this point.

I'm still on the prowl for a good editor - please email me if you or someone you know is interested in these books!

**This blog post is dedicated one of my tax colleagues from my days working at Feeley & Driscoll, Jon, who always said "he knew enough to be dangerous with the IRS code" - ha! We discussed many topics other than complex internal revenue code sections... such as blogging, his appreciation for a good NYC Broadway show (which got me interested in going to see "Wicked"! - but unfortunately, I haven't made it yet!)

With Aloha & Well Wishes,

Heidi