My Memoir

Status: Upcoming book is currently being edited.

My memoir encompasses my journey of going from competitive gymnast ... to nearly suicidal chronic pain sufferer ... to much healed and hopeful survivor who has been awakened to the immense power of the mind’s influence on the body.

At age 40, my “perfect” life took a detour after I developed chronic neck pain subsequent to a “roll-over accident.” I spent years living with initially undiagnosed and debilitating chronic myofascial pain as I struggled not only to keep my head up but also to keep my home and work lives solvent.

I saw a variety of doctors, had neck surgery, tried a multitude of medications, and was treated by an assortment of traditional physical therapists. I’d crescendo into hopefulness, only to collapse into despair as each treatment failed.

Once I discovered that mindbody approaches to healing could free me from unrelenting pain, I finally began the slow process of healing. I also came to a profound appreciation of the body’s own ability to heal, in spite of the difficulty of the mind and body to alter pathways that have been set through years and years of subconscious, automatic reactions.

In the complex world of healing from chronic pain, the book brings to light the commonly unknown condition of “chronic myofascial pain” (also known as "myofascial pain syndrome") and how emotions and trauma can be underlying causes of chronic physical pain.

My memoir is an honest tale of an on-going journey to well being. It chronicles the struggles of living in chronic pain while trying to heal both physical and emotional wounds, and describes the mindbody approaches to healing that have been most instrumental in significantly reducing my pain. It reveals how much one can heal even when hope was once lost. 

 Chapter 1            Amplitude and Anguish  

 Chapter 2            Breaking Point  

 Chapter 3            Operation Fix-it  

 Chapter 4            In Search of Pain Relief  

 Chapter 5            Mind and Body  

 Chapter 6            Releasing the Tension  

 Chapter 7            The Hidden Truth  

 Chapter 8            Addressing the Aftermath  

 Chapter 9            Detoured but Undeterred  

 Chapter 10         The Reality of Healing