My Life
Breathe here now.
Sometimes I forget to breathe. Confession time--I've got a bit of a Superwoman complex. If there's someone in need (including a small yappy dog) I think I'm the one to rescue. This "complex" has led to an absolutely crazy schedule, one in which at the end of the day...
Gone to the dogs.
I've been a dog hater. After all, dogs are so needy. They make a lot of noise (and poop). Badly behaved ones bite, and pee on furniture, and everywhere, simply everywhere, is hair from the endless scratching even when they're dosed with rabidly-expensive flea sh*t....
Making the call to Child Protective Services
Sometimes I hate my job as a school counselor and therapist. Something bad happened over the weekend to one of my student clients. Her face is unusually shuttered, eyes down, monosyllabic answers to my questions, denials that anything more than a "fight" happened at...
10 Things I've Learned
This has been a stressful year, filled with transitions and change. Change is not a favored activity for most humans. We tend to form habits (to save energy) patterns and ruts, and when major changes occur, stress happens. This leads me to #1: #1: Stress is a good...
How do you get to doing what you love?
This is one person's story. I do what I love. I'm a therapist, and its my privilege and honor to witness stories, hold the bottle for tears, and be present in the deepest pain and greatest breakthroughs. What a calling! and for us, this unique modern priesthood, each...
Kids should read more. Adults too.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing a book in a kid's hands. It's kind of a visceral thing, because books are one of the finest things we've done as a species. I have some new adolescent clients, and when the kid showed up at my office with a book in his hands--not...
In praise of the Stay-cation.
Renaissance Man and I decided to grab a week of vacation before the summer ends, and after freaking out over the interisland fares (we miss you Aloha Airlines! You helped create some competition!) we decided to do a stay-cation and do it up here on Maui like the...
My Writing
Black Jasmine is here!
Black Jasmine is here! My most dangerous and risky novel yet, Black Jasmine is set on my home island of Maui. Here's the blurb: The island of Maui is turquoise ocean, stunning vistas, and whalesong—but organized crime has a hidden hold, and Detective Lei Texeira...
Straw into gold: turning life experiences into story
Straw into gold—turning life experiences into story My current job description is self-employed clinical social worker and author (my dream careers I’ve been working toward my whole life), but prior to this I’ve had a number of colorful jobs and life experiences: Food...
Ten Signs You’re a Successful Author
Ten signs you’re a successful author: You have to hire a bookkeeper to comb through the accounts and figure out how you got money and where from. (Once it gets to be several thousand dollars, it gets worrisome.) Because of the above situation, you leave a secure job...
Top Three Reasons to Give Away Your Book.
Top three reasons to give away your book: ah, it seems counter-intuitive to give away your book, doesn’t it? How giving away your book (Torch Ginger) helps sales is. . . paradoxical. (and it's free this weekend, 9/1 to 9/3/2012 just click on the title to access a...
Following dreams and doing your purpose
Following your dreams and doing your purpose while living in the shadow of mortality is what makes life sweet. We had a rough year in 2011. My husband’s health was in crisis, and the whole year we were in “survival mode”—me working three jobs to keep the boat afloat,...
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