Francesco
Francesco was on the verge of starting his dream career in magazine fashion when he was in a diving accident that left him with a severe and crippling spinal injury. Unable to use his arms or legs, doctors told him he would never breathe on his own or feel his body again. After intense physical therapy he started to breathe on his own again. He still does five hours of physical therapy a day and can now use his arms, and has feeling in...
Michael
Dr. Michael Maddaus is a thoracic and foregut surgeon with the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center. He is board certified in surgery and thoracic surgery and his clinical experience is focused on lung cancer, esophageal cancer, GERD, esophageal reflux, and gastric cancer.
Michael had a difficult childhood. His mother was an alcoholic and he grew up poor without his biological father. His stepfather was abusive. He was arrested 24 times as a juvenile, abused drugs and alcohol, and was a car thief.
Knowing he would...
Bristol Baughan
Bristol Baughan is an award-winning, freelance film director, producer and consultant. She became a TEDIndia Fellow in 2009 and will be participating in the State Department Documentary Showcase in 2010. She Executive Produced the Academy Award Nominated Documentary WHICH WAY HOME directed by Rebecca Cammisa and BY THE PEOPLE: THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA alongside Edward Norton. She produced the feature documentary RACING DREAMS by Oscar Nominated director Marshall Curry. RACING DREAMS won the jury prize for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival...
Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert is a writer and author of the books Stern Men, The Last American Man, and Pilgrims. Her latest book, Eat, Pray, Love, is a #1 New York Times best-selling memoir about the year she spent traveling the world alone after a difficult divorce.
In addition to writing books, Elizabeth Gilbert has worked steadily as a journalist. Throughout much of the 1990s she was on staff at SPIN magazine, where – with humor and pathos – she chronicled diverse individuals and subcultures, covering everything from rodeo's Buckle Bunnies to China's headlong construction of...
Charles Hoge, M.D.
Charles W. Hoge, MD, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) directed the U.S. military's premiere research program on the mental health and neurological effects of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2002 to 2009 at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He deployed to Iraq in 2004 to improve combat stress care. A national expert on war-related mental health issues and traumatic brain injury, Dr. Hoge has testified to Congress and is interviewed frequently by national news organizations. His articles on PTSD, mild traumatic brain...
Mark Greenberg Ph.D.
Since 1981, Dr. Greenberg has been examining the effectiveness of school and family-based curricula to improve the social, emotional, and cognitive competence of elementary-aged children. He is a senior investigator on a number of prevention projects involving early childhood interventions involving both schools and families. He is the author of more than 200 journal articles and book chapters on developmental psychopathology, well-being, and the effects of prevention efforts on children and families. He consults with government agencies and foundations at the local, state, federal,...
Bill
Bill lost his job at Lehman Brothers during the financial meltdown. His lay-off coincided with his wife’s maternity leave so they decided to take advantage of them both being off work. They bought an RV and traveled around the country for six months.
After their tour of the US ended and they came back to New York City, Bill assumed the role of stay-at-home dad while his wife returned to work. He found it hard to look for a job and take care of a...
Rebekah Sanderlin
Rebekah Sanderlin is an Army wife, mother of two preschoolers and a freelance writer. Her popular blog "Operation Marriage" has appeared on The Fayetteville Observer's website (http://blogs.fayobserver.com/operationmarriage) for the last five years. She also writes two columns for The Fayetteville Observer and is a frequent contributor to Military.com, CinCHouse.com, CityView magazine and National Public Radio's All Things Considered program. She worked full-time as a journalist prior to the birth of her son in 2004 and her work received numerous awards in investigative reporting and...
Simone Biles Bravely Stands Up For Her Mental Health
It’s easy to malign an athlete when they fail to perform according to our expectations. We do it regularly when a quarterback misses a simple throw or a basketball player misses an easy dunk. We do it from the safety of our recliners, safely ensconced in a world where we personally sacrifice little in order to express our usually-unoriginal opinion.
When we watch the Olympics, however, that discontent when an athlete fails to perform can be taken to another level. There is a belief –-...
Louise Hay
Louise Hay is one of the founders of the self-help movement. She is a best selling author and the founder of Hay House, a major self-help publisher that has sold millions of books and tapes worldwide.
Louise Hay was able to put her philosophies into practice when she was diagnosed with cancer. She considered the alternatives to surgery and drugs, and instead developed an intensive program of affirmations, visualization, nutritional cleansing, and psychotherapy. Within six months, she was completely healed of cancer.
In 1984, Louise Hay's...