Hi everyone!
First, Dotsie, let me thank you for inviting me here. I'm honored--and delighted--to be a part of this forum. I can't wait to chat with everyone!

Let me start by emphasizing that five years ago I couldn't have imagined being a writer, let alone one of Dotsie's featured authors. But I've learned that I have many more gifts and talents than I thought. We all do.

When I got the idea to write DEFYING GRAVITY, I was teaching English at a community college in Connecticut and looking for ways to help my students keep focused on their goals. Then in January of 2000 I came across an article in The New York Times about a 65-year old Kentucky woman named Wini Yunker. She had waited 39 years to join the Peace Corps and was leaving for a two-year assignment in Ukraine. I was so inspired by her persistence and courage that I decided to write a book about women like her--even though I'd never written anything before. The result is DEFYING GRAVITY.

As you might imagine, I have quite a story to tell and a wealth of experience to share about how to create the lives we want. I'm sure many more pieces of my story will come out as I chat with all of you. But, for now, I just want to say hello.

I'm excited to see where the conversation leads. We all have so much to teach one another!