The rate of U.S. adolescents and young adults dying of suicide has reached its highest level in nearly two decades, according to a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. With over 6,200 suicides among people aged 15 to 24, suicide ranked as the second-leading cause of death for people in that age group in 2017. Most experts agree that the brain isn’t fully developed until the age of twenty-five, so impulse control and emotions can be difficult to manage before then. I remember being a teenager when problems seemed insurmountable. The sun comes out again dear ones… please hang in there until you can feel it […]

When I left the corporate world after a twenty-year career in sales and marketing, my dad asked me what was next on the horizon. I told him I was going to step out of the rat race and pursue my lifelong dream of writing. He was always optimistic and supportive, but I know deep inside he thought this was a very bad idea. I’d always made good money and to start a new career at my age was risky. More importantly, he worried the failure that comes with artistic endeavors such as writing would kill my sensitive spirit. But I did it anyway. I’ve had some wonderful successes and many […]

The older I get, the more grateful I am that true beauty is within us. I have wrinkles around my eyes, my skin has lost some firmness, and brown spots dot my once porcelain complexion, but I know my true essence is in my soul.

Jiminy Cricket had it right when he said to Pinocchio, "Let your conscience be your guide." But the naïve and trusting Pinocchio was still led astray to the sinful Pleasure Island. The concept of conscience is prominent in most world religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrian, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. In the literary traditions of the Bhagavad Gita, conscience is the label given to attributes composing knowledge about good and evil, that a soul gains from the completion of acts and consequent accretion of karma over many lifetimes. (Thankfully, I do not adhere to the prospect of reincarnation… this one life is hard enough!) For thousands of years, philosophers and scientists have […]

Amen.

We would all like a few "do overs." But unless you are a time traveler, you must deal with your past hurts and mistakes and move forward. #amyhagberg #todaysquote

UGH, this is a phrase I repeat to myself nearly every day. Writing is a true labor of love, whether you write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or songs. With every word I put down, I hope my work will capture the heart of a reader, somewhere… someday. I was in the corporate world for over two decades and began writing to make a difference. That corporate career was easier in so many ways and a fat paycheck every two weeks was fantastic, but writing is what I was born to do. Whatever it is you’re doing, whether it is work related, a commitment to diet and exercise, or volunteering for a […]