“I’m Never Pain-Free But I Don’t Allow My Circumstances to Stop Me” – Interview with Candida Sullivan
How does someone go through life being constantly stared at? Candida Sullivan is a pro at managing and living her life in a manner that elevates her and others beyond her external deformities. Amniotic Band Syndrome affects her hands, arm and foot. Because of misaligned joints and spine, everyday activities create a lot of pain […]
“Rebuild the Life You Deserve” – Interview with Recovery Advocate Paul Williams
I am so pleased to present the talented Paul Williams, singer,song-writer, composer and actor. You know those oldies but ‘greaties’, We’ve Only Just Begun, Rainy Days and Mondays, Evergreen, Just An Old Fashioned Love Song. “You know you’re an alcoholic when you misplace a decade and I did.” Mr. Williams overcame his addiction to alcohol and […]
Feeling Normal Through Cancer – Interview With Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Photo by Mike Lovett I am pleased to introduce you to Letty Cottin Pogrebin, writer, lecturer and activist. She has written a new book , How To Be A Friend To A Friend Who’s Sick. The subject of friendship and illness came to the forefront for her as she went through her own battle […]
The “‘Yes, I Can’ Column of My Life” – An Interview with Glenda Watson Hyatt
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 used in her household growing […]
Our Journey Inward – From What Was to What Is: An Interview with Katrina Kenison
“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 yet how reluctant we are […]
Steven Benvenisti: Victim of Drunken Driving Accident Treated His Therapy Sessions Like Football Practice
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 poor as he lay in […]
“A Mind Like Schwarzenegger’s Body” – Interview with Susan Fernbach on Behalf of Mark O’Brien (The Sessions)
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 month was near with […]
Interview with Priscilla Gilman – Embracing the Strengths of a Special Needs Child
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 in a very personal way […]
Help Stop Prescription Drug Abuse with Shannon Rouse Ruiz
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. Ruiz accepted my request for […]
Interview with Robin Smalley of Mothers2Mothers
I am very pleased to introduce you to Robin 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 other mothers. Ms. Smalley […]