In February of 2007, I sat in a leg brace using a wheelchair at times for mobility and contemplating an uncertain future after receiving the diagnosis of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. My body suffered the ravages of childhood paralytic polio followed by nine years of unrelenting trauma. I got still and discovered the healing power of poetry. My first poem, "Running the Race" foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run although I was barely able to walk at the time I wrote it. My pen became my divining rod for healing. This third collection of poems in a trilogy of poetry books about my healing journey is a celebration of my healing. They are a celebration of life and include the poems I wrote on the road to the 2009 Boston Marathon.
Wait, I have one more goal," Mary McManus told her personal trainer in February of 2008 shortly after coming out of her toe up leg brace. "I want to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital." Mary traded in her polio shoes for running shoes and embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Mary McManus was at the height of her career as a VA social worker when she was told by her team at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital's International Rehab Center for Polio in December of 2006 that she needed to quit her job if she had any hope of preventing the progression of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. In “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility” Mary takes you on her seven year healing odyssey as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma from her diagnosis, to taking a leap of faith to leave her award winning career at the VA to heal her life and follow her passion as a poet and writer. You'll experience her trials, tribulations and triumphs as she trains for and crosses the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and discovers the opportunity for healing in the wake of new trauma: the suicide of her nephew in 2011, and the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. This is Mary's journey of coming home to her human form free from the influences of the ghastly ghostly invaders who had invaded her sacred earthly home. Her memoir includes journals and blog posts from her seven year healing odyssey. This is her journey of transformation and her message of healing, hope and possibility.
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" takes you on Mary McManus' healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance tapping into the powerful connection she experienced to the Divine from an early age. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary's quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running. Her story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog, discovering the meaning of different ability and experiencing the stunning view from the back of the pack of a race. You will have the privilege of bearing witness to how Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her. The sport of running provides the backdrop for her journey and shines the spotlight on the very fabric that weaves together the running community. Through the redemptive power of running, Mary transformed from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary that tested her mettle while forging friendships to last a lifetime. As you'll discover in "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life.
Mary McManus, MSW, RYT is the embodiment of a spiritual warrior who combines her gift of poetry with her love of yoga in "Songs of Freedom:Poems From a Healing Odyssey Volume I:Elements of Healing." In December of 2006 Mary felt her world crashing around her after being given the life altering diagnosis of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. She discovered that her life as a clinical social worker, OCD, Type A personality was coming to an end and a new world was about to unfold before her. After coming to her yoga mat and the KMI Body work table of her beloved healer, teacher and friend, David Vendetti in 2011, Mary's recovery from paralytic polio and a traumatic childhood began in earnest. After a powerful breath work session, David told Mary to go home and write a beautiful poem. From that 'beautiful poem', "A Song of Freedom", Mary gave birth to this stunning collection of poems which take you Through the Fire, to Watering the Soul to a Breath of Fresh Air and finally Unearthing the Treasure of the beauty of her Being. Mary shares the elements of healing she discovered as she walked through the muck and mire of a traumatic past to arrive in a place of grace, love, healing and above all, freedom!
From their earliest days in America, Catholics organized to initiate and support charitable activities. A rapidly growing church community, although marked by widening church and ethnic differences, developed the extensive network of orphanages, hospitals, schools, and social agencies that came to represent the Catholic way of giving. But changing economic, political, and social conditions have often provoked sharp debate within the church about the obligation to give, priorities in giving, appropriate organization of religious charity, and the locus of authority over philanthropic resources. This first history of Catholic philanthropy in the United States chronicles the rich tradition of the church's charitable activities and the increasing tension between centralized control of giving and democratic participation.
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