Hello!

My name is Daniel P. Malito, I am the author of the newly published, "So Young – A Life Lived With Rheumatoid Arthritis.” I am writing to you because I am interested in possibly being a guest on one of your related shows.

So Young is my story, the tale of a frightened nine-year-old boy who is suddenly stricken with a flu-like illness that causes joint and muscles aches, low-grade fevers, and mystery pain that lasts for weeks at a time. It takes years before a diagnosis is reached, an illness called Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. This crippling condition has now plagued me for over 25 years with the symptoms multiplying many times over.

Sometimes poignant and often funny, So Young is a book guaranteed to inform those who are unaware of how arthritis can impact a life, and that, yes, kids get arthritis too. In fact, arthritis is the number one cause of disability in the United States, and almost 500,000 of those afflicted are children. I believe a chat about my book would be of interest to your community and help to dispel some long-held myths about autoimmune disease.

         In addition to writing So Young, I am a Huffington Post columnist as well as a featured blogger on CreakyJoints, the most popular arthritis community in the world.

Thank you again for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Daniel P. Malito

Daniel P. Malito has been suffering with chronic illness for over 25 years. Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at age nine, he has dealt with more than his share of life's hardships.  Despite this, though, Daniel turned his strife to hope five years ago when he decided to become a writer.  The ultimate extension of the axiom "write what you know," Daniel has dedicated his life to raising awareness about Rheumatoid Arthritis and autoimmune disease.  In addition to penning “So Young – A Life Lived With Rheumatoid Arthritis,” an autobiography based on his life with R.A., Daniel is a long-time columnist for both http://www.creakyjoints.com and The Huffington Post.

Acclaimed author Deni Béchard has released his new book Empty Hands, Open Arms: The Race to Save Bonobos in the Congo and Make Conservation Go Viral. This poignant, illuminating work chronicles Béchard’s travels through the Congo with the Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting bonobos through empowering local Congolese communities. “Béchard’s riveting journey through the ‘dark continent’ provides a surprisingly uplifting story about a radically different and successful conservation program,” writes David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our Place in Nature.

“Deni Béchard in Empty Hands, Open Arms has accomplished no less than a tour de force in recounting the improbable and inspiring efforts of a small non-governmental group, the Bonobo Conservation initiative, that together with local indigenous leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is working to save one of the world’s most important rainforests and the living creature genetically closest to humankind, the bonobo,”  says Bruce Rich, former International Director of  the  Environmental Defense Fund.

Bonobos, humankind’s closest living relative, are only found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located within the world’s second largest rainforest.  Bonobos are distinguished by their peaceful, cooperative, matriarchal society; their sexual nature, and their remarkable intelligence.  They serve as a powerful flagship both for conservation and for peace. Sadly, these magnificent great apes face extinction due to hunting and habitat destruction. The Congo War left the country and the Congolese people devastated, without many options for survival. BCI's conservation efforts focus on improving the lives of the people, thereby eliminating their reliance on the bushmeat trade which in turn increases the chances for survival of the bonobos and their rainforest home.

Weaving together environmental, political, historical, and anthropological narratives, Béchard captures the challenging context in which BCI’s leaders  Sally Jewell Coxe and Executive Director Michael Hurley have worked for many years. BCI has worked with local leaders to develop the Bonobo Peace Forest, an integrated network of nature reserves that are managed by local communities and supported by sustainable development.  Béchard chronicles how, despite overwhelming obstacles and limited funding,  BCI’s inclusive and participatory approach to conservation has achieved remarkable success. This includes the official creation of over 12,000 square miles of protected areas, which by this measure alone places BCI  firmly in the ranks of the largest and most accomplished conservation  organizations on earth in spite of having a budget that averages less than one percent of the other major conservation NGOs.

Many are praising Empty Hands, Open Arms, including Robert Coles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Coles writes, “Here is the matter of conservation given profound explanation—a searching and knowing consideration that enables an important social and political and cultural struggle in Africa to become a needed lesson for us who live elsewhere to ponder, take to heart.”

Sally Coxe & Michael Hurley

Sally & Michael have worked tirelessly during the past two decades to protect bonobos, preserve the Congo rainforest, and empower Congolese communities. Their work has been recognized in many publications, including the New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, and Time Magazine.   Sally & Michael currently divide their time between Washington, DC and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

To arrange an interview and/or educational presentations , news media or organizational  representatives please contact BCI  at 202-332-1014, or contact news@bonobo.org . Photos and B-roll are available.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Bonobo Conservation Initiative bci@bonobo.org| 202.332.1014 | 2701 Connecticut Ave NW, #702 | Washington, DC 20008

Sally Jewel Coxe is a leading conservationist respected for her selfless dedication. She is the perfect champion of the endangered bonobos and an innovator in making conservation go viral. Sally Jewel Coxe as president of BCI, is helping to heal a war-torn nation, stem climate change, empower women, preserve the planet's second largest rainforest, save our closest living relative and restore dignity to the people of the Congo.

Modeling compassion and cooperation while employing innovative strategies, the Bonobo Conservation Initiative leads the way by instilling pride in ancient traditions respectful of the environment while assisting the people with health care, education and employment opportunities. Not content to merely rescue orphaned bonobos or eliminate the bushmeat trade, BCI works to provide hope for a nation whose people have seen unimaginable violence and devastation. 

HermanSJr. is a believer in pure energy, in a "being" that has evaded most people's search and understanding. HermanSJr. is an avid researcher highly based in common sense, logic and critical thinking. While a member of the International High IQ Society, he is working on his Master of Arts Degree in Linguistics as he ultimately works towards a PhD in Logic. He currently holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts, a Web Visual Design certification and an HTML Developer certification.

Since childhood HermanSJr. has been an autodidact and avid problem solver. He uses this practice everyday in his personal life, as well as his professional life where he has worked in and with companies in various countries across the globe. HermanSJr. relies heavily on General Systems Theory and believes in approaching problems from multiple angles of study in order to assess the problems from multiple perspectives, find their root causes, determine long-term solutions and implement them while contemplating possible variables that can arise in the future, both positive and negative. He believes that this complete process is necessary in order to achieve sound resolutions to problems in any field of study, e.g., business, logic, mechanics, the sciences, and any other arena of life.

During his search for truth of over 18 years he has researched a multitude of fields, e.g.:

Researching the above areas of study HermanSJr. continues to search for the answers to countless perplexing questions, e.g.:

Seemingly, truth is offered via a plethora of media, but which one is right? Bias, factions and misdirection are all intimately interlaced with truth, which has created a diamond lattice over the past centuries, requiring a tremendous amount of desire and dedication by those who innocently seek the truth of our existence amidst times of hatred, fear and spiritual chaos. The only chance of peeling away the layers of distraction is to step back and view the trove of evidence surrounding us everyday and everywhere in order to find the truth. Cleansing our minds of prejudice is the first step to rid ourselves of all inculcation set into us since childhood.

HermanSJr. believes that finding the answers to these kinds of questions and helping others to understand them will allow humankind to advance uniformly as a single illuminated consciousness in order to live in peace.

Hi,

To have a society of well-rounded people requires well rounded children. I want to talk about the surprising benefits that fitess (specifically hula hooping) has for kids.

Since 2009, I've had the pleasure of teaching hundreds of kids hula hoop dance classes in 4 different states.

I want to live in a world where kids get plenty of exercise despite recess being cut in many schools.

We all know hooping is super fun for all involved, but did you know there are other benefits? I want to share the many ways hula hooping benefits kids.

no woman or family should be traumatised from childbirth. when women know how they celebrate birth

escalating C section rates are a concern and can be avoided when you know how.

Familycology (as found via Familycology.org) is today's new millenium version of a very ancient way of fostering reverence for one's family's past, present and future. Getting suggestions for maximizing famcol's popularity and effectiveness is what the web site is all about.

Yale S.Y. Landsberg is a sixty-nine year old "rational mystic" and cross-disciplines researcher. For example, in addition to intuiting familycology, he is also the inventor of the TrueTyme Sun/Moon/Self natural time smart clock and smart watch app/widget/live wall paper, which is found via TrueTyme.org.

Peter Francis Dziuban (said Joobin) is a writer and speaker on awareness and spirituality. His first book, Consciousness Is All, has helped thousands around the world enjoy greater happiness, freedom and clarity in Life.

Peter has just completed his second book, Simply Notice –  Book 1 – Clear Awareness Is the Key to Happiness, Love and Freedom.  Simply Notice is intended to be a series of books, designed to make the deeper points of Awareness and spirituality clear and accessible to the general public. 

Peter's writings and workshops benefit so many because they are universal in application, and not tied to any one teaching or religion. He has studied this field over 40 years, since attending the University of Notre Dame; he also worked many years in corporate America. Now residing in Arizona, Peter enjoys the outdoors.

I'm Widow Sophia.  I wrote a book to help those that lost a loved one to overcome the grief and to remember 2 things - God has a plan and Love Never Dies. I also write a column for compassionandbusiness.com and I create tribute websites and tribute videos so others can have beautiful stories and images to cherish for generations to come.  

Widow Sophia is a published author, former elected official and a leader in the broadcasting field.  She has used her talents to help others heal through lasting memories.

WELLSPRINGS: A Fable of Consciousness has just been released by John Hunt Publishing, the leading body-mind-spirit publisher in Britain. It is set in 2026 as the earth's ecosystem has broken down under human abuse. Water supplies are shrinking. Rain is rare, and North America is gripped in the Great Drought with crops withering and forests dying. In the midst of environmental and social collapse, an old woman and a young man set out to heal nature and reactivate the cycle of flow by using techniques of higher consciousness. But the corporations that control the remaining water lash out to stop them. In the novel water is analogous to consciousness. People are out of contact with their own inner wellsprings of consciousness, so their lives are withering. Their ignorant actions have driven the earth's water deep underground, so nature is withering. Human life and the earth's life are trapped in suffering. The story shows the two main characters evolving their consciousness to a level where they can sense the water and restore its natural flow for humanity and the earth. A blend of adventure, ecology, and mystic wisdom, WELLSPRINGS: A Fable of Consciousness is a frightening but hopeful look into a future that is looming closer every day. More information about the book is available on a page of the publisher's website.William T. Hathaway's first novel, A WORLD OF HURT, won a Rinehart Foundation Award. He has published widely on spiritual topics and is an articulate and entertaining speaker on consciousness and ecology. Enclosed is a short sample of the new book. If you like it, let's arrange an interview. Sincerely, Jim Travis John Hunt Publishing

WELLSPRINGS: A Fable of Consciousness has just been released by John Hunt Publishing, the leading body-mind-spirit publisher in Britain. It is set in 2026 as the earth's ecosystem has broken down under human abuse. Water supplies are shrinking. Rain is rare, and North America is gripped in the Great Drought with crops withering and forests dying. In the midst of environmental and social collapse, an old woman and a young man set out to heal nature and reactivate the cycle of flow by using techniques of higher consciousness. But the corporations that control the remaining water lash out to stop them.

In the novel water is analogous to consciousness. People are out of contact with their own inner wellsprings of consciousness, so their lives are withering. Their ignorant actions have driven the earth's water deep underground, so nature is withering. Human life and the earth's life are trapped in suffering. The story shows the two main characters evolving their consciousness to a level where they can sense the water and restore its natural flow for humanity and the earth. A blend of adventure, ecology, and mystic wisdom, WELLSPRINGS: A Fable of Consciousness is a frightening but hopeful look into a future that is looming closer every day.

William T. Hathaway's first novel, A WORLD OF HURT, won a Rinehart Foundation Award. He has published widely on spiritual topics and is an articulate and entertaining speaker on consciousness and ecology.

Enclosed is a short sample of the new book. If you like it, let's arrange an interview.

Sincerely,

Jim Travis

John Hunt Publishing

WELLSPRINGS

Selections from the Novel by William T. Hathaway

The book begins with the narrator, Bob, getting ready to leave his hometown in California after graduating from high school:

Long Beach

Pack my rucksack and get out of this place. Like the song says, "I'm leavin' LA, baby. Don't you know this smog has got me down." Taj Mahal, a blues singer. I found his album -- one of those old black discs -- in a box with a bunch of others in granddad's garage. Old record player with it, kind that goes around and 'round. Been listening to them ever since -- all gramp's favorites from the sixties and seventies when he was a kid. Great songs ... despite the scratches.

He said the smog then was nothing compared to what we got now. They didn't have alkali smog back then. We're breathing borax and potash blown in with the dust. Granddad died of emphysema but he never smoked. The doc said some people are more sensitive than others. I got his heredity. Mom and dad coughing, especially when they wake up. Even hear the neighbors coughing. Gotta get outta here. "We gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do." Another song -- The Animals.

Animals now are dying even in the zoos. Birds gone.

Like to take all his old records with me, but no room in the rucksack. They'll be here when I come back ... if I come back. Mom and dad will be pissed I just left them a letter. But if I told them, they'd just pressure me into staying again, like they did last time I told them I wanted to go. No money for college. They want me to get some shit job here. If I'm going to have a shit job, I want it to be at least some place where I can breathe.

Rucksack's pretty heavy. Outta here.

Little bungalow house like the others. Dust on all the window sills. Sand in the drain spouts. Hasn't rained this year. Wind patterns have changed so it rains over the ocean but hardly ever over the land. Grass died, then even the weeds died. At least the dirt won't die. The Great Drought, they call it. I don't know what's so great about it.

Strap the pack on the back of the little Honda 250 bike, spark it alive. So long, Long Beach. Miles of bungalows, fourplex apartments, gas stations, strip malls. Sand on the road, sand in the gutters, sky cloudless but gray. Plenty of water for people who can afford it, but there's fewer and fewer of those. Outta here.

(Bob meets Jane, a 77-year-old meditation teacher, and agrees to help her with her quest. She is convinced North America's water has retreated into a deep subterranean aquifer, and she is searching for the place where it comes close enough to the surface to access it.)

Yosemite

As Jane drives over the Tioga Pass, the east entrance to Yosemite, the sun is setting over the Sierras, shooting rays of golden light through the haze, shining the clouds pink and violet. With a last gleam it drops behind the mountains and lights them from behind into miles of blue craggy peaks.

We have plenty of time to enjoy the view because her motor home is weak on hills; we're lugging at thirty m.p.h. It's dark by the time we get to the campground. I like it much better here than the desert -- the air is cool and fresh, and I can pitch my tent under a tree.

I wake up several times in the night to the sound of little things falling onto the taut nylon of the tent. Raindrops! I go back to sleep with a smile.

In the morning everything is still dry. Instead of rain, the tent and ground are strewn with pine needles. The tree above me is shedding needles and small branches as it withers. Its bark is gray and flaky, limbs limp.

After breakfast we take a walk to the nearby Tuolumne River, which turns out to be a meandering creek about six inches deep. The meadows on both sides are brown.

We stroll in the Sequoia grove among trees soaring over two hundred feet towards the sky with massive trunks as wide as a house. Some are over a thousand years old. But they won't get any older -- an army of dead soldiers left standing at attention.

We drive into Yosemite Valley, the main part of the park. I remember the pictures I've seen of it, taken before the drought: Bridal Veil and Yosemite Falls with tons of white water cascading over granite cliffs, crashing down into deep pools on the canyon floor that's covered with verdant grass and ferns.

But now the glaciers have melted and snow and rain are rare, so the falls are thin ribbons of water spilling over the cliffs then trickling through brown grass into what used to be the Merced River. We hear an occasional bird, but we don't see them or any other animals. Jane finds a blue jay feather, which she sticks in her hair -- but the jay is probably dead. We're very quiet as we drive away from the park -- as if we've been to Mother Nature's funeral.

Mt. Shasta

(Jane teaches Bob to meditate, and their visions help them find the cavern that connects to the water.)

Jane and I drive around to the north side of Mt. Shasta, hoping to be able to sense the subterranean springs from there. In the moonlight the mountain looks like a silver pyramid soaring up from the horizon into the starry purple night. The ancient volcano is lord of all it surveys. Veils of clouds are blowing around its peak.

We find a grassy glade in the forest, but the grass is dry and brittle and the tree branches droop from the drought. As we are spreading our blankets out to meditate, motion on the other side of the clearing catches our eyes. Out of the trees steps a black-tailed doe. She sees us and pauses, one foot raised, sniffing, listening, looking. Jane and I stare enthralled. As the doe gazes at us, our eyes join across the space, across the species. Communication flows between us: cautious curiosity about a fellow creature. She breaks contact, begins nibbling, then looks back at us as if saying, As long as you stay on your side, it's OK.

We watch her in delight until she trots off, then we close our eyes to meditate. At first my mantra goes with my heartbeat then slows and goes with my breath. The sound stretches out into a long hum floating through me. I seem to be beyond my skin, filling the whole clearing. I feel like I'm sinking into the earth. I want to hold on, to keep from disappearing, but something tells me to let everything go. I free-fall through space, then realize it's impossible to fall because there's no down. I'm hovering ... like a dragonfly over water. The sound fades away, leaving me without thoughts. I seem to expand beyond all space and boundaries to unite with everything. For a moment I know I am everything, the whole universe, but as soon as I think, I'm everything, I'm not anymore. I'm just Bob Parks sitting on a blanket over cold ground.

I start the mantra again. Its whisper clears my thoughts away, and my mind becomes quiet. Part of me is watching the quietness of my mind and enjoying it. I never knew I had this watching part before. It doesn't need to think. It's just there, aware of everything but separate from it -- a wise old part of me.

I realize I'm off the mantra, drifting on thoughts, so I pick up the sound again and follow it as it gets fainter and finer until it becomes more visual, pulsing light behind my closed eyes. It seems to shine into something, a big cavern that's inside of me but also outside of me. The boundaries between me and everything else disappear -- no difference now between inside and outside. I can see dimly into the cavern. The walls and ceiling are crystal, its facets glinting in the mantra light. Below them in all directions stretches a vast dark sea of water, its ripples gleaming. It's deep, deep as the earth, and I want to plunge in and dive all the way to the bottom. I'm sitting above it. Down there beneath me, beneath these rocks and dirt, rests the water.

I can sense this sea's immensity, stretching from California under the Great Basin of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, the parched American desert, the last place the corporate drillers would've looked. We're sitting by the tip of it closest to the surface. From here it goes deeper and deeper, soaking through strata of sand and porous rock, a huge aquifer waiting to be freed and flow again.

I want to jump up and yell, "I found it!" but that thought makes it disappear. I take a deep breath and am back sitting cross-legged on my blanket. Too stunned to say anything, I lie back and feel the ground under me, this dry ground with all that good water under it.

A further sample of Wellsprings: A Fable of Consciousness - William T. Hathaway's other books include A World of Hurt (Rinehart Foundation Award), CD-Ring, Summer Snow, and Radical Peace: People Refusing War.