Heartscapes

By Meryl Ann Olson

from Lost and Found Again

I got lost again
in the maze of my mind
But this time I managed to leave my good sense behind
I thought that putting a bullet in my brain
would take away the fear and stop the pain
How tragic, how insane!
If only I could set my soul free from my body
Id be at peace again
Id live in ecstasy

from the preface to Meryls forthcoming memoir By Grace I Dance

On June 11, 1987, following a three-month period of hopelessness, self-doubt and fear I shot myself in the head at point blank range with a 22 caliber Beretta pistol my husband brought home one carefree afternoon for protection and target practice. It is a miracle that I am still alive to tell you this story. Even as I write these words now, years after the accident, I am amazed and horrified by what I actually did.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504962223

Meryl Ann Olson

Meryl Olson graduated with a degree in humanities and social science from Mercer County College in 2005. While at Mercer Meryl, she was honored by Phi Theta Kappa, USA Today, Governor Christie Whitman, and the NJ State Assembly as a scholar and community leader. From 1993–1995, while studying at MCC Meryl, she was president of the yoga club as well as its hatha yoga and meditation instructor. Meryl has been a natural health-care practitioner and massage therapist for over thirty years, interested in many fields, especially holistic health, metaphysics, UFOs, and the arts. She was a professional singer and dancer for fourteen years until mental illness and a tragic suicide attempt resulting in partial paralysis derailed her career. She is a minister of Universal Brotherhood since 1999 and is a student of New Thought. Her interest in Eastern philosophy began with reading Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha in grade school and then Autobiography of a Yogi. She met Muktananda in New York in 1981 and followed his successor, Gurumayi, to an ashram in India, where she chanted and meditated. She continues her practice today. She is also a volunteer of In Our Own Voice and presenter for the National Alliance of Mental Illness, believing education will reduce the stigma of mental illness in our community. Talking openly about mental illness will hopefully encourage more people with bipolar illness and depression to seek help from pastors, doctors, nurse practitioners, counselors, friends, and family members. Though she has had articles and poetry published in magazines, Heartscapes is Meryl’s first published book. In 2016, she plans to publish The ABCs of Reversing Depression and her memoir, By Grace I Dance.

Book preview

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