Gutless & Grateful

Do you remember what age you were first asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Did you fantasize about being an astronaut, a superhero, a nurse?  Did you have a favorite sport to play, instrument to practice, story to read, or dream to lose yourself in Read more

Amy Oestreicher

Amy is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, speaker for RAINN, writer for The Huffington Post, award-winning health advocate, actress and playwright eagerly sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, performance, art and speaking.. In 2012, she wrote, directed and starred in a one woman musical about her life, Gutless & Grateful, touring theatres across the country for three years, and earning rave reviews and accolades since it’s BroadwayWorld Award-nominated NYC debut. As a visual artist, her art has been featured in esteemed galleries solo exhibitions, and her mixed media workshops emphasize creativity as an essential mindset. Amy’s “beautiful detour” inspired her to create the #LoveMyDetour movement, a social media campaign inspiring people to flourish because of, rather than in spite of challenges. Recipient of the Great Comebacks Award. Her Washington Post and On Being with Krista Tippet, and is a regular contributor for numerous publications including Elite Daily, The Mighty, Indie Chicks and Career Girl Daily. Her story has appeared on the TODAY Show, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, among others. Amy's passion for the arts as a means of healing and expression led her to devise storytelling workshops for the Transformative Language Arts Network National Conference, the Eating Recovery Center Foundation, and The League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling. Determined to bridge the gap of communication between wellness resources on college campuses and students, Amy is currently touring college campuses with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre. For information on keynote presentations, private coaching, workshops and signature talkbacks, visit amyoes.com.

Suburban Rant

Every day as a parent, I feel as if I’ve failed. It never gets easier, does it? Today when I dropped my daughter off at her new school, I felt her apprehension. It was a tangible, ‘reach out and cut it with a knife’ sort of hesitation. She hustled to Read more

Shanna DeMott

Shanna Sabet-DeMott is a freelance writer living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her husband George DeMott, sings Italian arias in the shower, and Pop-Opera around the world. She has an 11-year old daughter who has survived 3 brain surgeries, and who has shown her Mama the meaning of bravery at every turn. She is a lover of telling stories about food and life on her blogs, eatingoutvegas.com and stumblingbeauty.com.

Hanging with Deepak ~ in Pursuit of JOY and your very Best Self

I believe true beauty starts from within, works its way out and is an ever-evolving process. I have worked very hard on my body and mind, trying to refrain from the blahs, and negative thinking patterns. When I was presented, ‘gifted actually,’ the awesome mind-blowing, opportunity of a lifetime to Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.

An Unexamined Life is NOT Worth Living

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” The quote is attributed to Socrates. For a highly learned man not known for frivolity, these are very strong words. He is essentially telling us that unless we bother to ‘examine’ our lives, our way of being, our very existence and its purpose Read more

CAVEMAN

"Some days you're the windshield. Some days, you're the bug."