California Tour Part II

After the joyful outpouring of camaraderie at the Inanna House fundraiser luncheon at Running Rabbit Vineyards in Sonoma, CA, my spirits were running high in excitement over the awareness that a Lyme disease hospital really could “happen” in our future.  The woven threads of connection to so many special folks in the California Lyme community was so vital too.  It was such a special experience for one, to feel valued, as an author as a veteran homeopath and most poignantly as a Lyme survivor! Thank you again to Mara Williams, Eric Gorden and the many helpers who made the luncheon so successful. 

On Monday, March 26 I headed up to Santa Rosa to meet with my visionary publisher, Dawson Church.  He is such a brilliant mind and generous soul.  To have “Out of the Woods” published by someone on the cutting edge of epigenetic medicine and so in tune with the spiritual healing message of my story is a blessing.  Many publishers are just facts and figures, business oriented beings, Dawson is not that- he is a capable, heart centered, talented man.  Our visit in the rolling California hills, spring blossoms sprinkling the greening grass, was lovely and reassuring for me.  

Hunter and I traversed over the mountainous ridge via The Oak Ridge Grade.  The twisting, hairpin steep road of switch backs was a snakey journey, homes tucked in on ledges. Wow! What views, we descended through lacey leaved oaks and eucalyptus, into the magical Napa Valley.  My breath caught in my chest on one overlook, taking in the graceful sweep of wine country. How I grasped the accolades this region receives.

Our host was the high spirited, enchanting T. Beller, an interior designer extraordinaire and fellow Aquarian.  Her home, our accommodations and her giving heart were such welcomes.  By the end of my Pharmaca book presentation and scrumptious Napa meal I was ready to pack my house up and move on over to Napa.  

I love the energy of Northern California.  Open and expansive, new growth seems to be the best word.  I sense this energy is what accompanies living on an “active fault line,” versus the more staid, retiring, energy of the weathered mountains of Northern New England, our earth energy more sleepy and placid.

Pouring rains deluged our remaining days. Puddle jumping to Seattle in a twin prop airplane, lavender cherry blossoms accented the now endless grey environs.  But, dear friend and master Feldenkrais trainer, Jeff Haller, helped direct us to the Pacific Northwest.  My lyme lecture at the charming Friends, Philosophy Teahouse was terrific.  We had a big turn-out and lots of interesting conversations ensued.

Seattle appears to be more Lyme savvy than many other regions.  With Dr. Klinghardt’s academy there, naturopaths being insurance reimbursed, Bastyr College, homeopaths and acupuncturists in solid numbers, there is more availability to the restorative therapeutics so necessary to rebuilding the very depleted bodily systems, a common denominator in most every Chronic Lyme case I know.

As I mention in every Lyme talk I present – LYME DISEASE is he epidemic of our era that asks us to marry the two hands of health care; the diagnostics and pharmaceutical weaponry of conventional, allopathic medicine with the restorative, therapeutics of natural medicine.  Two hands working together are better than just one. 

I hope to embed this message as deeply as I can into everyone’s consciousness.  Creating an Integrative Health care approach is essential with Chronic Lyme, and we are way behind the curve in the USA.  Most European countries have incorporated Integrative Medicine into their health care systems, and they have less chronic disease than we do.  Lyme demands an Integrative Medical alliance; all chronic illness does essentially.  

In the meanwhile, thank you Seattle and your strong network of Lyme support groups, for uniting with me.  Your Lyme community is active and strong.  I hope to be back in the fall at Bastyr.

The last leg of my whirlwind West Coast book tour took me to the Olympic Peninsula for a family wedding.  The magical moment occurred on the last five mile stretch of my 4,000 mile journey, rounding a sweeping curve in the road, as we edged along a quiet bay, I glanced overhead to find a grand Bald Eagle flying right over our car!  For those of you whom have read “Out of the Woods,” you will recognize the meaning of the eagle’s presence to me- without a shadow of a doubt, this was a confirmation of me being guided and protected on this most wondrous journey!

As always, I bow to my masterful guides and teachers on the earthplane and in the spirit world.  My gratitude is everlasting.

Thank you California, the Pacific Northwest, the Lyme community, my treasured friends old and new, for supporting me and “Out of the Woods,” in my mission to expand Lyme awareness and my message of hope for recovery, even against all odds.  Healing on any and all levels is possible!

With Blessings, 

Kim

My West Coast Book Tour- part 1

“Out of the Woods West Coast Book Tour- Part 1”

What a wondrous two week book tour trek up the northern half of the west coast I experienced! “Out of the Woods, Healing Lyme Disease- Body, Mind & Spirit” opened the door, introducing me to some stunningly beautiful locations, as well as aligning me with equally beautiful people. The entire trip blessedly went smoothly, even in a Mercury retrograde.
Departing from Boston’s Logan Airport on a soft March morning, butterflies swarmed in my stomach, nervous anticipation the entire week prior. Into the sky I soared, writing my assorted Lyme lectures as we traversed the broad continent. For a formerly bedridden Lymie, who’d lost a career, a marriage, my health and self-confidence, this solo venture involved huge risk and certainly, steady stamina. Could I really do this? I’d been wondering for some time. Even a robust author would be daunted by six events in eight days.
But, like my quest to summit a mountain peak or to reclaim my health when so utterly collapsed for years, I felt my willpower push me forward. After all, I wanted to introduce California and Washington to “Out of the Woods” and to look into the eyes of those who suffered as I had, with reassurance for recovery.
San Francisco greeted me, a nippy wind off the bay, with luscious fruit trees in bloom and blue skies snappy bright. Staying with long-lost friends, I felt cozy and safe, their family life more familiar than a hotel room, a warm touchstone for me, having lived such a simple life for over two decades now.
The Book Shop in Hayward, East Bay was my first venue. A small cluster attended, but what great connections we shared. Two women had suffered for 25 years with misdiagnosed Lyme, precious years stripped from them.
I must say I loved Berkeley! What a great energy there tucked against the hills; quaint homes, eclectic shops, vivid Bird of Paradise flowers and that classic hotel, the Claremont sitting sentinel in backdrop. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Friday March 23rd, NOE Integrative Health hosted me, a talented group of Homeopaths. I was so pleased to bring firsthand Lyme information to them, helping to strengthen their Lyme treatment repertoire and build a base of Lyme literate homeopaths. Our holistic discipline offers supportive relief and help to the Lyme afflicted. It’s been a cornerstone to my recovery. Now, I’m interfacing with our national council to compile a list of Lyme literate homeopaths nationwide.
Meanwhile the city buzzed in harmony on a spring night.
San Francisco holds some sort of great natural earth feng-shui. Every time I’ve visited this busy yet charming city, I’ve had a superb time. The enormous Pacific at its threshold, the sleepy hills swaddled in Avalon-like fog, the blend of architecture, commerce, arts and history all simmer together like a finely spiced paella. This city is, crowded, yet tempered; sprawling, yet contained; ethnically diverse, yet congruent. My sense is the large bay and ocean, and massive open sky balance the hubbub and congestion in a way NYC or LA can only envy.
The cherry on top was an overnight with a college friend in Tiburon, a peninsula of stunning natural beauty, trimmed with a lacing of elegant homes and a yachting life. Wow! I stood at the quay staring at San Francisco glimmering like Oz in the distance, the massive Golden Gate Bridge a ribbon of welcome to my right. For a country girl, swaddled back home in hillsides of pines, this vista sent shivers up my spine.
Saturday morning the floodgates opened, torrential rain pounding on my rental car windshield. Another wave of nervousness crescendoed within, for now I had to drive north alone on a highway. To most of you this sounds nonsensical, but from my perspective I was undertaking a large endeavor. Having been so sick for long years on end, I’d been unable to drive even locally, on country lanes, too week and dizzy. Last year was the first time I’d driven on a highway in seven years; I white-knuckled it, stopping each hour to gather my wits and ease the adrenaline. Though rattled, it was an important milestone in my recovery- tackling the once-familiar interstate.
Now, a new challenge awaited: driving 100% alone, in an unfamiliar rental car, on unknown roads, in teeming rain. I tapped Santa Rosa city center into my smartphone GPS and off “we” went, the direction guide voice as my companion. Surprisingly, I eased off the exit an hour later, nonplussed and somehow feeling kinda liberated, like I was back in my 20’s- adventurous and confident, ready for anything! Wow! I was growing in new ways, I sensed.
I lunched with Courtney Arnold, my most talented editor for “Out of the Woods.” Eighteen months after our first meeting, she and I are now entwined in the elegant magic of words, the grueling glare of deadlines and blessedly, in the joy of a job well done, “Out of the Woods” securing a coveted finalist award for Best Book in Alternative Health 2011 with USA BOOK NEWS. I wished we lived near one another and not 3,000 miles apart.
Settling into the Sonoma Mission Inn, its stucco charm and vintner extravaganza downstairs warmed the now raw, cold weather. A sleepy moodiness quilted the wine country sky. Awaiting Hunter’s arrival, I burrowed under my bedcover for a long overdue nap, buoyed by the fun I was having and strides of accomplishment I was taking as a recovered Lymie.
Dinner was divine. We supped with vivacious and talented Mara Williams, author of “Nature’s Dirty Needle” and her warm-hearted husband Erl. The four of us were like long-lost family, similar in spirit and pathos. The time soared by, Mara and I collaborating on our ambitions for Inanna House, the first ‘to be’ residential Lyme treatment facility in the USA. Oh, how we hope to see this truly happen! “Passionate about changing the Lyme dilemma” is an understatement regarding the two of us! We can “taste” Inanna House on the horizon!
Sunday, March 25th, was our BIG DAY- the kickoff fundraiser for Inanna House, held at Running Rabbit Ranch & Vineyards, many hands and hearts working together. It was absolutely wonderful! Please see the website, http://www.InannaHouse.com for photos and more details.
Mara, Eric Gordon, MD and myself all spoke about Lyme disease; our experiences with it, the tragedy of this neglected epidemic, and the keys for a successful recovery. Seventy people in attendance, great food and heartfelt sharing combined to make this an absolute milestone in my life! I was in awe speaking in front of a full house, the gorgeous California vineyards in backdrop out the open doors. I soaked in the profound power of the moment. My heart was filling, tears licking my cheeks, recognizing how far I’d come in 12 years, from invalid status, to write and publish a book, travel alone and lecture, and now offer hope for others’ healing, here amid a crowd of concerned folks, could not hit me any more directly. Yes it’s true! I healed from advanced Lyme disease, I’m now sturdy and strong, and I am helping others regain their lives alongside two of the most talented Lyme practitioners in the country.
Thank you California for embracing me! Your land, your hearts, your sunshine and warmth overwhelms me, and it all feels so good! My smile reaches the hilltops.
-Next Blog to come: Part Two of my West Coast Book Tour

Thank you’s to the West Coast

After a stunning 2 week trip to the USA West coast, lecturing on Lyme disease, with my book, “OUT OF THE WOODS, HEALING LYME DISEASE”, I am both elated and exhausted. What whirlwind, how much fun, what terrific people I met, how horrific the swathe of this illness!

It was a complete honor to be welcomed by so many wonderful folks at the Lyme support groups, at Noe Integrative Health Care in San francisco, at the fabulous Inanna House fundraiser in Sonoma Valley, at the bookstores and in the charming sphere of beauty at Friends, Philosophy & Tea in Seattle.

I will share more details of the journey and my discoveries in my next blog, but for now I wanted to extend my thanks to the dear old and new friends who hosted me and made things WORK in my schedule!

My publicist, Jennifer Geronimo- you rock! To my assistants, Christine Pressman and Donna Falcone, you wove together so many PR details and thank you! Mara and Erl Williams, you are so true and soul centered. Sara Logan, bless your social media savvy. Carolyn Makens and family, thank you for the cozy dwelling and meals. Plus, my orange hat is a keepsake. Renita Hermann and my homeopathic colleagues, let’s show the world how our remedies shine in this illness! Dana Ullmann, keep up those sales! Wonderful Bob Lorentzen, thank you for climbing the mountain passes, toting Mara and my books’ to the venues! You saved the day.

The enchanting voice of T Beller chirrs in my mind, rooting for me and OUT OF THE WOODS in so many ways. Thank you for making Napa so marvelous and my new ‘home’ away from home. Dr. Eric Gordon, you are a shining star in the world of medicine. I loved sharing the podium with you and Mara at the Inanna House luncheon. I wish more medicine men could be as balanced and wise as you. To all the helping hands who drew the success of the luncheon together, may you shine in the light of knowing we ‘seeded’ the healing hospital of lyme disease’s future with such synergistic energy of loving support. Thank you for welcoming me and my message of spiritual healing.

Seattle was a rain fest, but also a great outpouring of lyme friends. Thank you eternally remarkable feldenkrais trainer, Jefrey Haller, for arranging my venue in Bellevue. And, to Alex, lyme support guru, your guidance is so vital in this hurricane of illness for so many. Deborah Drake and Astara Briski thank you for the PR.

And, last but not least, to all the lyme afflicted, their caregivers and friends, a true thank you for coming out to hear me, to read and share OUT OF THE WOODS, and to unite in the collective energy of healing the wounded spirits so rife in this decimating epidemic. I value and recognize the gifts you all extended to me, in time, in welcome, in joy and in your attention to details….my weakness. And, not to be forgotten, are my thanks to the great natural beauty of California and Washington. The sun and sky, ocean, hot springs and teetering mountains gave me strength and stamina to manage 6 talks in 8 days! I was supported in so many ways, and am grateful- truly.

Namaste.