Blog Archives
Thursday 5/23/19 Dealing & Healing Book Reading & Author event in NoVA
For those in the Northern Virginia area, I’m pleased to announce that this Thursday 5/23 the Patrick Henry Library in Vienna VA will be hosting us to share and discuss our Dealing and Healing with Parkinson’s and Other Health Conditions book from 7:30pm-9pm. We will be reading excerpts from the book and taking questions from the audience. Copies of the book will be on sale and we will be signing books also.
No registration is required for this evening. You can visit the library’s event page for more information or click the link or image to download the flyer below. We hope to see you on Thursday!
Patrick Henry Library Book Event flyer 2019
Rock Steady Boxing–It’s so much more than just boxing!
I recently joined a Rock Steady Boxing class! The class and the instructor are wonderful! If you have Parkinson’s disease and haven’t tried the Rock Steady Boxing program, I encourage you to find the nearest program in your area. The camaraderie and encouragement amongst the participants is uplifting and inspiring.
The workout is tough, lively, active, loud, motivating, and rewarding. I hate to admit it, but I am getting older. I’m rediscovering muscles that I have not used for a good while. For an hour and a half, the boxers either move through a series of exercise stations made up of quick thinking and moving games, flexibility or core exercises, many of them borrowed from yoga focusing on balance, strength, posture, and mobility. The program is flourishing, as it should. It’s novel, fresh, and effective! This program does something amazing—it makes working out fun again, for me.
Rock Steady Boxing NOVA has been an experience that I did not expect! The whole class has bonded and become a unified group. Everyone supports the other and encourages their fellow boxers. Our coach and leader, Alec, is a charismatic and inspired young man who really strives to make improvements in our class’s lives. 
My first two classes, the workouts kicked my butt! I am happy to say that I can see an improvement in my strength, balance, and overall fitness. Rock Steady Boxing is a welcomed break in my day and week. I see the boxing as a moving meditation. It is a break that I look forward to, as well as seeing my boxing friends and putting on the gloves. I think this program builds your confidence as much as your body. Rock Steady Boxing is like a fast-paced support group that makes you sweat.
If you are looking for an opportunity to get a great workout, build some muscle, make some new friends, and pound some punching-bags, then I encourage you to try Rock Steady Boxing in your area to see if it’s right for you! 
Motivation
What gets you out of bed every day?
What makes you happy?
What inspires you?
Every day may be about small victories.
They count.
Be proud of your achievements.
Don’t discount yourself or what you accomplish.
Book To Come
As I near the completion of my book-to-be, A Soft Voice In A Noisy World: A Manual To Dealing And Healing With Parkinson’s Disease And Other Illnesses, I am both jubilant and yet pensive to see this 20 plus year conglomeration of insights, helpful hints, daily inspiration, healthful ideas, and resources come to a close. While I hope this book to be the first of many, as I am not short on words, topics, or fresh thoughts, this book still finalizes the end of an era and with luck, unleashes a new one.
I have had the good fortune of having my voice heard worldwide on BBC radio, my face on Japanese national television, seen on CBS news, and been published in national newspapers in hope of change through patient advocacy. Through this book, I am hopeful that a better and more complete understanding of Parkinson’s and illness in general can be met head on.
What I hope to accomplish is to provide a service to the health and medical community as a resource that shines a light on some thoughtful and soulful lessons learned from living over half of my 45 years with Parkinson’s disease. Inspiration is a vital component in daily survival and even more so when you get out of bed not always feeling your best. While everyone has a story, everyone has a life lesson to offer and share. I believe that there is a book inside us all. With luck and determination, I will make this a reality.
This book, and those still to come excite me for I am not short on messages in both fiction and non-fiction, yet I am nostalgic in a sense as I contemplate the bittersweet moment of the completion of this book- to- be.
