mental health

November 9, 2025

Writing for Wellness

What a treat it was to be back on campus. My Thursday morning journey to the Hill Library, tucked into the center of campus, was quiet. Reflective. I walked familiar paths, taking my time as I wound my way to the Quad. Giving the bust of Dr. William Rainey Harper, the college’s namesake, a secret Continue reading

Surviving Sue, Wellness, writing

author, event, Harper College, memoir, mental health, personal narratives, Surviving Sue, writing for wellness
August 24, 2025

Sharing and Healing

Maggie Watson is a joy. Her depth of understanding about the human condition is evident in her beautiful prose and poignant poetry. She exudes purpose in her writing, revealing the potency of healing through creativity and the power of sharing our stories. I love that Maggie understood the threads of empathy and compassion in “Surviving Continue reading

Surviving Sue, writing

author, books, gratitude, healing, Inspiration, Maggie Watson, mental health, poetry, Surviving Sue, Wellness
August 3, 2025

A Terrific Two-Fer: New “Surviving Sue” Review and a Fabulous Book Recommendation

When someone you admire offers praise, it’s a delicious gift! The talented author, Deborah Brasket’s new book will be available soon AND she found time to review “Surviving Sue”. Deborah’s novel, “When Things Go Missing” tells the story of a fractured family in a way that inspires. Characters I swear I’ve met – flawed and Continue reading

Surviving Sue, writing

authors, book reviews, Deborah Brasket, gratitude, Inspiration, mental health, new books, novels, Surviving Sue, Wellness, When Things Go Missing, writing
July 20, 2025

A “Surviving Sue” Birthday Gift!

“Surviving Sue” is celebrating a birthday – she’s officially two years old! Last week in a reflective moment I thought about the past two years and the enormous gratitude I feel for readers and their kind words, lovely reviews and comments. Whether it’s a call or an email outreach, my heart swells when readers connect. Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, book reviews, intergenerational healing, memoir, mental health, resilience, Surviving Sue, Wellness
June 5, 2025

“Surviving Sue” – Women Power – New Review!

I love a fresh review of “Surviving Sue”. A reader sent me a note last week and I’m still thinking about her thoughtful feedback. I think that’s what I love most about writing – learning what stands out to readers. Such a gift! Here’s the observation from Kaley: “Even though there were women who disappointed Continue reading

Surviving Sue, writing

author, compassion, Family, mental health, resilience, strength, Surviving Sue, women power
May 26, 2025

Road Trip Memory

I love my sister, Lisa, but there are days when time traveling with her can be tricky. Given her intellectual disabilities and the challenges of aging, I’m growing less certain about her accurate recall of family events and incidents. I’m noticing that she has a way of ‘patchwork-quilting‘ moments together – retrieving memories from the Continue reading

Family, Surviving Sue

author, disabilities, Family, love, mental health, relationships, Surviving Sue, Wellness
March 10, 2025

When You Crack Yourself Up: Just Say Thank You

I did it again. That thing I do when someone is kind and unexpectedly compliments me. It doesn’t matter if it’s about something innocuous or deeply personal, if I’m caught off guard I might babble. A lot. I wonder if the dear lady who simply wanted to express her admiration for my skirt understood. I Continue reading

Wellness

confidence, humor, mental health, personality, relationships, self-awareness, self-esteem, Wellness
February 13, 2025

Sharing Our Stories – “Surviving Sue” – New Review

I’ve yet to meet a memoirist who didn’t have a moment or two of panic about exposure. Baring ourselves, our stories and hoping for understanding. Hoping that the notes of resilience and empowerment shine through. I had those anxieties when I wrote “Surviving Sue“. They’d come in waves and torrents, but I carried on…ever hopeful Continue reading

Surviving Sue

book review, Edward Ortiz, empowerment, gratitude, memoir, mental health, resilience, Surviving Sue, Wellness
November 21, 2024

Loving Lisa & Supporting Her Team

I adore my intellectually disabled sister, Lisa, and many long-time readers know how grateful I am for the caring team which surrounds Lisa in her CILA (community integrated living arrangement). Her loving group home, staffed by dear ones who’ve become extensions of our family over the years. Staff members who work for the Clearbrook organization Continue reading

Family, kindness, Surviving Sue

#GivingTuesday, author, Clearbrook, disabilities, Family, gratitude, inclusion, mental health, writer
November 7, 2024

Extra Scoop of Grace

I’ve taken my own advice over the past day or so, limiting my overall media consumption from a self-care standpoint. My professional life has taken the forefront as I’ve offered care and resources to colleagues, clients, former students, friends and family members regarding the outcome of the Presidential election here in the U.S. If I Continue reading

Wellness

disabilities, diversity, election, LGBTQIA, love, mental health, self-care, stress reduction, Wellness, womens rights
October 7, 2024

New Reviews! “Surviving Sue”

I don’t think I’ll ever stop smiling when reviews of “Surviving Sue” come my way. Whether it’s my own busy days heightening my awareness about the preciousness of time or a new wave of gratitude, I am delighted when I receive reader feedback. And that’s before I read the review! 😉 Last week my ranking Continue reading

Surviving Sue, writing

author, book reviews, books, mental health, Surviving Sue, Wellness, writer
August 19, 2024

Lisa’s Got Game!

A reader of “Surviving Sue” asked recently about my sister Lisa’s awareness of the book, my blogging about her and our life with Sue. Such a good question… Given Lisa’s intellectual and developmental disabilities, I’ve never said, “I wrote a book about mom” because I knew it would stir residual emotional trauma for her. But Continue reading

Family, Surviving Sue

advocacy, author, disabilities, diversity, gratitude, love, mental health, pizza, Surviving Sue
July 25, 2024

Inspire

When readers of “Surviving Sue” ask about my courage and fortitude to write about my mom and my complicated life with her, I smile and share that I received plenty of support from allies and mentors along the way and choosing a career as a licensed counselor solidified my belief in the power of personal Continue reading

Surviving Sue

humanism, Inspiration, Maslow, mental health, psychology, self-care
June 4, 2024

Fresh Feedback & Coming Soon!

I’ve got some fresh feedback – two lovely reviews to share – and a reminder about an upcoming event! The friendly folks at the Woodstock Public Library have invited me to present on Tuesday, July 30 and I can’t wait: Navigating Elder Care with Humor and Grace | Woodstock Public Library (librarycalendar.com) Caregiving is a Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, books, caregiving, elder care, event, gratitude, mental health, self-care, Wellness
March 14, 2024

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Fault Lines

My mom, Sue, had a compulsive need to be right. She navigated most days in search of human fault lines, similar to the geological variety. Volatile and just beneath the surface. Dangerous, hard to detect, and ever-present. Sue sought fault lines and weaknesses in others as one of her defensive maneuvers. Her contentious behavior was best Continue reading

Surviving Sue

Adler, author, defense mechanisms, Family, forgiveness, healing, love, mental health, psychology, writer
February 14, 2024

I LOVE Reader Input 🥰

I’ve said this before…and I’ll ask for forgiveness in advance because I probably won’t stop. Reader input is the most wonderful, unexpected joy in writing. My mom’s story IS complicated, and a dear reader recently wondered if I could challenge myself to create a new graphic – one that might depict the messy ‘soup’ that Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, Design, feedback, infographic, love, mental health, writers
February 7, 2024

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Healing

My mom, Sue, had a very challenging childhood. Her father died when she was young, and she carried just two memories of him with her. I suspect her favorite involved fishing adventures and her first ‘big catch’. The photo my grandfather snapped of his girl, Suzie, became the cover art for “Surviving Sue” – the Continue reading

Surviving Sue

ACEs, author, book, grief, intergenerational healing, loss, love, mental health, resilience, Wellness
January 7, 2024

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Speakers Bureau

Two years ago, I’d just finished my experiment. My writing experiment. My audacious and scary commitment to write 500 -1000 words a day as the story about my mom, Sue, poured out of me. What began on October 1, 2021 as a lark, a project about writing for resilience and healing, turned into a book. Continue reading

Surviving Sue

authors, books, lifestyle, love, mental health, public speaking, resilience, self-care, Wellness
December 27, 2023

Embrace the Messy

I took a photo of the moon this morning. This moon – the one in the pic above. I had one eye open (barely) as I crept downstairs before dawn. The moonshine was so very bright I thought I’d missed a few hours of daylight. I thought the sun was already high in the sky. But Continue reading

Wellness

Family, gratitude, love, mental health, NAMI, self-care, stress, Wellness
December 19, 2023

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Heartfelt Feedback

I think one of the reasons I wrote about my mom, Sue, was to receive support and recognition for the effort and triumph of literally surviving Sue. If you’d asked me as I was wrote, I would’ve shrugged off that thought because I wanted to believe I was writing for posterity. To bring clarity for Continue reading

Surviving Sue

authors, disabilities, elder care, healing, memoir, mental health, personal narrative, writers
December 12, 2023

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Sue Had Rizz

Have you heard? The youthful Gen Z term,“rizz”, was crowned 2023’s word of the year by the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary: What it means: For those of us who haven’t heard the term before, “rizz” is slang for “style, charm, or attractiveness” or “the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner,” according to Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, book, humor, lifestyle, love, mental health, resilience, rizz, Surviving Sue, Wellness, writing
December 8, 2023

Podcast Friday! Best Friend…Part Deux

Shoot. Darn. Rats. I don’t know where that expression comes from (I haven’t dug in to find out) but it came into my life from a dear work colleague who often wanted to unleash every swear word in her arsenal when she saw someone being slighted or maligned. Instead, “Caitlin” would vehemently vent, while pacing Continue reading

Wellness

communication, kindness, lifestyle, mental health, podcast, relationships, self-care, Wellness
December 4, 2023

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Holiday Hopefulness

“We’ve all survived a Sue in our lives in one way or another. It’s a personal narrative that hits our hearts.” -Elizabeth I love Elizabeth’s feedback and wisdom. Yes — maybe your nemesis wasn’t named “Sue” but increasingly as readers dig into “Surviving Sue” I receive input that the challenges I wrote about are familiar. Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, book, holiday self-care, mental health, personal narrative, SAMHSA, Wellness, writing
December 1, 2023

Podcast Friday! Being Your Own Best Friend

It’s a delight when Wynne and I get to visit with our friend, Dr. Gerald Stein and this week’s podcast was sooooo good, it’s dropping in two parts. I find I’m especially ready to receive wisdom when the calendar turns to December. Something about the end of one year and the near dawn of the Continue reading

Wellness

mental health, podcast, self-care, Wellness, wisdom
November 17, 2023

Podcast Friday! Hot Tips for Writers

Oh…this was fun! Another visit with our friend and writer Brian Hannon talking about our common interests in writing about families. I love a good ‘tip list’ to keep me on track and inspire my writing and Brian found a gem of a resource, which he shares in this episode. I can’t lie, the tip Continue reading

Surviving Sue

authors, books, elder care, friendship, Inspiration, mental health, podcast, publishing, writers
September 25, 2023

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Hide & Seek

My mom, Sue, was a tortured artist. Throughout her life she tried to soothe herself and fill the empty spaces within by leaning into her creative side, especially painting. I included a few references to her artwork in “Surviving Sue” and wrote about her apology art a few months ago. Exploring her feelings with paint Continue reading

Surviving Sue

artists, author, love, mental health, pain, resilience, Wellness, writer
August 8, 2023

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Heal, Grow, Help

Hi there! I have a little inspiration to share with you today. I love this anonymous quote: In four super-short sentences and a mere eleven words, that quote describes my current state of being as a writer. Heal. Grow. Help. Yep. Maybe that should’ve been the drastically abbreviated version of my mom, Sue’s story. (For Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, Family, gratitude, love, memoir, mental health, moms and daughters, Wellness
August 1, 2023

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Weight of Lies

Never did I imagine writing a post that would link my mom, Sue, with Dostoevsky, yet here I am. Doing just that. Let me explain, by starting with a quote from “The Brothers Karamazov”: “A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in Continue reading

Surviving Sue

author, book, love, memoir, mental health, recovery, resilience, Wellness
July 26, 2023

When You Crack Yourself Up: Lisa and Dollar Store Delight

Every now and then I need to be an interpreter for my sweet sister, Lisa. When she’s overcome with laughter, the fine line between despair and delight can be hard to detect. Tears and torment might ride along with giggles and smiles. Mercurial and rapid, Lisa’s capacity for displaying the full range of human emotions Continue reading

Family

dementia, disabilities, humor, laugher, mental health, sister love, Wellness
December 30, 2022

Happy Birthday, Mom

Remembering the sunny days… Continue reading

Family

addiction, family memories, gratitude, love, mental health, moms and daughters
November 8, 2022

Spring in My Step

Summon that sunny attitude…and a little bounce, if you can… Continue reading

Wellness

gratitude, happiness, humor, joy, kindness, mental health, self-care, walking
October 25, 2022

When You Crack Yourself Up: Halloween Edition

Fun Halloween memories – pain and humor often ride together. Continue reading

Family

addiction, Alzheimers, dementia, family madness, gratitude, humor, mental health, moms and daughters, self-care
September 11, 2022

Finding My Way to Forgiveness

Despite the madness, forgiveness was always the destination. Continue reading

Family

Family, forgiveness, girlfriends, gratitude, love, mental health, self-care

“Surviving Sue”, a special story about resiliency and love: Eckhartz Press (paperback) and eBook on Amazon.

Peek Inside “Surviving Sue“

Visit Resources on Atkinson Group Solutions for more.

Podcasts

Listen to the “Sharing the Heart of the Matter” podcast.

You can find our podcast on Apple, Amazon, Spotify and Pocket Casts. Please subscribe!

Workshops

Chicago Writers Association Speakers Bureau – Writing for Wellness; Navigating Elder Care with Grace & Humor; How to Create a Writing Platform; AI for Caregivers

About Me

Learn about five books that inspired and supported my writing journey by visiting my personalized book review page on Shepherd.

BLOG ARCHIVES

Victoria Ponders

mental health

Writing for Wellness

Sharing and Healing

A Terrific Two-Fer: New “Surviving Sue” Review and a Fabulous Book Recommendation

A “Surviving Sue” Birthday Gift!

“Surviving Sue” – Women Power – New Review!

Road Trip Memory

When You Crack Yourself Up: Just Say Thank You

Sharing Our Stories – “Surviving Sue” – New Review

Loving Lisa & Supporting Her Team

Extra Scoop of Grace

New Reviews! “Surviving Sue”

Lisa’s Got Game!

Inspire

Fresh Feedback & Coming Soon!

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Fault Lines

I LOVE Reader Input 🥰

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Healing

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Speakers Bureau

Embrace the Messy

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Heartfelt Feedback

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Sue Had Rizz

Podcast Friday! Best Friend…Part Deux

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Holiday Hopefulness

Podcast Friday! Being Your Own Best Friend

Podcast Friday! Hot Tips for Writers

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Hide & Seek

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Heal, Grow, Help

Peek Inside: “Surviving Sue” – Weight of Lies

When You Crack Yourself Up: Lisa and Dollar Store Delight

Happy Birthday, Mom

Spring in My Step

When You Crack Yourself Up: Halloween Edition

Finding My Way to Forgiveness

Peek Inside “Surviving Sue“

Podcasts

Workshops

About Me

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