Rarely do we come across a book that truly teaches us about ourselves as humans, through the waves that life tosses us amongst. Luckily for us, I'm happy to share a book that does just that - Lisa Overman's new memoir, Healing Through Love: The Journey of Rediscovering Joy. In her book, Overman shares a lifetime of experiences (as memoirs do), but then departs from the standard path of memoir into deep intercultural insight.

What happens when you wake up one day in your comfortable, climate-controlled, corporate career in middle management and say, “Enough! Money isn’t everything. I want to make a difference in our world”?

I have spent a lifetime in, and around, the ocean. When I am not in or at the ocean, I am thinking about the ocean! After 30 years of diving, I have seen the damage that global warming, trash, and especially plastic have wrought. Realizing that our oceans and coral reefs are in trouble, I am not alone in wondering how we can reach people and make the change that is needed so desperately. How can we make them care? So far, we have not been able to excite people to make change.

In a rural Mayan village, set on the edge of Lake Atitlan, a vibrant, yet disenfranchised community of indigenous Guatemalans struggle to overcome an epidemic of poverty and malnutrition. But with the help of a small community center, Konojel, their futures are looking brighter. 

When I lived in Haiti, my sister and I went to school in Port au Prince, but we ached and longed for summer vacations in Mirebalais every year. 

Ahh, summers of ripe mangos, chasing chickens in the farm, and eating all the candy before bed. Our grandparents spoiled us. We lived the good life.

Though my grandma spoiled us, she had limits. Every time I got in trouble, she wouldn't scream or shout, she would come over, get down to my level, and look at me and whisper "there's a good woman somewhere in there-- but it's gonna take some time."

Dressed in a Hogwarts t-shirt, standing in front of a room filled with eager writers and readers, most adorned in costumes, ranging from Maleficent to The Mad Hatter (me!), author Kristen Simmons explored and explained the magic of backstory. Personally, backstory is something I try and avoid whenever I can (which is never); I walked away with a sense of need to write someone's previous turmoil, love, and treason.