I am pleased to present Glenda Watson Hyatt, my April interviewee. She has taken the “least obvious path” and become a motivational speaker. Why is this something special and unique? Because Ms. Hyatt has cerebral palsy which has affected her speech to a significant degree. “Can’t” was not a word...
“When we lose anything we cherish — a way of life, a loved one, a dream, a belief, even the day-in-day-out presence of a child at home–a space that was filled in our lives, and in our hearts, is suddenly empty. Sorrow, then, is surely a human, natural response. And...
While vacationing in Florida six weeks before college graduation, a repeat drunk driver lost control of his car and crashed into Steven Benvenisti while he was walking with his friends. His legs were crushed, his face smashed through the windshield and his body was thrown 70 feet. His prognosis was...
Mark O’Brien and his girlfriend Susan Fernbach cuddle outside his iron lung at his apartment in Berkeley in 1997. (Mary F. Calvert/Staff Archives) Photo: Mercurynews.com Wow, this is my second anniversary of interviews- 24 really inspirational and enlightening people. There were {those infrequent} times when the end of the...
I am so pleased to introduce you to Priscilla Gilman, writer and English professor. In her memoir, The Anti-Romantic Child: A Memoir of Unexpected Joy, she uniquely and beautifully weaves her love of poetry, most specifically Wordsworth, into her story of parenting a special-needs child. This certainly spoke to me...
It’s high time for my November interview. Due to the East coast hurricane Sandy, we’ve had wide-spread power outages. And then I managed to get out and down to sunny Florida where I was {stuck} indoors for a most amazing four day Tony Robbins event. I am pleased to present...
Shannon Rouse Ruiz has become a fierce advocate for stopping medicine abuse. With the tragic death of her teenage daughter, she went on to start P.E.A.C.E. – Prescription Education Abuse Counseling Empowerment. This is a growing problem that needs a lot of attention. I am therefore very appreciative that Ms....
I am very pleased to introduce you toRobin Smalley, a woman who has turned her personal losses into a huge gain for world health – the elimination of pediatric AIDS. She has rebuilt her life, a totally new one at that, by serendipitously coming into her passion of giving to...
My close friend’s nephew took his own life last month. A few days later a person by the name of Andy Behrman tweeted me that he has a ‘rebuilding’ story. I read some of his articles and got the goose-bumps. Here was a person who had ‘come’ to me in...
I am thrilled to hear that Wild just hit #1on the New York Times Bestseller list. AuthorCheryl Strayed had accepted my request for a blog interview back in March. So in her honor today and in my happiness for her I felt it appropos to repost her interview. And if you haven’t already done so, read...