Susan Allison-Dean
  • Home
  • About Susan
  • Books
  • Book Club
  • Read-Ponder-Comment Blog
  • Bane's Next Step
Find Susan on

Looking UP

12/30/2014

0 Comments

 
A photo blog of some images seen above from 2014. Enjoy.
Wishing you a healthy and happy 2015!
0 Comments

Wild- Another example of how Nature heals

12/28/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Have you ever felt like you have spent your last emotional penny?  Mentally, emotionally, and/or psychologically you were flat broke-desperately in need of a sizeable deposit?  Writer, Cheryl Strayed, recounts how the loss of her mother, the only parent she depended on, took such a withdrawal from her soul that she turned to hard drugs and casual sex to dull the pain.  Strayed, however, bravely trusted her instinct to walk the Pacific Crest Trail, alone-not knowing where it would lead her.  Each step literally and metaphorically was an attempt to become whole again.  What struck me most was how nature, not modern medicine, provided the antidote to her suffering. Wild, Strayed’s best-selling memoir is now also available in a newly released film version.   Treat yourself.  I’d love to hear what you think of it.

The protagonist, Jill Bradley, in my debut novel, I Know You’re There, also flees to nature after loss, betrayal and a traumatic life event leave her clinging to the planet by her fingernails. Bradley, impulsively heads to a remote Caribbean island where the lure of sand, salt and the sea offer her comfort.  The science of water and its healing ability is now being validated. Dr. Wallace J. Nichols has compiled his research and that from other experts in his new book, Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do.  If you’ve ever wondered why you are drawn to the ocean, a lake or warm bath, you’ll love his book.

As our planet becomes more populated and filled with more technology, perhaps we have under appreciated what was commonly available to us.  Quiet forests where trees older than we serve as a reminder that there may be storms we may have to endure. Where the radiant-orange sunrise reminds us the world does not stop to wait for us. And the blooming of our favorite spring flowers tell us life is full of renewal and magic.

Do you find peace in nature?  Share your favorite ways to connect.


#Wild #BlueMind #Nature #Healing 






 

0 Comments

Decreasing Holiday stress-Create Your own Holiday!

12/19/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
It’s not easy being jolly on demand.  It’s especially hard if you are one of the millions who travel over the river and through the woods to get to your holiday destination.  Add some sleet, snow, traffic, and airport delays and you’ll be looking for the rum to add to your eggnog.

Most holidays-religious or not, include gathering.  With over 7 billion people on planet earth and counting, perhaps it’s time we rethink all gathering at once. 

Enter create your own holiday!  This year we gave Thanksmas a try.  The urban dictionary defines Thanksmas as the celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas with family that will not be able to be together at Christmas.  We coordinated with our family in the north to find a day that would be convenient for everyone to gather.  We found a random Sunday in December.  There was no shortage of food, cheer and joy.  There were no traffic jams and no kids cranky from being over shuffled from house to house.  Even Mother Nature seemed to go with the idea as she gave us the gift of a clear, sunny day. 

If you decide to venture out on the holiday this season, I wish you well.  Be sure to look both ways, you don’t want to get run over by a reindeer.

Happy Holidays!


What do you do to make the holidays more festive?

0 Comments

    Author

    Susan's Novels Are Available on
    Amazon


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    July 2022
    May 2021
    April 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    May 2020
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    9/11
    9/11 Stories
    Accomplishment
    Alicia Silverstone
    Amaryllis
    Animal Captivity
    Animals
    Apple Pie
    Aquariums
    Art
    August
    Author
    Beach
    Bees
    Bibliotherapy
    Blackfish
    Blog
    Blog Contest
    Bodi Miller
    Book Club
    Book Club Books
    Book Club Menu
    Book Club Recommendations
    Book Club Suggestions
    Book Cover
    Book Cover Design
    Book Review
    Book Reviewer
    Book Sequel
    Breath
    Camping
    Caribbean
    Caribbean Vacation
    Cherokee Purple Tomato
    Children
    Chocolate
    Christmas
    Christopher Reeve
    Comfort Food
    Conservation
    Container Garden
    Contest
    Cooking
    Cove Guardians
    Daffodil
    Determination
    Dolphin
    Dolphin Captivity
    Dolphins
    Dolphins And Whales
    Dolphin Trips
    Dolphin Winter
    Easter
    Elephants
    Endurance
    Entertainment
    Environment
    Facebook
    Feel Better
    Floral Arranging
    Free Morgan
    Fun Book Club
    Fun Party Ideas
    Garage Storage
    Garden
    Gardening
    Garden Poem
    Girls Getaway
    Good Book
    Harvest Season
    Healing
    Holiday Humor
    Hope
    Humane
    Humor
    Ideas
    I Know You're There
    India Dolphins
    Indie Book
    Indie Publishing
    Inspirational Stories
    Inspiration Contest
    Japan
    Jerry Seinfled
    Jones Beach
    Kids
    Kids Entertainment
    Kind Diet
    Kind Vacation
    Kind Vacation For Kids
    KoKo The Gorilla
    Lean In
    Library
    Meditation
    Mompower
    Moms
    Mothers
    Music
    New York
    North Carolina
    Novel
    November
    Olympics
    Orcas
    Passover
    Peta
    Pets
    Pig
    Plant Based Diet
    Planting
    Prince William
    Prizes
    Pumpkins
    Readers
    Reggae
    Relax
    Resilience
    Robin Williams
    Seaworld
    Shark Culling Australia
    Shaun White
    Sochi
    Spring
    Spring Blooming Bulbs
    Spring Flowers
    Strong Women
    Success Through Stillness
    Summer
    Swim With Dolphins
    Taiji
    Technology
    The Cove
    Travel
    Travel Therapy
    Tugboat Design
    Twitter
    Vacation
    Vegan
    Vegetarian
    Whale
    Whale Captivity
    Whales
    Wild Animals
    Wildlife
    Win
    Women
    Women Role Models
    Women's Bookclub
    Women's Fiction
    Writing
    Writing A Book Review
    Writing A Story
    Writing Ideas
    Zoos

    RSS Feed

Picture

Copyright © 2014 Susan Allison-Dean. All Rights Reserved. Website by 
Tugboat Design.