Welcome to Our New Series:
Choosing Compassion Over Fear
My own personal journey from a rebellious and tortured childhood to eventual healing and reconciliation depended on gradually learning to choose compassion over fear. You can read about it in my new book Nothing Bad Between Us, which is now available for order.
Someone interviewing me on a podcast recently asked, “What does it mean to be broken?” My response: “A feeling of being so beaten up that even anger and rage finally die. Hopelessness. No fight left.” Read Here
Today, we are honored to bring you a special blog from wellness author Nita Sweeney. Read Here
Today, we are honored to bring you a special post from Jennifer O’Brien, author of The Hospice Doctor’s Widow: A Journal. Read Here
It’s scary to write a memoir that includes my many embarrassing failures as well as my hard-won successes. It’s even scarier to put it out there into the world. Read Here
Today, we are honored to bring you a special excerpt from Dr. Joshua Coleman’s book, Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict. Read Here
As I await the final results of the election of 2020, I am reflecting on the fact that no matter which candidate wins, half of the citizens of my country will likely feel angry and devastated. The other half can easily fall into being self-righteously triumphant. Read Here
Today, we are honored to bring you a very special letter from award-winning author, champion ultra-runner, life coach, activist and mother of two young children, Susie Rinehart. Read Here
Today, we are honored to feature an excerpt from Jackie Shannon Hollis. Jackie is a writer, storyteller, speaker and the author of the memoir, This Particular Happiness: A Childless Love Story. Read Here
Today, we are honored to present a very special excerpt from the book The Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation & Transformation. Read Here
Today, we are honored to present a very special excerpt from Dawna Markova. Dawna is an internationally renowned thought leader and personal growth expert. Read Here
Today, we are honored to present a very special excerpt from Doug Bradley’s book Who’ll Stop the Rain: Respect, Remembrance, and Reconciliation in Post-Vietnam America. Read Here
Today, we are honored to present a very special excerpt from author, speaker and transformational coach Rachael Wolff’s insightful book, Letters from a Better Me: How Becoming an Empowered Woman Transforms the World. Read Here
Today, we are honored to present a very special excerpt from Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford’s marvelous book, Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World. Read Here
Today, I’m honored to introduce Shawn Askinosie, coauthor with his daughter, Lawren, of the book, Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul. Read Here
This guest blog brings you the thinking of New York Times best-selling author Dr. Stephen Post on finding your creative and compassionate calling. Read Here
Many of us are suffering in the midst of COVID, a stagnant economy, raging wildfires, hurricanes and social/political upheaval. How often have I recently seen these words on social media “I am so done with 2020!” Read Here
The abandonment and loss I’ve experienced in my life caused me to cultivate a belief that I could never fully depend on or trust others, because the people who were supposed to love, support and care for me the most, had not, and this left me feeling unwanted, unworthy and unloved. Read Here
Today’s guest on our podcast Kim Colegrove lost her husband David to suicide in 2014, less than three months after he retired from a 30-year law enforcement career. Read Here
In the coming weeks and months, my guests in our upcoming series on Choosing Compassion over Fear will be sharing their personal stories. My teacher Fr. Richard tells me that there are always three levels of stories: My story, Our story and The story. Read Here
Join Me
If you wish to engage with me in exploring ways we can move toward compassion rather than fear, I invite you to tune in at marlenafiol.com for bi-weekly blog posts and podcast episodes covering a wide range of perspectives, from finding your true calling, to healing estranged family ties. Participants include Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity, and Tom DeWolf, Program Manager of Coming to the Table, among many others. The series begins on September 21, 2020 and will run through the first week of December.
Remember, we are together on this journey.
— Marlena
