Words from the Heart

Angel of Grief (Photo credit: eklektik2xs ) I have spent the last two days trying to wrap my head around the horrific tragedy that took place, not more than 200 miles from our home.  As a writer, I felt called to write something...but nothing came. As a mother and grandmother, I felt called to say something...but nothing came.  As a seminarian, I felt called to do something...and, when the moment came, I did what felt best. I hugged those closest to me; I told those, who I could not hug, that they were loved; and I sat down to share this on my blog. Someone said to me, yesterday, that the world has become crazier.  I responded, after a brief pause with, "No it hasn't, we just hear about the craziness quicker and more often, now.  The world has always been this crazy."  Think about it...50 years ago, we had to wait at least 24 hours to hear about a major event happening in the US, it took even longer if the event was somewhere overseas.  Today, not onl...

Today, I have the honor of an interview with a woman, whom I admire greatly, Madeline Sharples. In the face of unspeakable tragedy, Madeline has found a way to help others. Her gift to the world is the ability to expess herself in ways that touch the hearts and minds of others.  Madeline's new book, Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother's Memoir of Living with Her Son's Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide charts the near-destruction of one middle-class family, whose son committed suicide after a seven-year struggle with bipolar disorder. Madeline, an author, poet and web journalist, goes deep into her own well of grief to describe her anger, frustration and guilt. She describes many attempts -- some successful, some not -- to have her son committed to hospital and to keep him on his medication. The book also charts her and her family's redemption, how she considered suicide herself, and ultimately, her decision live and take care of herself as a woman, wife,...

Have you ever had the experience where something you said really made a difference in someone's life? Isn't it amazing how that happens?  Often, we don't even think about the impact of those words.  They just come to us.   Hope is a wonderful gift to give another.  Hope that things will change.  Hope that dreams will come true.  Hope that prayers will be answered. Gog o's Dream: Swaziland Discovered was written with words of hope.  Hope for the Gogos of Swaziland, hope for the children and hope that the words of the poems found within its pages would somehow touch the readers, inspiring them to reach out to people they don't know.   Gogo Ndzimandze with her Grandchildren and Dr. M My close friends and family were great.  They immediately purchased a copy of the book, so I was able to send all the profit from those few sales to Possible Dreams International (PDI) to aid Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke and the PDI staff in the work they ...