| Welcome to the Media Room for Melissa West, a nationally renowned expert who helps baby boomer women who've lost their spark reignite their lives. Melissa is a perceptive, engaging guest and can offer plenty of hands-on, practical tips for creating a life that makes your heart sing and your soul jump for joy. Her ebullient sense of humor, wisdom, and concrete how-to's have always made for a lively interview.
What makes Melissa an expert on helping boomer women redesign their lives? She is the author of four books on transitions. Her most recent is Silver Linings: Finding Hope, Meaning, and Renewal During Times of Transition (Fair Winds 2004). She's been a guest on over 50 radio and television shows, and gives workshops and talks nationally. Her work has been featured in New Age Journal, Spirituality and Health, and I-village.Melissa has led workshops for midlife women, and worked one on one with them as a catalyst, coach, and psychotherapist, for twenty-five years.
If you need tips, stories or ideas on how to help women in their "second act" wake up to extraordinary lives of meaning and fulfillment, Melissa would be delighted to help. Call her at 206.427.1325 or e-mail her at Melissa@MelissaGayleWest.com to schedule an interview
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GENERAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- How can there be "silver linings" in difficult transitions, and what are they?
- Why does our culture pressure people to "get over it" during difficult life transitions?
- What difference would it make to someone in a life transition to have a "road map" of the process?
- What causes a person to get "stuck" in a life transition? What are some of the signs of stuckness?
- Why do you insist that we can't navigate big or difficult life transitions on our own?
- Share with us some simple tips for finding sanity in a life transition!
- Why cultivate gratitude during a difficult life transition? Isn't that playing Pollyanna?
- You write in Silver Linings that when someone consciously negotiates a life transition that there are gifts for that person's community. What do you mean by that, and what are the gifts?
- What advice do you have for partners, family and friends of someone in a difficult life transition?
- What do you mean when you say that a life transition or trauma can be a "destiny point?"
- What are some of the biggest mistakes people in life transitions make?
- Why are "elders" important in a life transition? Who is an "elder," and how do you find them?
- What made you get so interested in the subject of life transitions? What caused you to write Silver Linings: Finding Hope, Meaning, and Renewal During Times of Transition ?
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POSSIBLE INTERVIEW TOPICS
- Silver Linings: Find the Hidden Gifts in Difficult Life Transitions
- Finding Serenity in Stressful Change
- Surf's Up! How to Successfully Master Constant Change
- Dealing Constructively with Grief and Loss
- Don't Get Over It! How to Give a Life Transition the Time It Needs
- I Didn't Ask For This! Getting Over Feeling Like a Victim of Change
- There's No More Normal! Dealing with Uncertainty and the Unknown
- Life Transitions and Intimate Relationships
- Using Intuition for Life Transitions and Change
- Getting Unstuck in a Life Transition
- Spirituality and Life Transitions
- Life Transitions and Anniversaries/Holidays
- Using Creativity and Ritual to Deal with Life Transitions
- The Gifts of Life-Threatening Illness
- My Life Sucks! How to Deal with Depression in Life Transitions
- No Lone Rangers! Finding Support for Your Life Transition
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RESUME
PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE
Private Practice, Seattle, WA 1983-present
Coach, Psychotherapist, and Spiritual Counselor
Director of Hearth Training, Forge Institute 2006-present
Harmony Hill Retreat Center, Union, WA 2004-present
Program Consultant
Harmony Hill Retreat Center 1997-2004
Program Director
Simple Living Journal 2001-present
Writer, Editorial Board
Personal Transformation Magazine 1999-2000
Associate Editor
Personal Transformation Magazine 1998
Personal Transformation Groups Project
* Editor/Writer for Personal Transformation Groups Workbook
* Personal Transformation Groups Project Director
LifeQuest Institute 1996-1998
Founder and Co-Director
TEACHING
Hearth Trainings: Stockholm and Los Angeles 2006-present
Harmony Hill Retreat Center 1998-present
*Retreat facilitator, Business Retreats
* Group facilitator, Cancer Retreat Program
* Retreat facilitator, renewal retreats for Health Professionals
Bastyr University, Kirkland, WA 1998-present
Adjunct Faculty
Core Faculty, Spirituality Health and Medicine Certificate Program
Antioch University, Seattle, WA 1996-1998
Adjunct Faculty
University of Washington 1995-1999
Guest Lecturer
Keynotes, Classes, and Retreats Nationally 1996-present
Includes Wellesley College, the National Multiple Sclerosis
Society, University of Washington, Loyola University, Unity Churches, the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and the Theosophical Society
PUBLICATIONS
Fair Winds Press, Gloucester, MA 2004
Silver Linings: Finding Hope, Meaning, and Renewal During
Times of Transition (trade paper edition)
Fair Winds Press, Gloucester, MA 2003
Silver Linings: The Power of Trauma to Transform Your Life
( cloth)
Broadway Books, New York, NY 2000
Exploring the Labyrinth: A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth
HCI, Deerfield Beach, FL 1999
Soulful Living: The Process of Personal Transformation
Harcourt Brace & Company, Toronto 1998
New Society. “Celebrating the Change” (chapter within book)
Stillpoint Publishing, Walpole, NH 1992
If Only I Were A Better Mother
Feature Articles for National Publications 1992-present
Spirituality and Health Magazine
New Age Journal
Personal Transformation Journal
Body Mind Spirit
EDUCATION
Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA
M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy, 4.0 GPA
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Partially completed Masters of Music Degree in Piano Performance
Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
B.A. in English, B.M. Music, Magna cum laude
NARRATIVE BIO
Melissa Gayle West is an internationally known expert on helping "boomer women" who've lost their spark reignite their lives. Having personally been through midlife divorce and remarriage, empty nest, the death of both parents, and menopause, she has lived through several rounds of losing her spark, and relighting it! Her latest book, "Silver Linings: Finding Hope, Meaning, and New Life During Times of Transition (Fair Winds, 2003), has helped thousands of midlife women find meaning, clarity, and new life.
Melissa has devoted the last 25 years to applying her knowledge and experience to support boomer women through workshops, classes, and her private practice as a life coach and catalyst. Her books have been a Selection of The One Spirit Book Club and featured on ivillage, artheals.org, soufulliving.com, and ParentingKids.info. Melissa has made frequent appearances talking about life transitions on national radio and television shows. She has written articles for Spirituality and Health, New Age Journal, Common Ground, and BodyMindSpirit.
Melissa is a popular speaker and teacher, and leads workshops across the U.S. With more than 20 years of speaking experience, Melissa consistently receives high marks for the depth and practicality of her content, and the engaging, warm-hearted, down-to-earth style in which she delivers it. Her keynotes and speaking engagements include The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Unity Churches, Women of Wisdom, The Diocese of Pennsylvania, Puget Sound Oncology Nursing Association, and Wellesley College. She has worked with thousands of midlife women in transitions such as divorce, life-threatening illness, and menopause.
Melissa enjoys dancing (Zydeco and Cajun from growing up in New Orleans), traveling, being with husband and daughter, and gardening in her beautiful backyard paradise!
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Contact Melissa at
Melissa@MelissaGayleWest.com or 206-427-1325 |
