Another Circle of Life

Lisa and I both on the right, the night of the banquet.

 Last Sunday, one of life’s many circles was made complete.  

At my first Green Lake Christian Writers Conference in 2010, I met Lisa Klarner. She and I were both in Mary Pierce’s workshop wanting to learn more about writing memoir. I wanted to write about my journey to Africa, Lisa wanted to write about her journey through Social Anxiety Disorder. Our topics seemed so different, we were writing about different ends of the earth, yet what we had to say was so similar.

I haven’t heard much from Lisa over the last two years, and she hasn’t heard anything from me. Shortly before my book came out, I noticed on Facebook that she had published hers. I checked it out and promised myself that I would buy one.

Before I got around to that, Lisa e-mailed me. She had seen that my book also was out and wanted to compare notes on how our respective books were doing. We e-mailed back and forth, sharing insight on this business of promoting our books. Then it dawned on me that I was going to Green Bay this past weekend for a meeting and since she doesn’t live far from there, maybe we could get together.

Who knew thirty months ago that the two of us would someday be sitting down discussing marketing our books?

“Releasing The Secret Pain: Moving Beyond Social Anxiety Disorder” is not only the story of Lisa’s battle with social anxiety disorder, it is a self-help guide, geared towards anyone who suffers from shyness, feels awkward in social situations, or has been bullied. Before reading this book, I didn’t know what Social Anxiety Disorder was. I thought that all the feelings of shyness which I experienced were unique and that no one anywhere on the planet had ever felt the way I did. But now I see that I am not alone in these feelings of awkwardness and insecurity.

There are probably many people out there who can relate to Lisa’s story and can benefit from the treatment options she used to overcome this disorder. If not yourself, someone you know, perhaps a teen-ager or young adult, suffers from social anxiety disorder and would find this book helpful, possibly life-saving.

If you can relate to any of these problems, read this book. It may complete your own circle of life. 

You can purchase Lisa's book at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble or her website:  https://www.releasingsocialanxiety.com/