About the Author

Michele DeMarco, Rev. Ph.D. (2022) is an award-winning writer and published author in the fields of psychology, trauma, health, and spirituality, and is a professionally trained therapist, clinical ethicist, and trauma researcher specializing in moral injury and resilience. She is one of Medium's Top Writer's in Health and Mental Health. Her writing has garnered more than 3 million views as of July 2022 with an average of 15,000 views per week. One of her pieces related to this book topic a discussion of feeling, rather thinking, one's way through emotional pain using what Rev. DeMarco calls "benevolent honesty" has been viewed more than 100,000 times. Another piece related to emotional distress and resilience has been viewed more than 96,000 times. A third piece, in which she uses the phrase "holding onto air" to discuss somatic techniques to stay regulated during stressful situations, has been viewed 98,000 times. A recent article in POLITICO, based on Michele's personal story of loss, was viewed over a million times and was their lead story. Michele's writing has appeared in the New York Times, POLITICO, The Boston Globe, The Daily News, Psychology Today, The War Horse, Elemental, Forge, OneZero, Invisible Illness, Heart Support, Curious, The Ascent, Medium, and The Basement Series publications, Partners HealthCare journal, Living Well magazine, and Be Well and Life Without Baby blogs. She has been featured as a psychology, health, and spirituality expert for MindBodyGreen, The Daily News, WebMD, Integrated Practitioner, Bloomberg Radio/WNBP, Partners HealthCare, and the American Heart Association. Her non-fiction books include I'm Okay Right Now Really: Practices for Getting Anxiety Under Control in Real Time and Spirit Wellness. Her upcoming novel, About Others, won the national Mystery Writers of America's Helen McCloy Award for Mystery Writing. A native Bostonian, Michele holds master's degrees in World Religion and Ethics, Comparative Culture and Conflict, and Psychology, via a consortium comprising Harvard University, Boston College, and Boston University. She also studied Marriage and Family therapy at Antioch University, and has done further academic coursework in creative writing, education, marketing, and law. She is finishing her Ph.D. in Psychology at California Institute of Integral Studies (graduation 2022), where she is also the Executive Director of Communications, Marketing, and Strategic Relations and teaches Creative Nonfiction Writing and Conflict Transformation. Her fiction credits include the Mystery Writers of America's Helen McCloy Award for Mystery Writing, a Quill Award for an international short story contest, first place for a First Chapters Contest, a Festival of the Arts Writer's World Award for creative non-fiction, and the Doris Bell Scholarship for creative writing. She was also a resident at Lit Camp, a juried writer's conference and the joint venture between Litquake and the San Francisco Writers' Grotto. When Michele is not writing, she works helping individuals, couples, families, and groups to navigate change, transform conflict, and rebuild lives in the wake of crisis or transition. She is a sought-after speaker on the subjects of trauma and transition, resilience, and moral injury.