Memoir Writer's Journey

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Busy Calling by Memoirist Linda Hoye

By Kathy Pooler 18 Comments

Posted by Kathleen Pooler/r with Linda Hoye

“We wear busyness as a badge of accomplishment and personal success. But when we use it to fill a void, being busy can become an addiction.” ~Linda Hoye, Memoirist

It is my pleasure to welcome fellow memoirist and dear friend (even though we’ve never met in person), Linda Hoye. Linda and I met online years ago when we were both starting out writing our memoirs. I have enjoyed Linda’s daily writings and reflections ever since. Her daily blog, A Slice of Life, is one I don’t miss.

Linda’s new spiritual memoir The Presence of Absence: A Story About Busyness, Brokenness and Being Beloved is due to be published on May 26, 2020.

My reviews can be found on Amazon, Goodreads, LibraryThings and Riffle Books.

Welcome, Linda!

Memoirist Linda Hoye

Busy Calling

It’s Sunday morning toward the end of February. I’m sitting at the dining room table putting pieces in a jigsaw puzzle while keeping one eye on the clock. Soon it will be time to leave for church, and I’m thinking about things I want to do afterward. With a book launching in a few months there are a plethora of details to tend to.

My husband, Gerry, is sitting on the sofa under a blanket. He’s not feeling well and has decided to stay home. He’s making use of the time by reading the almost-finalized manuscript that will become my new book, The Presence of Absence: A Story About Busyness, Brokenness, and Being Beloved.

“Linda.” His voice jars me from my rumination.

“Yes?”

He reads to me from the manuscript: “Once we get there, I’ll never use the word busy to describe my life again. I’m done with being busy.”

“Are you done with being busy?” he asks.

I ponder his question like it’s a trick. Not being busy is something I’ve been wrestling with for years. In January, once again this year, I set an intention to be anything but busy. 

“I’m working on it,” I respond. 

# # #

We wear busyness as a badge of accomplishment and personal success. But when we use it to fill a void, being busy can become an addiction. Busyness helps us feel better—or feel nothing—but the benefit doesn’t come without cost. 

Busyness was my drug of choice for years. I used it to soothe the sense of loss I felt over the loss of my first mother and the many losses that occurred in my life afterward. I felt small and insignificant, abandoned and rejected. Being busy told me I was important, with a purpose. One of the underlying themes in The Presence of Absence is the gradual realization that I was relying on busyness to do something it was incapable of.

I became addicted to being busy. Busyness filled me so there was little space left for the things that hurt. But also kept me from deep spiritual connection and caused the creative part of me to atrophy. It took a major life event, retirement, and having an abundance of unfilled time on my calendar for me to face the shadowy things that kept me in constant motion, and see that busy wasn’t the balm I needed.

Writing this book was part of my work. The important lessons in our lives have to be learned and relearned. Tilling the soil of these things is how we allow truth to go deeper. I’m still cultivating and expect I will be until I draw my last breath. 

My response to Gerry on a snowy day in February is the same one I’ll offer for the rest of my days. 

“I’m trying.”

# # #

Less than one month after this Sunday morning conversation, the world shifts for all of us in the form of a global pandemic. Many are sent home. We are told to shelter in place, self-isolate, and, for those who may have been exposed to the virus, go into quarantine. 

Busyness is no longer an option.

Along with fear we feel of the unknown many of us realize we’ve been too busy. As some things are declared “essential”, and others are not, we see that some things we thought were most important, aren’t. We stay home because we’ve no choice. In the resulting quiet we do ordinary things with the ones most important to us with whom we are sheltered and see there’s something precious about this slower pace. We don’t want to miss the lesson of it.

Oh, there’s restlessness. Discomfort. A reluctance to face shadows that are now right before us. I feel it too. Because even though I did the work to break my addiction to busyness, it calls to me still. It’s the thing I want to turn to when I get a pebble in my shoe, and the pandemic is a pebble of unprecedented proportion.

Isolating at home and being forced to slow down shows me how easy it is to fall back into the familiar rut of being busy. There’s still quiet work left to do. There will always be quiet work left to do. It is, of course, the better work.

Linda and Maya

The Presence of Absence is a spiritual memoir about a longing many of us have for something we struggle to articulate. It’s story of a sacred journey to a lost mother, a found family, and an encounter with divine love. 

This book is my story, but it’s also your story. There’s something in all of us that’s a little broken. We’ve all given in to the lure of busyness, or something else, to help us cope with things that are uncomfortable. 

The shift in recent months has shown us the folly of mindless busyness and its siren lure will try to pull us back as we begin to open up again. Perhaps my story about fear, brokenness, and the mystery of solitude and silence can serve as a reminder to remain mindful of the wisdom in being still instead.

I’m excited to share this story with you.

Thank you Linda for sharing your road to this spiritual memoir and to your own enlightenment. It is a beautiful book that will inspire many. You are right. It is your story but it is also our story.

About the Author

Linda Hoye lives in British Columbia, Canada with her husband and their doted-upon Yorkshire Terrier but will always be a Saskatchewan prairie girl. She is the author of The Presence of Absence: A Story About Busyness, Brokenness, and Being Beloved and Two Hearts: An Adoptee’s Journey Through Grief to Gratitude. Find her online at www.lindahoye.com where she ponders ordinary days and the thin places where faith intersects.

About the Book

We wear busyness as a badge of accomplishment and personal success. But when we use it to fill a void, being busy can become an addiction. Busyness helps us feel better—or feel nothing—but the benefit doesn’t come without cost.

Adoptee Linda Hoye used it to ease the ache she felt over the loss of her first mother’s love. She retired from the corporate world, looking forward to the opportunity to slow down and turn her attention to creative pursuits like photography, writing, and gardening, but found herself stuck. So accustomed to being busy, she had forgotten how to be anything else. 

This is a spiritual memoir about a longing many of us have for something we struggle to articulate. It’s about fear, brokenness, and the mystery of stillness, solitude, and silence. It is the story of a sacred journey to a lost mother, a found family, and an encounter with divine love.

Amazon link

How about you? How has busyness affected you? Have you been able to find solitude in the midst of chaos, especially during this pandemic?

We’d love to hear from you. Please join in the conversation below~

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Filed Under: COVID-19 Pandemic, Memoir Tagged With: COVID19, Linda Hoye, Spiritual memoir, The Presence of Absence

Moving Toward the Light by Lisa Irish

By Kathy Pooler Leave a Comment

Posted by Kathleen Pooler/ with Lisa Irish/

“We must remember that to own the light is not to deny the darkness but to allow it to be transformed – and it takes courage to be faithful to this transformative process.” ~Sr Doris Klein

Sunset of the Great Sacandaga Lake, Edinburg, New York

I am very pleased to feature my dear friend and writing colleague Lisa Irish back to share her thoughts on grief and loss in the face of the COVID Pandemic. Lisa and I first met in a workshop at The International Women’s Writers Guild (IWWG) Annual Summer Conference several years go. Since then we have both published our memoirs. Never estimate the power of women writers when they get together! Lisa is the author of Grieving, the Sacred Art: Hope in the Land of Loss. She was last here with a post on “Emergence From the Land of Loss: The Sacred Art of Grieving”.

Welcome back, Lisa!

Author, Spiritual Companion and Warm Soul Lisa Irish

Moving Toward the Light

Sr Doris Klein’s words are with me today as I watch the “cup of caterpillars” I purchased two weeks ago. These furry creatures have doubled in size and are ready to hang from the lid, in the shape of a J, until their bodies create a hardened shell. The last one to make it to the top of the cup seemed to have difficulty, her body spasmed against the plastic wall. 

These soon-to-be Painted Ladies are in their process of transformation and it doesn’t look smooth and easy. Several died in the early days and this youngest one struggled with what was coming next. 

I find myself in my own process of change, don’t you? And like Number Four’s ascent to the next stage, I find myself pulling back, jerking away, even doubting what I’m moving toward. “It takes courage to be faithful to this transformative process,” Doris Klein tells me. Courage is what I pray for as I open my heart to the unknown, to that which is yet to be, to Mystery.

Our experience of the pandemic is similar to our experience of grief  – we have both a universal and unique understanding of them. We all know this is happening, see the same images…we have a shared understanding of loss. At the same time, each of our personal feelings and reactions to both the pandemic and individual losses are completely our own. No one can know what it feels like inside of our lives, our world, our hearts. 

Grief, and this pandemic, asks us “not to deny the darkness but to allow it to be transformed.” The pain of loss, on any scale, invites us into the place of not-knowing. Let us pray for the courage we need for our personal and universal process of transformation. Let us honor our grief as we acknowledge our losses and care for our hearts. Let us trust, like the caterpillars, that we are moving toward the Light, with hope as our companion and guide.

Book Synopsis:

For most people, the pain of loss dominates their experience of grief. Grief then becomes something to be avoided or completed as quickly as possible. In her new book, Lisa Irish presents grief as our “ally” in the Land of Loss and offers pathways and resources to navigate the confusing and challenging terrain. She explores “conscious grieving,” as she gathers the wisdom of bereavement experts, spiritual leaders and everyday people walking their own individual paths. Lisa encourages us to let seeds of hope find their way into our grieving hearts, to allow self-compassion during the journey, and to trust grief’s healing process. Grieving – The Sacred Artmakes a space for love in our sadness and leads us into a Land of Hope.

Amazon link

Please join me and others in a relevant conversation, “Conscious Grieving: Cultivating Hope in the Land of Loss.”  As global losses mount, our personal losses can become “disenfranchised.” At the same time, we can feel overwhelmed by the “collective and anticipatory grief” that we share each day. On May 23rd, 2020, Mercy by the Sea Retreat and Conference Center in Madison, CT presents a live, online gathering to explore and express our experiences of loss and grief, including those related to Covid-19. The cost is $40, for detailed information and registration go to https://www.mercybythesea.org/Lisa Irish, MEd, MA, BCC will host a time of reflection and sharing, relying upon her experience in bereavement chaplaincy and spiritual direction. This program will support ourindividual and collective grief in these times of isolation, exploring the transformative nature of grief and nourishing the sacred strands of connectedness between us.  Fr Richard Rohr says of Lisa’s book, Grieving – the Sacred Art: Hope in the Land of Loss…”The roadmap is wise, but sensitive – grounded in hope – and reminds us to rest in God’s healing love.”  

How about you? How are you dealing with the losses imposed by this Pandemic?Any other thoughts to add to Lisa’s reflections?

We’d love to hear from you. Please join in the conversation below~

Next Week:

Monday, May 25,2020:

“Busy Calling by Memoirist Linda Hoye”

Linda is the author of an adoptee memoir, Two Hearts. Her second memoir, The Presence of Absence will be published on May 26, 2020.

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Filed Under: COVID Pandemic, Grief Tagged With: Grieving in the Land of Loss, Lisa Irish

The International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, 2020

By Kathy Pooler 8 Comments

Posted by Kathleen Pooler/

“Nurses and midwives are the backbone of every health care system. In 2020 we’re calling on all countries to invest in nurses and midwives part of their commitment to health for all.”~ Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus Adhanom, WHO Director-General.

In celebration of the Year of the Nurse, 2020
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The International Year of the Nurse, 2020

Throughout the world nurses are doing every thing they can to learn about COVID-19 and advocate for their patients. What better time to acknowledge their contributions to the frontline than during this unprecedented pandemic.

As the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flew over DC , Atlanta and Baltimore on 5/2/20 in tribute to our frontline workers, I felt a surge of pride and awe that my nursing colleagues were rightfully being recognized and honored for their sacred work. It’s always been sacred work, but COVID19 has highlighted the value of nurses to make a positive difference in the lives of their patients. This time there’s more at stake, including the lives of nurses who show up every day to do what they do best—fiercely advocate for their patients and families. 


2020 is the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and the American Nurses Association (ANA) is expanding the annual National Nurses Month in May to a more global focus as declared by WHO. The fact that this coincides with a pandemic in which nurses are vital frontline workers is nothing short of amazing. 

Nursing is a calling:


I am proud to say that my forty-four nursing career was a source of endless gratification and security for me. Nursing became my best friend, enabling me to move in and out of many opportunities suited to my specific needs at the time. The financial independence it afforded me helped me to leave two abusive marriages, and support myself and two children. When it came time for my daughter Leigh Ann to attend college, I landed a position on the nursing faculty at a nearby college where she could attend tuition-free. That was worth $20,000/year. 


Not only did Nursing provide all these fringe benefits, but it was a calling I loved. I held many different positions—clinical nurse, educator, administrator, independent educational consultant, even camp nurse for emotionally-disturbed adolescence where while in a canoe with several clients, they tried to tip the canoe over in snake-infested waters! I tried it all and it all served me well. By far, my favorite role was at the patient’s bedside. That’s why at the age of fifty, I returned to school to attain my Post-Masters Family Nurse Practitioner degree and spent the last fifteen years of my career working in a primary care office with my own patient load. A dream come true for me. I retired in 2011. 


I can still see the faces of my patients at their hour of death and at the moment of birth. I’ve been yelled at, threatened, and praised. I’ve shared space with patients at their most vulnerable moments and joined with them in celebration of their recoveries. I’ve listened to their painful stories, like the sobbing father who brought in photos of his deceased baby boy, dressed in a tuxedo as he lay peacefully in a tiny white coffin. It was a time much different than today before computers took over, but the essence of nursing—being a patient advocate — remains the same.


Please join me in honoring the contribution of nursing to the health and welfare of our nation and world.

How about you? Do you have any nurse stories to share? How has a nurse influenced you?

I’d love to hear from you . Please join in the conversation below~

Next Week:

Monday, May 18, 2020

Author and chaplain Lisa Irish will return with a guest post on “Finding the Light”.

Lisa is the author of Grieving-the Sacred Art of Hope in the Land of Loss.

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Filed Under: International Year of the Nurse, 2020, International Year of the Nurse,2020, International Year often Nurse Tagged With: International Year of the Nurse2020, Role of Nurse during COVID109

Writing a Memoir: Finding Your Voice by Nancy Pressly

By Kathy Pooler 4 Comments

Posted by Kathleen Pooler/with Nancy Pressly

I am pleased to feature memoirist Nancy Pressly in this guest post about how she found her voice. She is the author of Unlocking: A Memoir of Family and Art.

Welcome, Nancy!

Memoirist Nancy Pressly

Writing a Memoir: Finding Your Voice

My professional life has been defined by two major types of writing: scholarly art-history publications and assessment reports for my strategic-planning clients. Scholarly writing allows for a personal  point of view in interpreting works of art but requires objectivity in its presentation of “evidence” to support a conclusion. The situational analysis report, based on confidential interviews, questionnaires, and extensive supplementary materials, is a sensitive and critical document that outlines issues, opportunities and challenges and presents a composite picture of the current state of an arts institution. It is written in clear, declarative prose with sensitivity and political acumen so that difficult information could be presented in a constructive way. 

Writing a memoir was a completely new undertaking. I approached it without any preconception about how it should be structured, but with the desire to write something meaningful and with the hope that if I was fortunate it might even be recognized in some literary circles. Early on I read a few “how to” books and articles, which for the most part did not particularly resonate, except for underscoring the importance of being truthful. Initially, I undertook extensive research to develop the historical context of my grandparents’ lives in the shetals of Eastern Europe and later in New York City. But mainly I tried to remember, to find ways to pull back the veils of amnesia that clouded my memories of my parents and childhood and even the town where I grew up. I returned to the old family photographs I had discovered eight years earlier, grouping and regrouping them almost like a curator trying to see what story they told, to intuit meaning beneath the surface as I so often had done as an art historian with works of art.  

I was aware it was important to find my voice, but I did not consciously try to construct it. I knew the voice had to be authentic and reflect who I am as a person, and I also knew I wanted to share may voyage of discovery, to allow the reader to join me as I journeyed back in time. I wanted it to reflect how I think and how I respond. I am unusually visually aware, and I came to see in writing this memoir that my great eye, my ability not only to look but “to see,” was linked to my empathetic and intuitive nature, to my inclination to be intensely attuned to peoples’ feelings and my own feelings, and in the process be psychologically aware.  My son has often accused me of wearing my heart on my sleeve, which is true. But this openness, this candor and willingness to be vulnerable and intimate and to share my insights is who I am and became part of my voice in the book. I was still surprised, however when readers commented in their reviews of Unlocking that the book was “intensely personal,” “unflinchingly honest,” “searching and compassionate,” “a wrenchingly honest account.” 

  I also found my voice through the process itself as I let my story slowly unfold. There was no outline; it evolved organically; major themes changed midway. It was a slow journey, beginning with my retrieval of memories of the physical environment of my childhood, the smells of flowers in our yard, and musty piles of leaves, and slippery glacier rocks in the woods behind our house. It was only then that I could enter a more interior world of our home, the kitchen aromas, the cellar where our cat would have three litters a year, the holiday table, and finally, family dynamics. I had no idea where it would end up, but I trusted the journey and allowed myself to plummet deep, to stir the unconscious. Additionally, I am very visual and my pictorial recall, sometimes just details, helped lead me. When we travel, I often approach what is before me with what I call a hyper-real focus, like a slow-moving motion- picture camera capturing every detail of a cityscape or a panorama or work of art or archaeological site. I retain the visual as well as the emotional and intellectual experience with vivid clarity long afterwards. Some of the most engaging passages in the memoir are descriptions of travel. 

I saw this as a journey and found inspiration in a new way of writing, mindful of how I had to lead the reader by visualizing my environment, evoking my feelings, and conveying what I was seeing, not just visually but also intuitively, bringing them along on my journey. It was liberating. Despite all the writing I had done professionally, the was the first time in my life I felt like a “real” writer. 

About the Author

Nancy L. Pressly, a graduate of Goucher College, received her master’s degree in Art History from Columbia University. She began her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and subsequently held curatorial positions at the Yale Center for British Art and the San Antonio Museum of Art, where she organized several important exhibitions, most notably the acclaimed Fuseli Circle in Rome: Early Romantic Art of the 1770s at Yale. In 1984, she became Assistant Director of the Museum Program at the National Endowment for the Arts; in 1992 was a visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art; and in 1993 she founded Nancy L. Pressly & Associates, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in strategic planning for some of the nation’s leading art museums. She has authored numerous publications, most recently a book titled SETTLING THE SOUTH CAROLINA BACKCOUNTRY. She and her husband live in Atlanta, Georgia, close to their son and two grandchildren. Find her online at nancylpressly.com

About the Book

While recovering from a near fatal illness, Nancy Pressly discovers a treasure trove of family material stored in her attic. Haunted by images of her grandparents and her parents in their youth, she sets out to create a family narrative before it is lost forever. It takes several more years before she summons the courage to reconstitute a path back to her own past, slowly pulling back the veil of amnesia that has, until now, all but obliterated her memory of her childhood. 

In this sensitive and forgiving meditation on the meaning of family, Pressly unravels family dynamics and life in a small rural town in the 1950s that so profoundly affected her—then moves forward in time, through to her adulthood. With an eye attuned to visual detail, she relates how she came into her own as a graduate student in the tumultuous sixties in New York; examines how she assumed the role of caretaker for her family as she negotiated with courage and resilience the many health setbacks, including her own battle with pancreatic cancer, that she and her husband encountered; and evokes her interior struggle as a mother as she slowly traverses the barriers of expectations, self-doubt, and evolving norms in the 1980s to embrace a remarkable life as a scholar, champion of contemporary art, and nationally recognized art museum strategic planning consultant. Full of candor and art-inspired insight, Unlocking leaves the reader with a deep appreciation of the power of art and empathy and the value of trying to understand one’s life journey.

Amazon link

How about you? How have you found your voice?

We’d love to hear from you. Please join in the conversation below~

Next Week:

Monday, 5/11/20:

The Year of the Nurse

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Filed Under: Memoir Tagged With: Art History, Nancy Pressly

Turning the Page: A Memoir Moment

By Kathy Pooler 19 Comments

Posted by Kathleen Pooler/

“In any given moment you have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.”~. Abraham Maslow

Photo Credit: Pixabay Free Images

Turning the Page: A Memoir Moment

It’s hard these days to get beyond the constant barrage of daily death statistics, conflicts over opening small businesses, updates on testing, etc. I have plenty of time to sit around and watch the news, something I don’t recommend. 


But, despite these current COVID19 realities, I will be turning the page. After three months in rehab, I will be going home on 4/27. Do you know what I miss the most besides my family and friends? Hugging and being hugged. I’m sending out virtual hugs.

Photo Credit: Pixabay Free Images

The body is amazingly resilient. When I was admitted, I was so weak and deconditioned, I relied totally on the staff to meet my needs, convinced I would be an invalid. It was a frustrating and uncertain time. At some point with intense OT/PT, I turned a corner surprising even myself and here I am now, independent, walking with a walker and deemed ready to go home, sweet home. I’ve been in a bubble these past three months, totally focused on the business of healing so transitioning back home will be a challenge.


In turning this page, I’ll be leaving the familiar and plunging back into another unknown. How will I handle being cooped up in a small two bedroom apartment with nowhere to go? How long will we have to live under these restrictions? Will I fall again, a fear of anyone who has fallen and sustained a fracture? These questions swirl in my mind, despite the excitement of transitioning back home and being with Wayne again. FaceTime chats have been good but they can’t beat seeing each other in-person. 


Despite all the things that haven’t gone right, I’ve been pleasantly enlightened about how many people are rising to the occasion and offering services and sacrifices to those in need—restaurant workers who provide meals for free, feeding our heroic frontline workers, the homeless and needy, the states who are helping each other out with precious ventilators and PPE, the celebrities who are stepping up to share their time and talents. And being a nurse, it is heartening to see how appreciated and recognized our brave nurses are for risking their lives to save others. The statistic are still stunning and sobering but these examples are a tiny bit of sunshine in a very bleak circumstance.


It is clear that life as we knew it is gone. We are all struggling to figure out our “new normal” now and what it will be in the future. Whenever, we are able to be relieved of the restrictions that leave us homebound and missing our family and friends, I think we will have a new appreciation of the things that matter the most—our relationships, the goodness of our fellow man, slowing down to notice the beauty that surrounds us. Of course, there will always be those who squander these gifts in the name of selfishness or misplaced motives. Although I believe in the rights of people to protest– of course they want to get back to work–those who choose to block access to a hospital by blocking traffic with their honking cars will always be around. When you stomp on the rights of others in the name of your own rights you only make things worse. 


The good, the bad and the ugly. I guess that’s all part of the wonderful, painful, challenging lives we lead. 


I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. I wanted to touch base with you all again. I’m just thinking out loud as I prepare to fly the rehab coop. If we all comply with the recommended guidelines, we can make a difference. Oh, how I wish states would not re-open yet, especially in light of rising rates of infection. 


There will be a period of adjustment as I strive to re-establish my daily routine. Now that I am healing and progressing in strength and function, I hope to get back to my near-normal self soon. I have missed you.


Please be safe and well. Stay home! 

Photo Credit: Pixabay free image

How about you? How are you handling all these changes in your life?

I’d love to hear from you. Please join in the conversation below~

Next Week:

Monday, 5/4/20:

Nancy Pressly, author of Unlocking: A Memoir of Family and Art will discuss her memoir writing process.

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Filed Under: Coping with Change, COVID-19 Pandemic Tagged With: coping with change, COVID-19 Pandemic, turning the page

A Painful Vision Brought to Light for Healing because of the Devotion and Love of a Dachshund

By Kathy Pooler 9 Comments

Posted by Kathleen Pooler/ with Barbara Techel/

I am very pleased to feature my dear friend and writing colleague Barbara Techel. We met years ago in Dan Blank’s online class on Building an Author Platform. I have enjoyed Barbara’s heartfelt writing about about how her pets have helped her to heal

.

Welcome, Barbara!

Author, Oracle Guide, Soul Explorer Barbara Techel

A Painful Vision Brought to Light for Healing because of the Love and Devotion of a Dashshumd

The last thing I ever thought I’d write about was a painful and recurring vision that had plagued me for over two decades.

The thing is, I didn’t want to believe it, acknowledge it or even give voice to it since it first popped into my consciousness at the age of twenty-nine. Every time it surfaced I’d push it back down and the thought ran through my mind that this just can’t be real.

When the first flashback occurred it was a time when many of my friends were having children, but I never felt the maternal instinct to have kids of my own. This left me feeling odd and as if there was something wrong with me. 

Growing up in the 60s and 70s it was instilled in me as a young girl that this is what you did when you got married. But all I ever wanted was a pet to care for and love. No babies for me, please. 

It was in the early years of my marriage that we’d bring a chocolate Lab into our lives. Thus began my journey of the many teachings I’d receive from not only our Lab, but also over time from three disabled dachshunds, and a yellow Lab that would help me to evolve to where I am today.

My story of being touched inappropriately as a child and how my special needs dachshund, Gidget guided me in healing this is now on the pages of the memoir I thought I’d never write.

Barbara and Gidget

Every step along the way of what is often described as a ‘dark night of the soul’ from acknowledging the vision to working through all the emotions, releasing the grief, integrating the lessons, to then bringing it to life for others to read has all felt vulnerable.

But the spark that continued to light the way was the precious gift of what Gidget so lovingly helped me through. This is what drove me to want to spread the word, even more, is that our animal friends are some of our greatest allies on this planet and they selflessly serve to help us heal.

What I’d uncover on the other side of my being willing to be vulnerable was a freedom like none I’d ever experienced before. As Gidget served as a reflection for me, she was at the same time working to heal her wounds. 

The more I let go and accepted this was the path I was meant to walk, the more I found peace within. The more I moved into an inner space of harmony I was then granted the most cherished reward of all. I became witness to Gidget who was often anxious to now observing her as calm and serene.

Though I physically walk alone now as my story finds its way out into the world, it’s the spirit of Gidget that resides within my heart lovingly cheering me on. It’s a place she lives in peace because of the journey we agreed to take long before we each came to this planet—and the agreement to tandemly heal our hearts that were once wounded, but now feel whole.

Gidget

And a woman who carried the burden of feeling unworthy for the majority of her life, now finally understands she is worthy just as she is.

About the Author:

Barbara Techel is an award winning author, intuitive guide, oracle reader, and animal wisdom enthusiast. She gently guides women on inward quests to embrace and nurture a loving relationship of Self and live a more balanced, gracious and peaceful life.

Barbara has been walking her own self-loving and transformational expedition since 2004. It’s been animals and oracles that have helped her to navigate, discern and appreciate challenging times as opportunities to explore the deeper self, embrace what needs healing and emerge into feeling more peaceful and whole. 

She has been interviewed on numerous radio stations and podcasts, appeared on TV for her books and her writing cottage, and featured in many magazines including Woman’s World. She is the author of Through Frankie’s Eyes: One woman’s journey to her authentic self, and the dog on wheels who led the way and Wisdom Found in the Pause – Joie’s Gift, plus two children’s books, Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog and Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Therapy Dog Visits Libby’s House.

She lives in Wisconsin and enjoys the changes of the seasons from the view of her quaint writing cottage, walks in nature, observing wildlife, traveling in an our R-pod camper, and evenings in front of the chiminea with the love of her life, John. 

Barbara’s memoir, I’m Fine Just the Way I Am-Healing Emotional Pain through the Wisdom of Animals and Oraclesavailable at:

Amazon

Connect with Barbara:

www.barbaratechel.com

About the Book:

I’m Fine Just the Way I Am takes you on a deep, intimate and powerful journey as Barbara Techel explores the significance of a painful, recurring vision that plagued her for over two decades. To do so, she must call upon every ounce of courage, faith and commitment, or be swallowed by the depression and anxiety that has consumed her.   

Like a metaphysical detective, Barbara employs a myriad of tools, each of which serves as a building block to self-knowledge and healing. She learns to tap into her intuition and the insight from oracle cards on a level she has never done before; she also examines her dreams and embraces the power of ceremony and life-enhancing breath work. Most importantly, perhaps, she learns to accept help from others and trust in the process, understanding that the turmoil in her life is truly happening for her, not to her. 

As in her previous two memoirs, Barbara also draws on the profound teachings she received from animals—from a special needs dachshund who served as a reflection of the darkness and what needed to be healed, to a snake who helped her shed what she no longer needed, a wolf who encouraged her to keep her heart open, and a horse who empowered her to stand in her strengths. 

All were integral to help Barbara transform her pain and accept it as both a gift and the path she was meant to walk in order to finally understand that she is worthy just as she is.

Thank you, Barbara for having the courage to share your painful story and to show how animals have helped you to heal. As an animal lover, I understand how healing a pet can be.

How about you? Do you have a story about how a pet has helped you to heal?

We’d love to hear from you. Please join in the conversation below~

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Filed Under: Writing to Heal Tagged With: Barbara Techel, memoir, The Healing Aspects of Having a Pet

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