Stories that Empower

Iris' mom experienced breast cancer. This impacted her brain and caused her personality to change. This loss had a profound impact on Iris. She learned to separate the illness from the person. Iris reminds anyone going through the same caregiver challenge that you're not alone, to get help (e.g. a friend, relative, health care professional, clergy, online) and to find camaraderie with other people.

Iris Waichler has been a patient advocate and medical social worker for 40 years. She is an award winning author of 3 books. Her latest book, Role Reversal How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents, has won 6 major book awards. It is a memoir about her father and blends her professional experience to offer a wealth of information for other caregivers. She has been a caregiver for her mother and father. She also has helped 2 friends to die with dignity.

Her book "Role Reversal, How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents" is the winner of :
Finalist Best Book Award 2016
Finalist Indie Excellence Award 2016
Living Now Silver Award Winner 2017
Honorable Mention Readers Favorite Award 2017
Book Excellence Award 2017
Runner Up Award Florida Book Festival 2018.

Her book "Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster: A Guide to Educate and Inspire" is the winner of:
Mom's Choice Gold Award Winner for Best Book of the Year.
Winner of the National Parenting Publications (NAPPA) Gold Award for best book of the year.
Winner of the finalist award for Foreword Magazine 2007 non-fiction Book of the Year.

http://iriswaichler.com/  
https://www.facebook.com/RoleReversal1/ 
https://twitter.com/IrisWaichler 
https://www.amazon.com/Role-Reversal-Yourself-Aging-Parents/dp/1631520911 
https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Infertility-Roller-Coaster-Educate/dp/1932279229

(tags:  Iris, Waichler, iriswaichler.com, Role, Reversal, How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents, Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster: A Guide to Educate and Inspire, patient, advocate, medical, social, worker, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Naomi, a born storyteller, shares this wisdom:
- seek the joy, over the goals
- allow yourself the pain of hardtimes and in the morning, take the next steps
- a catastophy often provides us with something better than we thought
- sometimes we get what we need, instead of what we want

Naomi McDougall Jones is an award-winning writer, actress, and producer based in New York City. She is currently in post-production on her second feature film, BITE ME, with producers Jack Lechner (The Fog of War, Blue Valentine) and Sarah Wharton (That’s Not Us), which she wrote and also starred in opposite Christian Coulson (Harry Potter, Love is Strange, The Hours), Annie Golden (Orange is the New Black), and Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story). Naomi’s first feature film, which she also wrote, produced, and starred in, was the 12-time award-winning Imagine I’m Beautiful. The film received a theatrical release and is now available on iTunes, Amazon, and GooglePlay (www.imagineimbeautiful.com).  A pilot she wrote, The Dark Pieces, is now in development for television in Canada after having been named on The 2016 WriteHer List as one of the top 16 unproduced pilots by a female screenwriter. Naomi is an advocate and thought leader for bringing gender parity to cinema. She gave a virally sensational TEDTalk, What it’s Like to Be a Woman in Hollywood, which has now been viewed over 1 million times and can be seen on TED.com. She is the Founder and Chief Impact Officer of The 51 Fund, a venture capital fund dedicated to financing films by female filmmakers. Naomi is currently writing a book, The Wrong Kind of Woman: Dismantling the Gods of Hollywood, which will be published by Beacon Press in 2019. More at www.naomimcdougalljones.com.

https://www.naomimcdougalljones.com/ 
http://www.twitter.com/NaomiMcDougallJ 
https://www.facebook.com/naomi.mcdougalljones.5?fref=ts 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2314036/ 
http://www.bitemethefilm.com/ 
http://moviesbyher.com/

(tags:  Naomi, McDougall, Jones, naomimcdougalljones.com, Imagine I'm Beautiful, Bite Me, bitemethefilm.com, naomimdougallj,  actress, writer, producer, women, activist, 51, fund, Wrong Kind of Woman, Fear(ful)less, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Kelley experienced chronic illness, severe pain and fatigue for nearly two decades. In the absence of elders to guide her, she practiced self advocacy and educated herself for self care. She shares this wisdom. Define and maintain boundaries, which helps you focus on what you're good at. We don't heal in isolation, but rather in community. Surround yourself with a supportive community.

Kelley Harrell is a modern shaman and author. Her practice is Soul Intent Arts in North Carolina. She's read the Elder Futhark for over 25 years. Her next book, Runic Book of Days comes out from Inner Traditions in September 2018. Kelley is the host of the runes podcast What in the Wyrd.

http://www.soulintentarts.com/ 
http://www.kelleyharrell.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/kelleysoularts/?hl=en 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-in-the-wyrd/id1322403741?mt=2 
https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/

(tags:  Kelley, Harrell, kelleyharrell.com, soulintentarts.com, kelleysoularts, shaman, soul, intent, arts, Runic, Book, of Days, runes, What in the Wyrd, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Roq and Dave each felt isolated, because they adapted the societal expectations of providing and productivity. They lost direction and meaning. This led them to create a supportive community that provides meaning and purpose to men. They share the following wisdom. Share your vulnerabilities with someone you trust. Depart from what's familiar, face your fear and return to your village as a changed person.

Join Roq Gareau and Dave Wali Waugh, authors of Soulful Fellowship: Men, Meaning and Purpose for a vulnerable, intergenerational conversation between two men about their lives, friendship and men’s group. Through storytelling and dreamwork, Dave and Roq offer an honest but incomplete roadmap for men (and the women who love them), to help them navigate through barriers to an authentic life of meaning and purpose.

Betrayed by our own ignorance and good intentions, we live in a time of desperation and undigested grief. Facing the truths that threaten us and our world can start to erode the trust we have in ourselves. This promotes a narrowing view and charged isolation that can have us quickly reaching for substance or diversion in attempts to dull pain and replace absence of connection.

Roq and Dave dive into their life experiences and share their own storylines as they help us reach a better understanding of ourselves. By recalling their dreams and important life-changing events, Roq and Dave manage to outline why men often develop destructive habits and offer the solution of Soulful Fellowship as a way to bring us out of our isolation.

Everybody is lonely, and we’ve forgotten how much we need each other to squeeze meaning out of complexity and breakthrough the patterns that prevent us from growing up. Times like these call for Soulful Fellowship.

Roq Gareau and Dave Wali Waugh are the cofounders of Men, Meaning and Purpose, a series of men's retreats inspired by Soulful Fellowship. Dave is a psychotherapist (and director of Elements Counselling in Vancouver) with 25 years of experience in evolutionary men’s work and the author of two preceding books, including Evolving Soulfully. Roq is a skilled facilitator and the director of CentreSpoke Consulting. Soulful Fellowship is Roq’s first book.

http://soulfulfellowship.com/ 

(tags: Roq, Gareau, Dave, Wali, Waugh, soulful, fellowship, soulfulfellowship.com, men, meaning, purpose, CentreSpoke, Consulting, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Kurek's friend, Mike, died in his arms after a helicopter crash. Initially, Kurek turned to drugs, wanted to take his life and experienced depression. He decided that this was not going to be his legacy, drew a 'line in the sand' and turned his life around. Kurek shares the following wisdom:

• life doesn't turn out the way it should, it turns out the way it does, it comes down to what you do with it
• make success your habit
• make every moment count
• don't wait
• love more
• fight less
• do it now

Kurek Ashley "The Transformer" is an internationally renowned speaker, author and coach in the fields of self-development and spiritual growth, and is recognised as a premier expert in personal and professional development, self-discovery and peak performance. His #1 best-selling "How Would Love Respond?" has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

For over 30 years, Fortune 500 companies and major corporations around the world, such as Apple, Seagate, Schwarzkopf, Westin Hotels, The Australian Royal Airforce and Carlton United Brewery, hire Kurek to teach them tactical success strategies that have produced awe-inspiring results. His list of private clients include: Hollywood film and TV stars, movie directors, producers and cinematographers, a quintuple platinum rock band, hit music composers, top business leaders, oil executives in Kuwait, Olympic Gold Medalists, professional athletes and sports teams, and the list goes on and on.

He is the Creator and Founder of the Life Success Club that brings together a community of like-minded, positive, success-driven people from all over the world.

https://kurekashley.com
[email protected]

(tags:  Kurek, Ashley, kurekashley.com, transformer, speaker, author, coach, self, development, spiritual, growth, personal, professional, development, How Would Love Respond, Life, Success, Club, Life Success Club, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Amy is a survivor of a house fire, which she calls the fire that saved her. It brought clarity to her daily chronic pain. Through her spiritual strength, a very supportive spouse and trauma therapy, she also made peace with some very difficult experiences as a child. Amy believes that the brain, body and soul work together for your good. She reminds us to shift our perspective, when overcoming a challenge.

Amy Ferrara is a worship leader, public speaker, and stay at home mama to her two children. Amy miraculously survived a house fire and backdraft in 2013 which led to severe PTSD and a life-altering health crisis. Though she still experiences daily chronic pain, she has received true healing by the hands of Jesus. She now has the sacred privilege of sharing her story about the gift of pain and suffering to encourage her brothers and sisters in Christ. Amy is a Texas girl who calls Washington, DC her home with husband Mark and their children, Isabella and Isaac.

[email protected] 
www.amyferrara.com

(tags:  Amy, Ferrara, amyferrara.com, worship, leader, speaker, house, fire, backdraft, ptsd, heath, crisis, daily, chronic, pain, healing, suffering, Christ, Texas, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Dr. Nazari experienced mistrust at the age of 8. He has invested his entire life and profession to understand and share his findings on the importance of trust, in his book "Enlightened Negotation: 8 Universal Laws to Connect, Create and Prosper". Dr. Nazari believes that once trust is established, we can experience an environment of positivity, energy and creativity. He strives to lead mindfully and serve humanity.

Dr. Nazari is an award winning author, speaker, trainer and executive coach. He teaches how to have a happier, engaged and productive personal or business life through Enlightened Negotiation principles. He has trained executives from many Global Fortune Hundred including, Sony, eBay and Brookfield. His book is titled "Enlightened Negotiation: 8 Universal Laws to Connect, Create, and Prosper".

www.EnlightenedNegotiation.com

(tags:  Dr, Mehrad, Nazari, enlightened, negotiation, enlightenednegotation.com, 8 universal laws to connect, create and prosper, author, speaker, trainer, executive, coach, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Elizabeth lived with a father experiencing mental illness. Her book "Implosion: A Memoir of an Architect's Daughter" is a survivor's story. She reminds us that we, too, can experience freedom from a terrible experience and even feel compassion for others' suffering. Elizabeth suggests that we notice life outside of ourselves and open our hearts of compassion.

Elizabeth Garber’s memoir, Implosion: A Memoir of an Architect’s Daughter (2018) focuses on how her family was caught in a collision between modern architecture, radical social change, and madness in the turbulent 1960s and 1970s in Cincinnati. Maine author Monica Wood, author of The One-in-a-Million Boy said about this book, “I was riveted by this story of an adoring daughter struggling to escape the dominance of her brilliant, charismatic father. Garber writes beautifully about the layered complications of family love.” In this powerful memoir, Elizabeth Garber describes her father's deepening mental illness, the destruction of her family, and her own slow healing from his abuse. Beautifully written and heartbreaking, Garber's memoir is also a survivor's story—about a young woman trying to rescue her family and herself. Now a mother and a healer, Garber’s story offers the hope that we can process trauma and move on, that we can each become the architects of our own lives.

Garber is also the author of three books of poetry, and three of her poems were read on NPR’s The Writer’s Almanac. She received a MFA in creative non-fiction from University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Masters Program. She has maintained a private practice as an acupuncturist for over thirty years in Belfast, Maine.

www.elizabethgarber.com 
www.facebook.com/elizabethgarberwriter

(tags:  Elizabeth, Garber, elizabethgarber.com, elizabethgarberwriter.com, Implosion, A Memoir of an Architect's Daughter, survivor, story, compassion, heart, healing, suffering, trauma, bipolar, architect, lives, life, acupuncturist, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean)

Dr. Michael Myers became a survivor of suicide at the age of 19, when he lost his friend to suicide.  Since then, he has dedicated his life and profession to suicide awareness, support and prevention.  His story reminds us that there's light and hope at the end of the tunnel.  

Dr. Michael Myers is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and immediate past Vice-Chair of Education and Director of Training in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He is the author or co-author of eight books the most recent of which are “Why Physicians Die by Suicide: Lessons Learned from Their Families and Others Who Cared” and “Touched by Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss” (with Carla Fine). He is a recent past president (and emeritus board member) of the New York City Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and a member of the Clinician Survivors Task Force of the American Association of Suicidology. Dr Myers became a survivor of suicide at the age of 19 when he lost one of his medical school roommates to suicide. He lectures extensively throughout North America and beyond.

http://www.michaelfmyers.com/

[email protected]

800-273-TALK (24 hour suicide hotline)

tags:  Dr, Doctor, Michael, Myers, michaelfmyers, psychiatry, physician, suicide, prevention, suicidology, Why Physicians Die by Suicide, Lessons Learned from Their Families and Others Who Cared, Touched by Suicide, Hope and Healing After Loss, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean

Tim's story reminds us to celebrate life, let go of emotional baggage, find a support network, meditate, spend time in nature and go for a walk.

Timothy Phillips walked the Camino Frances from St.Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela in 2010 and 2015 to celebrate 60 years and 65 years respectively. He walked a different route this past spring from Seville to Santiago. This is his account of a trek which became for him an important voyage of introspection: a physical journey which is also metaphor, dealing with the twists and turns of life, following some wrong paths, learning the need to travel lighter, finding clarity, peace and a place of healing along the way. We can transcend our history, become unstuck and flourish.
This is the basis of the book he wrote entitled "My Camino Walk - A Way to Healing" (IslandCatEditions) available through Kindle, Kobo and iTunes and as a print book through Amazon.

http://www.caminodetim.com/
http://healingonthedanforth.com/
[email protected]

tags:  Timothy, Phillips, caminodetim, camino, de, tim, healingonthedanforth, healing, on, the, danforth, clinic, Santiago, de, Compostela, Spain, My Camino Walk, storiesthatempower.com, stories that empower, empowering stories, empowerment stories, stories of empowerment, stories of empowering others, self empowerment stories, stories empower, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, uplift, uplifting, upliftment, hope, light, Sean