Kathy Brown, R.N., C.S.P., president of Energetically Speaking, is a motivational humorist, keynote speaker, and author. She has written two books: Living Happily Ever Laughter and I Only Have a Minute . . . So Let’s Make It Matter. Her website is www.kathybrown or e-mail her at
[email protected] Dr. Marlene Caroselli is the author of sixty business books and uncountable articles/curricula. She conducts corporate training and makes keynote presentations. You may reach her at
[email protected] Jacqueline Gray Carrico received her associate’s degree in nursing, with honors, in 2003. She was an L.P.N. for twenty-six years before she returned to school. Jacqueline is a wife, and mother of a son in college. She was previously published in Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother’s Soul.
Tracy Crump graduated from Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1976 and worked five years in the ICU. She has been married to Stan for thirty-one years and has two grown sons, Brian and Jeremy, whom she home-schooled. She now enjoys freelance writing and can be reached at
[email protected] Barbara Cueto is worship leader at Coronado Baptist Church in El Paso, Texas. She’s authored two books—From Mafia Princess to God’s Princess: A Memoir, and Been There, Done That, meditations for addicts. She lives with her husband, Joe, and their sons, Nicholas and Joey. Contact her at
[email protected] Ronald P. Culberson, Director of Everything! at FUNsulting, etc., is a speaker, humorist, columnist, author, and former hospice social worker whose mission is to help redefine excellence in health care through humor.
Jeri Darby has been in nursing for twenty-six years. She has been writing for ten years and has over seventy published articles and poems. Jeri enjoys conducting seminars and making inspirational gifts. In the future she plans to write devotionals and Christian romance books. You may contact Jeri at
[email protected] Lola Di Giulio De Maci loves writing for children. Her inspiration comes from her now-grown children and the many children she has taught over the years. She enjoys contributing to Chicken Soup for the Soul books and being an inspirational speaker. She writes in a sunny loft overlooking the San Bernardino Mountains. E-mail her at
[email protected] Kathy B.Dempsey is president of KeepShedding! Inc., a speaking, training, and consulting company that helps individuals and organizations grow and change by “shedding their skin.” Kathy is the author of the award-winning book, Shed or You’re Dead: 31 unConventional Strategies for Growth and Change. E-mail her at
[email protected] Denise A. Dewald writes personal experience articles and poetry for the Christian market. She has been widely published and some of her work has been read on Christian radio stations. She enjoys reading, camping, her family, and her pets. She is currently working on her memoirs. She can be reached at
[email protected] Twink DeWitt lives in Hideaway, Texas, with her husband, Denny. Since his retirement, they’ve served with Mercy Ships and Youth with a Mission for fifteen years. Twink, who helps others improve their writing, especially enjoyed crafting this story about Haiti with her daughter-in-law, Anna. Twink can be reached at
[email protected] Terry Evans has been a nurse for almost forty years and a writer since she was in high school. She is proud of her profession and for that reason, she writes. Terry wants to share the experiences of her career. She is married and the mother of three grown boys.
Eva Marie Everson is an award-winning author and a national and international speaker. She is the author of the bestselling Potluck Club series Oasis and Sex, Lies & High School. Her upcoming work includes a book about the Holy Land for Thomas Nelson/Nelson Bibles. Her website is www.EvaMarie Everson.com.
John A. Fagley has been married to his wife, Veronica, for forty years. He is a retired design engineer. He has taught Scripture for twenty-five years at Blessed Sacrament Church in Tonawanda, New York. He has led an in-home Bible study for eight years.He is a cancer survivor, and half the members of the Bible study are survivors also. He can be reached at
[email protected] Karen Fisher-Alaniz enjoys reading, photography, and vacationing on the Oregon coast. She lives in Walla Walla, Washington, with her husband and three children. She is currently writing a memoir based on her father’s wartime secrets and her quest to understand.
Jude L. Fleming holds a master of nursing degree in holistic nursing and a family nurse practitioner degree from Beth-El School of Nursing, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She is currently working in the emergency department of a busy city hospital. She spends her winters skiing and her summers hiking, waterskiing, and camping, enjoying the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Helen French, R.N., B.S.N., Clinical 111 at the University of Virginia, is a member of STTI International Honor Society, assisted with the H2e Memorandum of Understanding, and in 1989 founded the University of Virginia MERCI Program, which was recognized by State of Virginia Resolution #739.
Patricia J. Gardner received her bachelor of science in nursing from the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and is certified in hospice and palliative care. Pursuit of a master’s degree in English is on hold while she travels for her hospice employer. Pat often finds inspiration for stories in the unsung heroes she encounters while nursing. Besides travel, Pat enjoys reading, movies, genealogy, and hiking. Please e-mail her at
[email protected] Dr. Val Gokenbach is a vice president and chief nurse executive. She is involved in community initiatives, including the creation of Safety City USA, a nonprofit interactive learning facility for the community. She is widely recognized as an international speaker for her passion for leadership and the promotion of nursing as a profession.
Ivani Greppi returned to college at the age of thirty. In 1992 she received her associate’s degree in nursing. Ivani’s passions include her family,writing, reading, and traveling. She plans to write the story of her family’s conversion to Christianity. Contact her at
[email protected] Barbara Haile is a sixty-five-year-old mother of five and grandmother of eight. She has been a professional speaker for the last seventeen years and is a graduate of UpperClass, a Christian leaders and speakers group headed by Florence Littauer. She is acting spokesperson for Happy Hooves, an equestrian therapy organization specializing in disabled children and adults.
Patty Smith Hall received her nursing degree from Kennesaw State University in 1984. Since her recovery, she writes devotionals and Christian fiction with publications in Guideposts and God Allows U-Turns. Patty lives in Michigan with her husband, Dan, and daughters, Jennifer and Carly. E-mail her at pattynell
[email protected] Gina Hamor received her nursing degree in the Philippines and is on staff at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn campus. She thanks her late parents, Jose and Delores Hamor, and her dear late foster mother, M. Jesse de Cardy, for their great love and guidance, and for allowing her to see the world. Reach her at
[email protected] Jonny Hawkins draws cartoons full-time from his home in Sherwood, Michigan, alongside his lovely wife, Carissa, the CFO of his tiny humor enterprise. They are parents to two young boys, Nate and Zach, and their brand-new baby, Kara, born January 21, 2007. Jonny dedicates the cartoons in this book to Carissa and his little redhead, Kara Elise.
Sue Henley lives in Tennessee. She recently became a widow after twenty-nine years of marriage and has two daughters. She works in a lockdown facility with adolescent boys. She enjoys taking care of others and writing about the lessons she’s learned from her patients, family, and friends. E-mail her at
[email protected] Cheryl Herndon, C.N.M., ARNP, received her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1991. She has delivered more than 2,000 babies. She has been married thirty-seven years and has five grandchildren. Cheryl is an inspirational speaker and author. E-mail her at
[email protected] A freelance writer,Margaret Hevel has had stories published inmagazines and books: Western Horseman, Reminisce, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s S
oul, and others. She and her daughter just finished Parenting with Pets: The Magic of Raising Children with Animals. Her novel, The Ivory Elephant, is on Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.
Miriam Hill is the coauthor of Fabulous Florida and a frequent contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Her work has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Grit Magazine, St. Petersburg Times, and Poynter Online. Miriam’s manuscript was awarded Honorable Mention in the Inspirational Writing category of the 75th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.
Sharon T. Hinton is an R.N. and paramedic specializing in parish nursing. Sharon writes fiction and nonfiction and speaks nationally about spiritual journaling and other topics. Sharon lives with her husband and two children on the family farmin ruralwest Texas. Contact her at
[email protected] Beverly Houseman is a retired R.N. and the author of Rusty and Me: A Mother’s Story, and a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul, and Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul. She is a counselor and childbirth educator for a crisis pregnancy center in Kissimmee, Florida. E-mail her at
[email protected] Cindy Hval and her husband, Derek, are raising four sons, ages seven to seventeen, in Spokane, Washington. Her work has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Mother and Son Soul, Chicken Soup for the New Mom’s Soul, and various magazines. She’s a correspondent for the Spokesman Review newspaper. Contact her at
[email protected] Thankful for life, Vanessa Bruce Ingold gladly shares her near-death experience and all she’s learned from it with interested groups. She has many published book articles, including one in Chicken Soup for the Healthy Soul Living Series: Heart Disease. She and her husband live in Fullerton, California. Contact her at JCnessa.com.
Daniel James lives with his wife in Colorado. He is an observer of nature and human nature and is cursed or blessed with a dictate to wrestle with the wily word, which one day he hopes to do well.
Ellen Javernick is a second-grade teacher and freelance writer who lives in Loveland, Colorado. She enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her five grandchildren.
Anne Johnson owes all she is to the Lord. Her husband, Matt, is a true blessing as are her two children, Moriah and Christopher. Anne praises God for the ability to be a wife, mother, daughter, registered nurse, freelance writer, and Sunday school teacher.
Kathleen E. Jones is an R.N. and a freelance author. The inspiration for her stories comes from the children she cared for in her twenty years as a pediatric nurse. She facilitates a monthly writing group and is working on a novel about her nursing career. E-mail her at
[email protected] Jessica Kennedy received her B.A. from the University of California at Davis in 1995. At 26, she had a brain stem stroke and became a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic. A speaker at classes for respiratory therapists and a writer of inspirational articles, she foresees a bright future. E-mail her at jessica
[email protected] Ruth Kephart works as an R.N. in Pennsylvania and writes poetry and short stories in her spare time. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals and anthologies and she has recently released her first collection of poetry, For Everything There Is a Season. Contact her at
[email protected] Jean Kirnak, one of eleven children of homesteader parents in central Montana, attended school in a one-roomlog schoolhouse. After nursing school graduation, she was an army nurse, then received a bachelor of science degree at the medical school in Portland, Oregon. Since retirement in 1994, she has pursued a writing hobby.
Margaret Lang is an author of twenty-three published stories, a speaker at women’s groups, a missionary to Thailand, and a grandmother of two girls. Coauthor Nancy Madson is a mother and grandmother and has enjoyed a lifetime of nursing. In her retirement, she rehabilitates wounded dogs at home.
Flo LeClair has practiced oncology and hospice nursing in Worcester, Massachusetts, since 1981. She continues to find it an honor and a privilege to be at the bedside of those passing from this world to the next. Her sense of humor and deep faith are lifesavers against caregiver burnout. Reach her at
[email protected] Christine Linton celebrated thirty-one years as an R.N. this summer. Her love of writing dates back to high school, when she was editor of her high school newspaper. She is married to Alan, and they have two grown children, Amanda and Michael. She continues to work at Scottsdale Healthcare in the NICU.
Mary Clare Lockman works as an R.N. in a busy oncology/hospice unit. She is the author of a humorous memoir, Warning! Family Vacations May Be Hazardous to Your Health, and a children’s book, Barefoot, Shoefoot. She enjoys family and friends, golf, traveling, reading, and writing. Reach her via e-mail at mclockman @msn.com.
Susan Lugli is a Christian speaker and author.Her stories have been published in Chicken Soup for the ChristianWoman’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul, and Today’s Christian Woman magazine. She is an advocate for burn survivors and speaks on their behalf. She lives on a ranch in central California. E-mail her at
[email protected] Susan Fae Malkin graduated from nursing school in January 1970, and can’t imagine doing anything else! She worked in operating rooms as a staff nurse and an educator. She now works in emergency medicine. Susan has been published in various nursing journals and in Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul. E-mail her at
[email protected] Kelly Fordyce Martindale is a full-time publisher, writer, and owner of the Carbon Valley Consumers Report. Many of her published articles and presentations are on women’s issues. Kelly coauthored the popular book Loved by Choice: True Stories That Celebrate Adoption. She and her family live in Colorado.
Patrick Mendoza has been an internationally acclaimed folk singer and storyteller since 1976. Prior to his career as an entertainer, Pat served in the United States Navy for four years, and worked as a police officer for seven and a half years. Reach him at
[email protected] Maryjo Faith Morgan belongs to the Colorado Authors’ League (www. coloradoauthors.org). She hosts a weekly writers’ workshop, which furthers members’ writing careers. Maryjo produces a wide variety of written work, including business text, magazine features, and creative nonfiction. Her husband, Fred (www.fredsusedwebsites.com), is the webmaster behind www.maryjofaithmorgan.com. They also enjoy tandem biking together.
Emily Morris is a newspaper reporter in Sarasota, Florida. The youngest of Pam and Geoff’s four children, she grew up listening to her parents’ stories about Vietnam, and is delighted her mom decided to record one of them. Emily, a Penn State graduate, has previously worked as a newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Colorado.
Glenna Anderson Muse is a respiratory therapist and writer who lives with her husband, Gene, in Springfield,Missouri. She also has a background in hotel convention planning, and owned her own catering business. She keeps her finger in the cooking pot through a food blog atwww.afridgefulloffood.typepad.com.
Tori Nichols is an R.N., writer, business owner, and proud mother. She has worked in pediatrics, orthopedics, surgical, and telemetry, capping it off with a decade in the ICU. Tori lives in southern Illinois with the love of her life. Together they operateNicholsPhotography.ContactTori atwww.nicholsphoto.com.
Brian O’Malley is an adventurer, photographer, and professional speaker. His presentations are a masterful blend of adventure and artistry. Brian’s presentations have entertained and empowered audiences around the world. From the slopes of Mount Everest to the jungles of Africa, Brian touches the human spirit, illustrating the importance of living life to its fullest. His website is www.BrianOMalley.com.
Kathleen D. Pagana, Ph.D., R.N., inspirational speaker and author, is a professor emeritus and president of Pagana Keynotes and Presentations. Her most requested presentations address Momentum Leadership, the Pursuit of Happiness, Professional Etiquette, and Time Management. She has written over fifty articles and eighteen books. Please visit her at www.kathleenpagana.com.
Kerry Pardue never
intended to become a poet. A medic, police officer, postal worker, and college recruiter, he is a 100 percent disabled veteran who served as a medic in Vietnam. His poems are about recovering from war. They are his road map to a place called home. E-mail him at
[email protected] Mark Parisi’s “off the mark” comic, syndicated since 1987, is distributed by United Media. Mark’s humor also graces greeting cards, T-shirts, calendars, magazines, newsletters, and books. Check out offthemark.com. Lynn is his wife/business partner. Their daughter, Jen, contributes with inspiration (as do three cats).
Mary Pennington, R.N., CNOR, RNFA, is an OR nurse at Wake Med in Raleigh, North Carolina. She resides in Angier, North Carolina, with her husband and two teenage children. Some of her interests include music and reading. She is actively involved in the nursing organizations, AORN. You may e-mail her at
[email protected] Carol McAdoo Rehme never played nurse or bandaged her dolls. Now a grandma, she’s relieved to pass the torch of responsibility to the next generation. Carol is a prolific writer, editor, and coauthor of numerous gift books. Her latest project, Chicken Soup for the Empty Nester’s Soul, will be released in 2008. E-mail her at
[email protected] James E. Robinson is an award-winning songwriter, successful singer, author, counselor, speaker, and founder of ProdigalSong Ministries (www.ProdigalSong.com). Combining music and educational workshops, he performs in churches throughout the country. In 2003, Jim published his first book, Prodigal Song: A Memoir. He lives with his wife and two children in Tennessee.
Karen Rowinsky is a speaker, author, and expert in living life to the fullest. After a twenty-five-year career in women’s and community health education, Karen returned to school and earned her master’s degree in social work in 2007. Contact her through her website: www.rowinsky.com.
Cyndi S. Schatzman, R.N., M.S., CCRN, a former nursing instructor and critical care nurse, is currently an inspirational speaker and writer. She is married to her college sweetheart, Todd, and has three children that she can wrestle to the ground over candy. Contact Cyndi for your next speaking engagement at
[email protected]