About Me or Why I Write
I am a mother, writer, educator, former executive, board member of a nonprofit. But these are just labels.
I write because I need to write — to understand what I have learned along the way.
Much of my writing is centered around being lost in control. The kind of clinging onto control as if it is a life-raft in the sea of doubt, fear, heartache, and pain. I was there. I am still there. I cared for my mom as she descended into Alzheimer’s. In her early stages, I traveled cross-country by bicycle, a way to escape or to control what was happening. I wrote a memoir and screenplay based on the experience. What did I learn, that life requires courage in the face of adversity, patience when confronted with a challenge, and faith when all seems lost.
I am still learning.
I write about what my kids have taught me — and that’s plenty. As Anne Lamott muses, these kids don’t come with operating instructions.
I write how I re-discovered my faith, how I am still discovering how to live in this world and be an instrument of peace.
And I am still writing about lost in control as I distill advice from my 35-year career and share it with my son’s generation in a new book. It seemed more than coincidence that he entered the workforce just as I was leaving. I wondered how could I share what I learned with my son and young adults beginning their work lives. My hope is that they understand they are not alone — they are part of a world where everyone is dancing around their fears and bravado. The key is to lead with self-compassion and empathy for those around you, and navigate a career with both heart and mind.
There is also a selfish reason to write this book — I want to understand, to illuminate: what did I learn in all those many years?
I write about how I can apply adaptive leadership, à la Ron Heifetz, to understand the challenges I face. I plan to write about how I’m learning from Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead program.
I teach writing too. With my dear friend, Donna Davidge, we connect Kundalini yoga to drawing prose from the heart, so the writing comes from this most sacred place. I wrote about our Maine retreat in Poets & Writers Magazine and our workshop was even named one of the top 5 yoga retreats in New England.
I Am is a Kundalini meditation song I find myself gravitating toward lately as well as Bliss, I Am the Light of My Soul.
And to India Arie’s I Am Light. I might write about this too.
I write to learn what I learned.
I hope to share it with you on Medium.
Connect with me on Linkedin, Instagram, Learn more about me on my website, or IMDB.
