- A Short Course in KindnessAlong the way, I have worked as a top-ranked manager at Hewlett-Packard and a news editor on three major newspapers. I also founded The Healing Woman, an acclaimed journal and non-profit self-help organization for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.- EMDR: The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and Trauma.
- The Soul in the Computer: Story of a Corporate Revolutionary
- Sassy Feet! Paint, Embellish and LOVE Your Shoes (and Bags)!
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A Biographical Sketch
Like all good Geminis, I have had an abundance of unusual jobs -- and even careers. In addition to being an author, book editor, newspaper editor, professional do-gooder, high-tech manager, and marketing consultant, I have worked as a fabric artist, seamstress, ski lodge bookkeeper, photography columnist, tour guide, barmaid (in a GI bar, no less), and sales clerk at Liberty's of London.
I grew up in Philadelphia and attended Sarah Lawrence College and Williams College. From there I moved to Europe, where I lived, traveled and worked for six years. When I returned to the U.S., I went into the soon-to-be-struggling newspaper business. I worked first as a copy editor then as a news editor on the Philadelphia Bulletin, the Dallas Times-Herald, and the award-winning San Jose Mercury News.
In 1984, I left the stressful world of journalism for high-tech. I worked in Silicon Valley at Hewlett-Packard as a technical writer, then became a project manager and senior writing consultant. In 1991 my personal life spurred me to change direction, and I founded The Healing Woman, a monthly journal for women in recovery from childhood sexual abuse.
We started with 124 subscribers and built it into a widely respected publication with 17,000 readers in all 50 states and 14 countries. As part of running The Healing Woman, I made a lot of media appearances and gave inspirational talks about how to turn a difficult childhood into a rich and rewarding future. I appeared on TV, addressed national conferences on psychology and personal growth, taught at Esalen Institute, and published numerous audio tapes of my talks.
During this time I also started editing books for individuals who had something important to say, but needed help saying it in print. Never content to do one (or two or three) things at a time, I co-authored two books in the 1990s, EMDR: The Breakthrough "Eye Movement" Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and Trauma and The Soul in the Computer: Story of a Corporate Revolutionary. The latter is the story of an amazing woman -- sadly, it is out of print but you can find second-hand copies online. I highly recommend it.
In 2003, I published a book that was all my own, A Short Course in Kindness: a little book on the importance of love and the relative unimportance of just about everything else. It was widely featured in daily newspapers and on radio. Its foreword was graciously written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of Pay It Forward. It was also named a Book of the Year finalist by both ForeWord magazine and the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
In the new millennium, I continued working as an independent book editor and writing coach, and noticed that my hobby -- wearable art -- was absorbing more and more of my time and interest. Three years later I started a website and online store called Sassy Feet, which is all about painting and embellishing shoes. (Later, I added handbags to the mix.)
In 2008, I published the first edition of Sassy Feet! How to Paint, Embellish and LOVE Your Shoes (and Bags)! The expanded second edition is now out, co-authored with a wonderful creative artist, Destiny Carter. We are finally closing our online store later this year.
Then in 2013, I started working with a past client and continuing dear friend, Rayona Sharpnack, as a blog writer, internet researcher, social media poster, presentation editor and more. Anything that involved Rayona's communicating with words was my baliwick. She is a powerhouse of a woman and her two companies, Institute for Women's Leadership and Institute for Gender Parnership, have made a huge impact on the growth of women's leadership and the acceptance of diversity/inclusion in the business world.
Now I do all of the above -- write, edit, research, post and use my artisan skills for my own pleasure.