Topics from the book: (Examples Below/Sample Audio Linked with Photo of Anita Speaking)
Little Girl Lost — Thriving Beyond Sexual Abuse
Who’s Your Daddy — Identity Crisis/Identity Defined
Debt and Daddy’s Hands — The Invisible Forces Contributing to a Debt Crisis
Spread Too Thin — Overcoming Work Related Anxiety
Homeless in Seattle — Rebounding from Foreclosure, Downsizing, and Bankruptcy
Family Feuds — Dealing with Relationship Breakdowns Close to Home
The Affairs of Marriage — Getting Through the Dark Valley of Betrayal
Crushing Blows — Chronic Pain and Suicidal Thoughts
Scars of Love — The Gift of Life through Organ Donation (I am a living donor of nearly twenty years)
Death’s Destructive Path — Surviving Natural Disaster and the Loss of Your Child
Valley Freedom — The 12 Step Map to Walking Past Your Pain into Lasting Freedom
I tell dramatic stories, insert humorous one-liners, use real-life examples, provide credible references, offer well researched information, while I stay to the point, and give the audience true takeaway value! I am energetic, dynamic, approachable, and inspirational — these are not my words, but those of others.
Valley Walker — Five Lessons from Auschwitz
When I met Dr. Edith Eger, I was in the darkest emotional pit I’d ever experienced. At seventy-three years old, she was a force to be reckoned with, and it was hard to imagine she’d once nearly died in the infamous Nazi prison camp called Auschwitz.
In a miraculous moment, Edie under no provocation except from God alone, asked me to meet with her. I spent an entire day hearing her stories first hand — then she asked me about mine. My brokenness spilled out, but she scooped it up into her compassionate heart. And then she told me five things that changed my life, and started me on a path to deep healing.
1. Edie said, “You have a child inside who needs a parent. You be that parent.”
I applied this lesson by remembering, parents offer us love and they also teach us boundaries. When I’m tempted to procrastinate or partially complete something, I mother myself with these words, “Don’t stop until you’ve finished.” I also brush the tears off my face, and give myself hugs when I hurt.
2. Edie said, “Forgive yourself and others. Be patient while you learn.”
I learned forgiveness is a process that requires more than a decision, it also takes time. I must exercise patience with myself while I learn to release bitterness and enjoy the freedom of peace.
3. Edie said, “Trust decisions based on truth. Stand your ground with hard choices.”
I realized, facts don’t change, but perceptions can. If you’ve honestly evaluated your decisions, and know they are based on truth versus pure emotion, stand on them. Do not question what you know is real and right.
4. Edie said, “Keep walking. One step at a time.”
I must accept that life gets tough, especially when I’m weary. But I can’t give up when I’m overwhelmed. I must pick up my feet and resolve to take one more step when hard times hit. Each move forward propels me closer to the end of the dark tunnel. Jesus will catch me on the verge of collapse. Ultimately, I will step into the light if I don’t stop.
5. Edie said, “Offer your talents to the world without expectation. Receive the overflow without guilt.”
Prior to meeting Edie, I’d buried my dreams. I had to stop allowing fears, negative opinions, lack of resources, or past hurts to keep me from taking action. One choice at a time, I let Christ lead me into the promised land of a purposeful life — otherwise, I wouldn’t have written this today.
The five lessons Edie shared from her time in Auschwitz helped me get through something I’ll never get over. God handed me a miracle wrapped in a tiny, wizened Holocaust survivor. Maybe, through these words, she’s your miracle today.
PTSD in the Everday Person: How to Identify It — How to Heal It
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder isn’t exclusive to the military. Whether you are reeling from death, illness, accident, betrayal, identity issues, job anxieties, financial collapse, relationship breakdowns, or natural disaster, you could be suffering from PTSD unaware. But there are real solutions to this real phenomena.
Learn how others, people like you and me, not only learned to survive things they’ll never get over, but are thriving as they get through.
Compassion Fatigue/Secondary Traumatic Stress
In a world full of real-time breaking news blasting us from every TV, tablet, radio, and smartphone, we are a people bombarded with bad news and dramatic occurences. Too much information makes us tune out, turn off, and take little notice.
But this growing problem is also costing us our compassion and care for others. Fewer are willing to get involved, to offer comfort, to lend a helping hand. We are losing our humanity at a racing pace. Until you are on the receiving end of a disaster, you might not think it matters to you — but there’s one thing you can count on: whether we know it or not, we will all eventually experience something we’ll never get over.
Learn how pain-filled people can laugh yet again. Discover simple, yet profound ways we can touch each other and make a positive difference. Your quest could save a life.
