From Amy:

Ten years ago this month, I started my 21st year of teaching with painful confirmations that my career was on its last legs: betrayal by people in power and a frozen right shoulder (my dominant side) that made it hard to write on the board.

I didn’t know how or when I would make the leap to the life of a working creative. But I knew I had run out of options in my longtime school district.

It turned out to be two things.

First: I had to leave. When the semester ended in January, I did. My body insisted I do so. Certain people made sure it happened… some who didn’t have my back, some who absolutely did. Thanks to them, even (especially) in that fearful passage, I experienced HOPE.

Second: After my escape, I kept hope alive by cobbling together activities in person and online, including a book revision cohort that met around a dining room table in South Minneapolis, led by an occasional mentor of mine. I got admitted by promising to finish my manuscript in time for my critique, several months in. That’s where I met Keri Mangis, also processing the end of a dream.

When my book’s turn came to be read, my draft was done, but I backed out for reasons that boil down to a still-raw and reactive nervous system. Of that group, I only trusted Keri to read my draft.

And when we reached the milestone of being published—our respective book launch parties—you better believe we were there for each other.

I pulled oracle cards, doing readings for guests at Keri’s February 2020 launch, just before the world shut down. And of course I was going to podcast about Keri’s TEDx Talk experience this summer.

See, every time I get to witness Keri’s path or she mine, we both have something to offer and we both take something away. I feel a bit more courageous. Every time, without fail. This time as well.

Keri’s talking about menopause: One life period ending, a promising period starting. Her TEDx idea is to celebrate that passage with women.

I’m here for the celebration.

And we’ll both keep walking.

Keri Mangis is more than just an author and speaker—she’s a guide for those seeking deeper meaning and transformation in a chaotic world. With over 20 years of experience as a wholeness advocate and spiritual teacher, Keri understands the frustration of feeling stuck and disconnected. Through her writing and teachings, Keri helps people break free from limiting beliefs to rediscover their true essence and align with their core values. Her spiritual and personal growth studies and certifications have run the gamut over the years from yoga, Ayurveda, energy work, and meditation. Most recently, she has taken on studying Alchemy, Jungian Psychology, archetypes, and rites of passage. Her writing has appeared in Spirituality and Health Magazine, Star Tribune, Elephant Journal, and others. Her first book, Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness, received multiple awards, including the 2020 IPA award for Mind, Body & Spirit and the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal in Non-Fiction Spiritual and Supernatural.

She is currently working on her second book, an illuminating exploration of personal and collective transformation that will empower readers to evolve their consciousness for an uncertain future.

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Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats.

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