Moments with Marianne

Phil Keith is the author of six books, including Blackhorse Riders (St. Martin’s Press, 2012), which won the 2012 award from USA Book News for Best Military Non-Fiction, was a finalist for the 2013 Colby Award, and earned a 2013 silver medal from Military Writers Society of America. He holds a degree in history from Harvard and is a former Navy aviator. 

Tom Calvin is the author of 18 nonfiction books and has worked as a newspaper and web site editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and a reporter for the New York Times covering entertainment, sports, and the environment. 

Amy Newmark is the bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Since 2008, she has published 133 new books, most of them national bestsellers in the U.S. and Canada, more than doubling the number of Chicken Soup for the Soul titles in print today. She is also the author of Simply Happy, a crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul advice and wisdom that is filled with easy-to-implement, practical tips for having a better life.  http://www.chickensoup.com 

Reina is an inspiring author and mentor, and a fun, enthusiastic speaker. She’s also the past President of a Toastmasters Chapter, President of Why Wait, LLC and the mother of two adults, independent children. In her former career, Reina represented a pharmaceutical company as an Oncology Consultant and was awarded the honor of #1 Salesperson in the Nation. As her experience and expertise grew, she was promoted to National Oncology Trainer. Reina found teaching and training people so personally rewarding and useful, she chose to educate aspiring nurses as an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology and Medical Terminology. http://reinaweiner.com 

Born to a teen mother and a child of the foster care system for four years before she was adopted, Dr. Krista Driver started out as the epitome of the “underdog.” Today a licensed marriage and family therapist with a doctorate in psychology, Dr. Driver has dedicated her career to working with the most vulnerable in her community. A perpetual observer with an innate curiosity for other people’s stories, when she stumbled across an incredibly fascinating tale of one woman’s escape from Vietnam, she felt compelled to write about it. https://kristadriver.com 

Mark Guerin is a 2014 graduate of Grub Street’s Novel Incubator program in Boston. He also has an MFA from Brandeis University and is a winner of an Illinois Arts Council Grant, the Mimi Steinberg Award for Playwriting and Sigma Tau Delta’s Eleanor B. North Poetry Award. A contributor to the novelist’s blog, Dead Darlings, he is also a playwright, copywriter and journalist. https://www.mark-guerin.com

On June 1, 2019, 15 year-old Lily Kelly was tragically killed when the car she riding in was hit by a drunk driver. In the days that followed, a song emerged that Lily had written and recorded just six months before. Her mother Faith Zember shares about Lily, her live and her music. https://www.lilykellyministries.org 

JoAnne Jones is Professor Emeritus at Springfield College in Massachusetts, where she worked for twenty-five years. While at Springfield College, Dr. Jones served as Associate Dean of the School of Human Services and Acting Dean of the School of Social Work. Before Springfield College, she was an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an Assistant Professor of Social Welfare at the University of Calgary, School of Social Welfare. https://joannejonesauthor.com 

Jacqueline Thea, Ph.D., LMFT Licensed Psychotherapist and Dream Counselor. Former Professional Guardian/Conservator, Registered Nurse and Practitioner of Harp Therapy.  She is trained in Shamanic Studies.  https://jacquelinethea.com 

Cynthia Li, MD, is a board-certified physician in internal medicine, having completed her medical training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. Her practice has centered on public health in underserved communities (HIV/AIDS in San Francisco, Doctors Without Borders in rural China), environmental health, and evolutionary health. She is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Institute for Functional Medicine. In 2017, she joined the faculty of the Joint Medical Program between the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley, in co-teaching the Healer’s Art program, which trains medical students to develop the art of healing.  https://cynthialimd.com 

Mary McNerney earned her law degree from Georgetown University, had a fellowship with the UN Commission on International Trade Law, and then worked for many years as a corporate and international lawyer in Boston and Prague. It was not her plan to write this book. She never imagined that the Spirit of the Earth would one day unmistakably, clearly, and shockingly speak to her. Mary says that the experience has put her on an entirely different trajectory than she ever envisioned as a corporate lawyer.  http://www.marymcnerney.com 

Alejandro Frid, Ph.D., has for over two decades inhabited the worlds of science, modern Indigenous cultures, and climate activism. An ecologist for First Nations of British Columbia’s Central Coast, and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria, Frid works collaboratively with First Nations on the integration of traditional knowledge and Western science to advance conservation and revitalize Indigenous control of their resources. His research experience has spanned conflicts between industrial development and terrestrial wildlife, the plight of endangered species, and the effects of overfishing on marine predators. https://alejandrofridecology.weebly.com/.

Karen Crowley-Susani is a sacred geometry and earth energy expert. She is the founder of the Boulder Centre for Master Builders, and shares how our ancestors used the patterns of the sun and earth to create their sacred structures and how you can use this knowledge to improve your environment. As a former Air Force pilot, her career trajectory changed after she became a mother, and wanted her children to grow up in a healthy environment. https://bouldermasterbuilders.com  www.sacredgeometry.world

Cheryl Hale is a writer, blogger, and business owner who founded the Girl Be Brave online community, website GirlBeBrave.com, and product line in 2016. She started Girl Be Brave after reading a note that her grandmother, Frances, left her mother in her Bible, which ended with “girl be brave.” Cheryl’s hope is that Frances’ words reach every girl and woman who needs a reminder of her own bravery.  https://girlbebrave.com 

Stuart Eisendrath, MD, is the author of When Antidepressants Aren’t Enough and the founding director of the University of California San Francisco Depression Center. A senior clinician and research psychiatrist at UCSF, his lectures on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for University of California TV have been viewed more than 1.5 million times.  http://www.stuarteisendrath.com 

Robert Boyers is editor of Salmagundi, professor of English at Skidmore College, and director of the New York State Summer Writers Institute. He is the author of ten previous books and the editor of a dozen others. He writes often for such magazines as Harper’s, The New Republic, The Nation, Yale Review, and Granta.

Keisha Blair is a trained economist, with extensive experience in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. She was part of the Prime Minister’s delegation to the World Economic Forum in 2018 as well as the East-Asia (ASEAN) Summit in Singapore. She has been profiled in The New York Times and is a contributor to the New York Observer and Thrive Global. After losing her husband suddenly to illness, Keisha was left to care for two young toddlers and embarked on a journey of self-discovery that allowed her to focus on the most important lessons for achieving happiness – lessons that she includes in her new book, Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity, and Happiness. http://www.keishablair.com

Robyn Spizman is the author of Loving Out Loud.  She is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author and popular keynote speaker who has appeared in the media for over three decades, including NBC’s Today show more than thirty times. She lives in Atlanta.  http://www.robynspizman.com

Filippo Voltaggio is a Business and Personal Life Coach, Keynote Speaker, Author and former Junior Manager at IBM.  While studying at the University of California, San Diego, Filippo, created a coursework for an emerging field, which was not offered at the time. The creation of this field of study, set the tone for Filippo’s professional career. http://therecalibration.com 

Herman Williams, MD is the Managing Director of the BDO Nashville Healthcare Advisory Practice and is a leader in the BDO Institute for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation. He has extensive experience as a senior hospital executive with healthcare expertise that includes the management and operations of large and small-scale, national clinics and hospitals. His successful leadership has resulted in achieving the highest and safest levels of quality inpatient and outpatient care. http://clearlivingthelife.com 

Amy Herrig is a mother, wife, business owner, and lifelong Texan. She currently resides in Dallas with her family, but she also enjoys spending time in remote Alaska, helping run the family business there. She loves spending time in the outdoors, hiking and fishing, and she is a self-professed “foodie” who enjoys cooking with her family and hosting dinner parties for friends. Her story is an example that faith and perseverance can lead to overcoming obstacles and that people can learn from their mistakes and use them to experience growth and self-improvement. https://amyherrig.com 

Michael Ungar, Ph.D., is a Family Therapist and Professor of Social Work at Dalhousie University where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience. Since 2002, Dr. Ungar has directed the Resilience Research Centre, designing multisite longitudinal research and evaluation projects in more than a dozen low, middle, and high-income countries, with much of that work focused on the resilience of marginalized children and families, and adult populations experiencing mental health challenges. http://www.michaelungar.com

Dan Willis served as a police captain, homicide detective, wellness unit coordinator, and SWAT commander. He is a graduate of San Diego State University and the FBI National Academy. He currently instructs nationwide on trauma, PTSD, and the process of healing.  https://firstresponderwellness.com 

Dr. Marika Lindholm founded ESME.com to ignite a social movement of solo moms. A trained sociologist, Lindholm taught courses on inequality, diversity, and gender at Northwestern University for over a decade. In addition to publishing numerous scholarly articles, she has been a regular contributor to Psychology Today, Working Mother, Mind Body Green, and Talk Space. She has published essays and fiction in the Daily News, Elephant Journal, The Hill, Ms., Silent Voices, and the Southern Indiana Review.  https://esme.com 

Keith Recker is the founder and editor of HAND/EYE Magazine, which profiles forward-looking creators, faraway cultures, ancient craft traditions, and cutting edge design innovation. Creativity, ancient or modern, is the answer to the challenges of the 21st-century, and HAND/EYE is on the lookout for hopeful solutions. Prior to founding HAND/EYE, Recker was Vice President of home furnishings at Bloomingdale’s and Gump’s San Francisco, and Director of home furnishings at Saks Fifth Avenue and Granet and Associates.  https://folkartmarket.org/staff/keith-recker/ 

Andrew Hackett has more than 20 years of experience helping people think outside their limitations and move beyond their fears so they can accomplish amazing things in their life, business, and relationships.  https://andrewhackett.com.au 

Michelle DesPres is a certified clairvoyant medium trained under the Berkeley Psychic Institute program for inner development. She is an author with books designed to help others discover personal and collective fulfillment. She also published the Intuitive Ethical Standards establishing guidelines for alternative therapists.  https://michelledespres.com 

Myra Mossman is a federal criminal appeals attorney who has handled complex cases before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and appeared before the US Supreme Court. She is also an archival hand bookbinder and paper restorer, a martial artist, and a reader and teacher of the tarot and Kabbalah. https://www.myrandomdeath.com   

Jeanne Mackin is the author of several historical novels, including The Beautiful American. She taught creative writing at Goddard College and has given numerous workshops. She lives with her husband in upstate New York.  www.jeannemackin.com 

Karen earned an MA in poetry from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D in fiction from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and presently teaches writing workshops at Lighthouse North and film, pop culture, and storytelling to freshman at the CU – Boulder. https://www.karenauvinen.com

Brad Warner is an author, Soto Zen teacher, punk bassist, filmmaker, and popular blogger who leads workshops and retreats around the world. In addition to his books, his writing appears in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and Alternative Press. He lives in Los Angeles where he is the founder and lead teacher of the Angel City Zen Center. www.hardcorezen.info