MSI Press Blog

Patricia Lorenz is an inspirational art-of-living writer and speaker and the author of 14 books. She’s one of the top contributing writers in the country to the  Chicken Soup for the Soul  books with over 75 stories in 60 of the  Chicken Soup  books. She’s had over 400 articles published in numerous magazines and newspapers, is a contributing writer for 26  Daily Guideposts  books and 50 anthologies, and is an award-winning newspaper columnist. Patricia raised two daughters and two sons in Wisconsin as a single parent. These days, Patricia and her hunka, hunka burnin’ love husband live in Largo, Florida where she loves her empty nest and the freedom to follow her dreams while she’s still awake. Her book,  57 Steps to Paradise: Finding Love in Midlife and Beyond , was published in June 2016. For more posts about Patricia and her works, click HERE .

Susan J. Lewis, Ph.D., J.D., is a multi-credentialed mental health professional with the unique combination of licensed psychologist, forensic psychologist, and attorney. She has 25 years of experience in clinical practice with unique populations who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. Dr. Lewis is a sought-after consultant, and as a national seminar instructor, she trains hundreds of mental health professionals each year. Dr. Lewis's book, From Deep Within, provides a rare look inside the minds of mentally ill individuals. Check out her book HERE .

Shenan (CB) Leaver has attended special education classes in Virginia, California, and Ohio and graduated from Hayes High School in Delaware, Ohio, where he was voted “class flirt.” A parishioner at the San Benedict (in the background) parish, he now lives in Hollister in San Benito County, California and works at a sheltered workshop, M&M, where he has many friends who like to listen to his tall tales, most of whichS are based on true stories, funny things that happen to one relative or another — or to him.     He has written a very special and very funny book about his mother,   Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest   (yes, true story). Stand by for edition 3, currently in the making. CB is also working on a similar volume about his father, tentatively titled   Daddy Waited . Shenan loves to receive email from readers! For more imformation on CB and his work, click HERE .

Betty Lou Leaver (Ph.D., Pushkin Institute, Moscow) is Director of The Literary Center of San Juan Bautista and previously served as provost, associate provost, and dean at the Defense Language Institute. She established an international language program at NASA for cosmonauts and astronauts assigned to the International Space Station; served as a language training supervisor at the Foreign Service Institute, curriculum developer for the Federal Foreign Language Training Lab, dean and chief academic officer at the New York Institute of Technology in Jordan, president of the American Global Studies Institute, co-director of the Center for the Advancement of Distinguished Language Proficiency at San Diego State University, and founding director of the Center for the Languages of the Central Asian Region at Indiana University; and provided consultation to educational programs in 24 countries. She has published 21 books, more than 100 articles, and is currently co-editing a book,  Tran

Dr. Peter Jonas was a soccer dad for 18 years and has recently transitions to the role of soccer granddad. When he isn't refereeing a match and dealing with outrageous parents, he works as a professor of research and statistics at Cardinal Stitch University. Soccer Is Fun without Parents is his fifth book in general and his first book with MSI Press. It has received accolades and won a bronze medal in the Readers' Favorite competition. For more posts on Petrer and his book, click HERE .

Nanette is a psychotherapist, career therapist, writer, and artist. She is available for lectures and workshops and has designed and facilitated workshops on “Karma, Destiny and Your Career,”and “Living From Your Heart,” which she has presented in the United States and in Canada. Nanette has a BA from Cooper Union and is trained in Psychosynthesis. She is a co-founder of The Center for Peace Through Culture, and is the founder and President of Higher Self Yoga. She has published several books on yoga, karma, and better self-understanding. She co-authored the popular MSI book, The Rose and the Sword: How to Balance Your Feminine and Masculine Energies , with the late Dr. Judith Bach.  Her latest MSI Press release is   How to Live from Your Heart: Deepen Relationships, Develop Creativity, and Discover Inner Wisdom ,  This book has won many awards, including  Book of the Year finalist American Book Fest Best Book Award Book Excellence Awar d Pinnacle Book Achieve me

Dr. Geri Henderson considers herself, first and foremost, a teacher and mentor but loves her roles as sister, aunt, and friend.  Geri has taught in a number of places such as the Caribbean, Jordan, Bahrain, LIthuania, Lebanon, Japan, Korea, and the US.  Her interests include a passion for music which she studied and subsequently taught for 30 years before beginning her second professional career in higher education. She is probably teaching literature and writing somewhere in the world right now. Her first book with MSI Press,   Thoughts without a Title , was edited while she was teaching in the Middle East and contains the stories and essays of Middle Eastern college students and their views of the world. Her second book, co-authored with Seanne Emerton,   Healing from Incest: Intimate Conversations with My Therapist , is gathering 5-star reviews and was selected as a 2015 Book of the Year Award Finalist. Her most recent book was written together with Richard Rice, author

Bertha D. Cooper’s 50-year career as a professional advocate for quality of life and health care of the elderly brings her advocacy and support to her contemporaries. Her book Old and On Hold came out in June. Her next book, Women, We're Only Old Once, will be out soon. Watch for it Read more posts by and about Bertha and her works HERE . 

Renyuan Dong works as a senior healthcare consultant based in Tokyo. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in both philosophy and economics, speaks three languages – English, Chinese and Japanese – and boasts of having traveled to over 30 countries. Most of the ideas presented in his book  Rainstorm of Tomorrow – The Ever-Flowing Banquet of Philosophy  matured during the author’s collegiate study of philosophy and economics, as well as his professional tenure in healthcare and biology; the shift wrought a cross-disciplinary mode of thinking, illuminating connections and contradictions that defy the boundaries of each subject. Through his travels, the author found persistent proofs of and supplements to his existing philosophical belief transcendent of the confines of any single culture. At the root of the author’s ideas, however, lie his inherent sense of alienation from the world and his vigilance against any established norms. The multinational identity of the author may help usher in

Dr. Andrew Harvey served in law enforcement for 25 years, the last 12 as a captain with a Southern California police agency.  He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from California State University at Los Angeles, and an educational doctorate in the field of organizational leadership from Pepperdine University.  He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the California POST Command College, the West Point Leadership Program, and is recognized in California as a master instructor. Dr. Harvey is an award-winning college educator, with two decades of college teaching experience at five different institutions, ranging from community college all the way through the university doctorate level. His book, Tucker and Me ,   is a delightful tale of a boyhood split between the South and the big city of Los Angeles. LISTEN TO MARY ANN RAEMISCH INTERVIEW ANDREW HARVEY ON  TUCKER AND ME  AND MORE Audio Player 00:00 00:00 Use Up/Down

Reverend Steven Greenebaum is founder of the Living Interfaith Church in Washington state. He holds Master's degrees in Mythology, Music, and Pastorial Studies. He has dedicated his life to the oneness of humanity, working for social and environmental justice through a multitude of forums. Minister, teacher, and both church and temple choir director, he has worked with Common Cause and marched at Standing Rock. He was the Founder/Executive Director of Citizens for Environmental Responsibility. His book, One Family: Indivisible, a spiritual memoir , placed as a finalist in the religion category of the American Book Fest Best Books Award in 2019. He has now written a book, Seeking Balance in an Unbalanced Time , dealing with the pandemic, that will be released in July 2020. Read more posts by and about Steven Greenebaum and his books HERE .

Gewanda is the founder and CEO of Hope and Healing Corporation, serving the needs of the marginalized of society locally and abroad to orphanages in Haiti and Africa. In 2003, she started an organization to help young girls and teens suffering with self-esteem and identity issues. Gewanda is a featured concert soloist, and her natural talent in music and  praise and worship has offered her the opportunity to minister and travel singing throughout the US, Canada and Bahamas. Levitical Praise was birthed out of these true authentic worship experiences. Johnson holds a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. Gewanda has worked with multiple multicultural and diversity assemblage of both professionals and laity groups in various settings. Most notable, in 2003, she was asked to speak to the highly Militant Religious Divides between the Protestants and Catholics in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Gewanda hosted a weekly radio show called “Message of Hope,” which dire

Christina Fisanick Greer, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of English at California University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches writing, literature, digital storytelling, and creative non-fiction. She has written dozens of articles about writing, especially as a form of therapy, and is the author of nearly thirty books. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, son, and two cats. Her book,  The Optimistic Food Addict: Recovering from Binge Eating Disorder , has attracted the attention of the Associated Press and of the National Eating Disorders Association. This book has been reviewed by many sources with high marks. Read these reviewers, along with many interviews of and articles by Christina HERE Read other posts by and about Christina and her book HERE .

A. Darius Husain is the Executive Director of Face to Face Academy, a charter high school in St. Paul, Minnesota whose mission is to graduate students considered most at risk for dropping out of high school. The Minnesota Department of Education named F2F a “High Quality Charter School” for its work in graduating students and closing the achievement gap. Newsweek named F2F as one of American’s Top High Schools 2014 in the category “Beating the Odds 2014 – Top Schools for Low Income Students.” Mr. Husain serves as the Director of Research for the International Medical and Educational Trust in Missouri. He holds a B.A. in psychology with an emphasis on experiential education from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and has completed Master’s course work in school counseling at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. His book,   Roadmap to Power , co-authored with Dr. Syed Arshad Husain, has been recommended by US Review of Books, highly reviewed by a numb

Shai Tubali is the author of fourteen books in the Hebrew language, among them bestselling and prize-winning fiction and non-fiction. For the last twelve years, he has taught spiritual transformation and spiritual therapy in Israel, Germany, and India. His knowledge of chakras and subtle anatomy derives from the Yogic Nityananda tradition through the American Yogi, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, and from working with thousands of people in hundreds of workshops. He developed the White Light method, which enables people to utilize their subtle anatomy and chakras for psychological and spiritual balance. Shai’s book,   The Seven Wisdoms of Life , was a   2013 Book of the Year finalist  and a USA Best Books Award 2015 finalist. His book,   A Guide to Bliss , has been a popular paperback and e-book. For more information about Shai, click HERE .

Dr. Bach, seated on the left, is a psychotherapist, writer and artist. She co-founded the Berkshire Center for Psychosynthesis in Massachusetts, and, later, the Psychosynthesis Institute of New York and for many years was a Psychosynthesis trainer, a therapeutic approach that recognizes and works with the creative and spiritual dimension of an individual. In addition to her long-time private practice and her work as a trainer, Dr. Bach has presented seminars in the United States, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.  She is the co-author, with Nanette Hucknall (seated on the right), of   The Rose and the Sword: Balancing Your Feminine and Masculine Energies . It is with sadness that we note that Judith Bach passed away March 3, 2019. Her co-author is alive and well and involved -- and we anticipate that readers will continue to enjoy The Rose and the Sword for years to come!

That question is answered decisively by his being selected as Doctor of the Year by the National Council of Behavioral Health. Listen to others introduce him and to his acceptance speech in the Youtube video HERE . Read other posts about Syed and his book, Road Map to Power , HERE .