San Diego, CA – Three adolescent girls, who
suffered severe burns from a Halloween accident, car crash, and kitchen
incident, will share their stories during a special fundraising dinner
at a private residence in the San Diego area on Saturday, October 6,
2012 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Katie, Adriana and Larisa involved in
separate horrific tragedies recently participated in the extraordinary
Angel Faces® program, a weeklong retreat that helps teenage girls
overcome the stigma of severe facial disfigurements. They will speak
passionately at the third annual Evening With Angels about their journey
and Angel Faces® during the evening’s inspiring program.
Angel
Faces® began out of Lesia Cartelli’s own pain. Her desire to heal from a
serious burn injury over 50% of her face and body at the age of nine in
a natural gas explosion encouraged her to dedicate and create the best
possible program for girls who suffer similar disfiguring burns and
other traumatic injuries.
At the retreat the girls work closely
with experts and meet other girls facing similar struggles. They learn
to use new tools that will help them become more confident and able to
face what the world hands them.
Angel Faces® is the only program of its kind in the United States, and was recently featured on CNN.
Angel
Faces® is a national non-profit organization, headquartered in
Encinitas, California, whose mission is to provide healing retreats and
ongoing support for adolescent girls with burn/trauma injuries to
achieve their optimum potential and develop meaningful relationships for
themselves, their families, and their communities. The unique retreats
and aftercare programs
focus on the healing process within a holistic framework of mind,
heart, and spirit. In addition to art therapy and private,
corrective-cosmetic sessions, the program provides licensed therapists
to help the girls through their loss and trauma issues, and provides the
girls with strategies to handle staring and teasing. The goal of Angel
Faces® is to offer both a physical and emotional transformation so each
girl walks away with a new confidence and a hopeful outlook toward the
future.
This year’s Evening With Angels event is sponsored by Ranch and Coast Plastic Surgery, Lutronic, Stone Brewery, Holiday Wine Cellar, and Lizbeth Ecke and David Meyer.
Asheville, NC –
Cynthia Drew’s short stories have appeared in numerous literary
journals and magazines and her bestselling novels are available in print
and Ebook formats. Her latest book, Where Do Missing Things Go? (Legacy
Book Publishing), is a delightfully illustrated children’s story that
not only encourages kids to read but, behind the whimsy, has a more
meaningful theme with great messages.
We all lose things… but
much to the frustration of parents, kids seem to do it more. In Where Do
Missing Things Go? Cynthia has woven tender messages into a whimsical
story, filled with cute animal characters, flying socks, and washing
machines with faces that make kids laugh and remember its messages. The
endearing, upbeat style is beautifully complemented by the colorful
illustrations of Bill LaRocque, former cartoonist and illustrator for
the Washington Post.
While her book begins with finding lost
things – socks, keys, glasses, anything missing, it ends with a message
that reminds kids that while owning things and keeping track of them
makes your life easier and better, nothing is more valuable than friends
and family – the things that cannot be bought. It seems only natural
that Cynthia’s book should be about missing things – since she is an
expert at finding things in her work as a practicing Private
Investigator.
“Where do missing things go when they just disappear? When possessions go poof? The answers lie here… Glasses
and pens, socks, wallets and keys; All are findable and you can do so
with ease, when you’ve read Where Do Missing Things Go?”
Cynthia
Drew holds a degree in broadcast journalism and teaches writing at the
Reuter Center on University of North Carolina’s Asheville Campus. She
has co-written a screenplay with her playwright sister that has won
awards in several categories. When not working, Cynthia loves to travel,
garden and cook, and lives with her photographer husband, Ken, at the
foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Asheville.
For more information on Cynthia Drew or her books, please visit: www.cynthiadrew.com
Where Do Missing Things Go? By Cynthia Drew Publisher: Legacy Book Publishing ISBN-10: 1937952274 ISBN-13: 978-1937952273 Available at fine bookstores and online outlets
###
Trish Stevens
Jillian M. Sachtleben Ascot Media Group, Inc. Office: (281) 333-3507 [email protected] www.ascotmediagroup.com
Chicago, IL –
The idea for award-winning author Libby Fischer Hellmann’s latest novel
was somewhat of an accident. During a conversation with a friend, Libby
mentioned she was drawn to stories of women whose choices have been
taken away from them, and had wondered: Do they simply surrender and
become victims, or do some survive and even triumph? It was then that
she recalled a personal story told to her years before– about young
lovers who become trapped by history, family, and the inherent conflict
of a political and cultural revolution. Thus the idea was born for her
latest book, A Bitter Veil (Allium Press of Chicago).
Grounded
in extensive research, the story’s backdrop is the Iranian Revolution –
one of the most documented periods of world history. After poring
through dozens of documents, articles and films, and interviewing at
least five Iranian-Americans who lived in Iran during the revolution,
their experiences made it possible for Libby to tell ‘Anna’s story.’ The
result is a compelling and convincing tale, seasoned with powerful
characters, that grabs the reader from the first page and thrusts them
into one woman’s worst nightmare – making for a read not easy to put
down.
It all began with a line of Persian poetry…Anna and
Nouri, both studying in Chicago, fall in love despite their very
different backgrounds. Never really close to her parents, Anna is happy
to return with Nouri to his native Iran, to be embraced by his wealthy
family. Beginning their married life together in 1978, their world is
abruptly turned upside down by the overthrow of the Shah, and the rise
of the Islamic Republic.
Under the Ayatollah Khomeini and the
Republican Guard, life becomes increasingly restricted and Anna must
learn to exist in a transformed world, where none of the familiar
Western rules apply.
Random arrests and torture become the norm, women are required to wear
hijab, and Anna discovers that she is no longer free to leave the
country. As events reach a fevered pitch, Anna realizes that nothing is
as she thought and no one can be trusted…not even her husband.
A
Bitter Veil is both a tragically beautiful love story and a spellbinding
political thriller. Fast-moving to its unpredictable end, this
well-written account shows how the chaos and destruction of a revolution
can cause human beings to act in extreme ways. This award-winning
author gives an accurate perspective of what people in that time and
place endured, particularly women.
With ten novels and twenty
short stories published, Libby has written thrillers, suspense mysteries
and historicals – all with a crime or the possibility of one at their
core. The more political the better for Libby who, as a transplant from
Washington, DC where ‘dinner table gossip about the neighbors was
talking politics,’ claims she’s “writing her way around the genre.”
Libby
Fischer Hellmann has worked at NBC News in New York and Washington DC,
as well as the public affairs production arm of PBS, also in Washington.
She lives outside Chicago now, and when not writing, she conducts
speaker training programs and produces corporate videos.
Something fairly new for authors, Libby is at the forefront of the digital revolution with her new App www.bit.ly/PuQH7I
that gives readers access to her newsletter, excerpts from her books,
notice of upcoming events, and a great way to stay in touch with
“Everything Libby.” Available on Android and Apple devices. For more
information on this talented writer and her books, please also visit: libbyhellmann.com.
A Bitter Veil by Libby Fischer Hellmann Allium Press Publishers ISBN-10: 0983193819 ISBN-13: 978-0983193814 Available at fine bookstores, online outlets and author’s website
###
Trish Stevens
Jillian M. Sachtleben Ascot Media Group, Inc. Office: (281) 333-3507 [email protected] www.ascotmediagroup.com
Newark Valley, NY – Many of us know someone
whose family is dealing with autism; once considered rare, now 1 in 88
children in this country are diagnosed with an Autism Specific Disorder
(ASD).
Silently Seizing: Common, Unrecognized and Frequently
Missed Seizures and Their Potentially Damaging Impact on Individuals
With Autism Spectrum Disorders (AAPC Publishing) by Caren Haines, RN,
and valuable input by Nancy Minshew, MD, deals with the overwhelming
challenge for those living with silent seizures. Many are confronted by
anger and falsely accused of disorderly conduct, indecent exposure and
drug abuse; while some are even unfairly arrested because the bizarre
actions exhibited during a seizure have led to frequent misdiagnosis,
medical mismanagement and, in the worst case, commitment to a mental
institution.
Because they are difficult to diagnose, or due to a
lack of awareness and understanding, as many as 30% of all children and
young adults with ASD may have undiagnosed seizure disorders. Silently
Seizing is a breakthrough book that explores what most doctors won’t
tell you – that often the symptoms of autism are caused by seizures, undetectable with standard diagnostic tools.
At
age 2, the author’s son was diagnosed with autism. By the time he was
12, his diagnosis didn’t account for his uncontrollable aggression, the
acrid smells that lingered in his mind and the odd voices that screamed
at him from inside his head. By the time he was 18, his out-of-control
behavior mirrored a mood disorder with psychotic features. Silently
Seizing begins with a close-up look at this family’s journey and
examines a disorder that cannot always be identified in a clinical
setting.
As a registered nurse, Caren Haines relied on her
training to help her decipher her now 24-year-old autistic son’s
perplexing behaviors. Based on knowledge gained from years of intensive
research and information from top researchers in the field of autism,
she is helping families become free from the debilitating symptoms of silent seizures and psychosis.
Haines’
says, “Intersecting at two medical subspecialties, neurology and
psychiatry, the child who has autism and partial seizures is at a
serious disadvantage. By inadvertently allowing children’s brains to
“silently seize,” we are robbing them of their ability to function
normally. Untreated, these seizures can predispose children to develop
behavioral disturbances, such as self-injury, aggression and psychosis,
which are seen in many cases of autism. If they are treated early with
anti-seizure medications, many children show amazing gains in expressive
language and comprehension. More importantly, many children lose their
diagnosis of autism.”
Backed by up-to-the-minute research,
Silently Seizing: Common, Unrecognized and Frequently Missed Seizures
and Their Potentially Damaging Impact on Individuals With Autism
Spectrum Disorders is a must-read book that includes sections describing
autism, the seizure-autism connection, tips for diagnosing and treating
seizures, as well as how to better understand children’s behavior. It
acts as a virtual guide to help parents navigate through this complex
and mystifying disease. For more information, please visit: www.bit.ly/Rb2WBW.
Caren
Haines is also co-author of Georgia, The Flying Dog, a children’s book
that explores the concept of unconditional love and acceptance of our
differences.
###
Trish Stevens
Jillian M. Sachtleben Ascot Media Group, Inc. Office: (281) 333-3507 [email protected] www.ascotmediagroup.com
Alan Levitt, former Associate Director of
the White House Drug Policy Office and Director of the National Youth
Anti-Drug Media Campaign: “Dayton’s new book should be required reading
for policy and program makers at all levels of government.”
Joey
Pantoliano, Actor and New York Times Bestselling Author of Asylum:
Hollywood Tales of My Great Depression: “Tian Dayton’s writings have
brought me closer to the man my dogs think I am! Reading Tian personally
helped me find my smile again.”
Robert Anda, MD, ACE Study
Concept: “This book is laced with references to science, but more
importantly to her own personal experience and the experiences of her
clients who are on the journey of recovery, healing, and breaking the
intergenerational cycles of addiction.”
Jerry Moe, MA, National
Director of Children’s Programs, Betty Ford Center: “Dr. Tian Dayton
hits a home run . . . [she] brilliantly provides a road map to healing,
recovery, and resilience. This is a must read.”
Patrick J.
Carnes, PhD, author of the national bestseller Out of the Shadows:
“Integrates scientific research with practical recovery knowledge,
offering the reader a complete picture.”
Deerfield Beach, FL –
Adult children of addicts and children from dysfunctional families often
carry silent, hidden wounds from the trauma of growing up with parental
addiction, abuse, or neglect. When they remain buried and unattended,
these wounds can reemerge and get played out in adult, intimate
partnerships and parenting, re-creating relationship dynamics that
mirror early pain.
In this authoritative guide, bestselling
author and renowned psychologist Dr. Tian Dayton explains the science
behind how trauma lives in the body/mind and shapes our neurobiology.
The ACoA Trauma Syndrome: The Impact of Childhood Pain on Adult
Relationships (HCI — $16.95) is for anyone who has lived with
dysfunction and trauma related to addiction, abuse, neglect, physical or
mental illness, military service, or cultural/ethnic or religious
prejudice. It is about facing, processing, and healing childhood pain,
marshaling strength and resilience, and taking charge of your own
emotional life.
Available at fine bookstores, online outlets or directly from the publisher: www.hcibooks.com ISBN: 978-0-7573-1644-9
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tian Dayton, MA, PhD, TEP, has a Masters in educational psychology and a PhD in clinical psychology
and is a board-certified trainer in psychodrama. She is also a licensed
Creative Arts Therapist and a certified Montessori teacher. Dr. Dayton
is the director of the New York Psychodrama Training Institute where she
runs training groups in psychodrama, sociometry, and experiential group
therapy. She created a model for treating trauma called Relationship
Trauma Repair, which is currently in use at treatment centers across the United States. She was also on the faculty at NYU for eight years teaching psychodrama.
Dr.
Dayton is a fellow of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and
Psychodrama, winner of their Scholar’s Award, editor in chief of the
Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry & Group Psychotherapy, and sits
on the professional standards committee for ASGPP. She has been awarded
the Mona Mansell Award and the Ackerman/Black Award for contributions to
the field of addiction.
She has been a guest expert on NBC,
CNN, MSNBC, The Montel Williams Show, The Ricki Lake Show, The John
Walsh Show, and Geraldo. Dr. Dayton is the author of fifteen books
including Emotional Sobriety, Trauma and Addiction, Heartwounds, The
Living Stage, and Forgiving and Moving On. She has also written The
Process, an award-winning docudrama that uses psychodrama to tell
stories of addicts and ACOAs and Psychodrama and Trauma Resolution, a
comprehensive psychodrama training tape illustrating the effect of
unresolved trauma on the personality and its resolution through
psychodrama and sociometry. For more information, please visit www.tiandayton.com.
###
Trish Stevens
Jillian M. Sachtleben Ascot Media Group, Inc. Office: (281) 333-3507 [email protected] www.ascotmediagroup.com
Deerfield
Beach, FL – Whenever a young woman meets a tragic end, Pat Brown’s phone
starts to ring. She spends the next few days on the national TV circuit
making appearances on The Today Show, CNN, Nancy Grace, and more. She
talks about what kind of person would commit the crime in question
whether it’s a rape, murder, or some other horrific violation. Her hope
is that by sharing some thoughts that may not have occurred to some of
the viewers, she might save some lives.
In her book, How To Save
Your Daughter’s Life: Straight Talk For Parents From America’s Top
Criminal Profiler (HCI Books — $14.95), Pat Brown, who has provided
crime commentary and forensic analysis in more than 2,000 TV and radio
appearances, talks to parents and their daughters in a no-holds-barred
voice to get them to understand how predators choose victims and how to
avoid becoming a target. She covers all of the dangers that today’s
young women face and arms parents with information they rarely get from
professionals.
Brown says that no one deserves to be murdered,
even if she was out selling her body on the street or was buying drugs
in a bad part of town, or was cheating on her boyfriend with his
brother. She feels it’s terribly important to be honest and show women
how the behaviors victims engage in may bring them into harm’s way.
“Talking
about the perpetrator may be fascinating and educational, and we can
rail about changing the system, locking these monsters up, but it isn’t
going to do much to save your daughter’s life today,” Brown says.
In
How To Save Your Daughter’s Life, the author hopes to help parents and
young women understand the world of psychopaths and criminals; how they
think, where they lurk, and how they lure and grab victims. She talks
about what kinds of choices and defenses will protect her and which ones
are dangerous. Each chapter in the book also has suggestions for the
more willful child, and at the end of the chapter is a “Letter to My
Daughter” that even a defiant daughter may benefit from.
This
book reads like a handbook and should be a part of the household of
anyone with a daughter. Truly, this is straight talk for parents from an
expert criminal profiler.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Pat Brown is
a nationally known criminal profiler, television commentator, author,
and founder and CEO of The Sexual Homicide Exchange and The Pat Brown
Criminal Profiling Agency. She has provided crime commentary and
profiling and forensic analysis in more than 2,000 television and radio
appearances in the United States and across the globe. She can be seen
regularly on the cable television news programs on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX,
and is a frequent guest of The Today Show, the CBS Early Show, Larry
King, Inside Edition, Nancy Grace, Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell, Dr.
Drew, Joy Behar, and America’s Most Wanted. Her radio show Profile This!
airs every Sunday on BlogTalkRadio (9:00 pm EST).
For four
seasons, Brown profiled crimes on the weekly Court TV crime show, I,
Detective. She is the host of the 2004 Discovery Channel documentary,
The Mysterious Death of Cleopatra. In the spring of 2006, Brown went
inside one of Florida’s maximum-security prisons to interview a child
murderer for the Discovery Channel series Evil Minds. In 2010 she
profiled a new Jack the Ripper suspect for Investigation Discovery’s
Mystery Files. She is the author of The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial
Killers, Psychopaths, and Killing for Sport: Inside the Minds of Serial
Killers, and is a contract writer for Crime Library. Brown contributed
special feature content included in the 2005 home DVD edition of
Profiler: Season Two and the 15th Anniversary Edition, 2006 DVD release
of Quentin Tarantino’s crime classic Reservoir Dogs.
Since 1996,
Brown’s organization The Sexual Homicide Exchange (SHE) has offered
criminal profiling services at no charge to law enforcement and training
for detectives. Its latest program, All Our Children Matter, is
dedicated to stopping violence against children through criminal
profiling education and proactive training for parents and communities.
Available online, at bookstores, or directly from the publisher at: (800) 441-5569 or Trish Stevens
Jillian M. Sachtleben Ascot Media Group, Inc. Office: (281) 333-3507 [email protected] www.ascotmediagroup.com
Southlake, TX –
CEO and philanthropist Tom Slone planned a whirlwind round of Major
League Baseball games with his grandsons just for fun. And because he’s a
generous person, he included several other young men and their mentors.
What might have become just a fond memory instead forcefully brought
home some simple, yet life-changing ideas. Grounders is the story of
that trip and the mentoring lessons Slone has used to forge success in
business, sports, and life.
In the introduction to Grounders; A
Once-in-a-Lifetime Journey of Baseball, History, and Mentoring,
renowned CEO coach Tony Jeary writes: “Tom combines the inspiring and
entertaining story of a grand baseball journey with 33 essential lessons
that all of us (yes, even those of us who are already very successful)
can apply in our lives. He also demonstrates, over and over, the
life-changing power of mentoring.”
Slone is Chairman and CEO of
Touchstone Communications in Southlake, Texas. Prior to founding
Touchstone Communications in 2002, Mr. Slone was president of the
largest consumer operation in the world at Associates First Capital. At
the time of his retirement from The Associates he was responsible for
assets of $33 billion and 14,000 employees. In 2000 he was awarded the
American Financial Services Association Distinguished Service Award.
Slone
holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of
Pittsburgh, where he is a Director of the Alumni Board and a member of
the Board of Visitors. In 2005 he received the university’s Legacy
Laureate Award, one of its most prestigious awards. He also served on
the Executive Advisory Board of the Department of Marketing and
Logistics at the University of North Texas.
Slone is a long-time
volunteer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and was Chairman of the
Tarrant County, Texas, Big Brothers Big Sisters agency. He is actively
involved in a need-based scholarship program at the University of
Pittsburgh, as well as with H.O.P.E. Farm (in Fort Worth, Texas), for
which he recently led a fund drive that generated $1 million for a new
gym. Most recently, he led a drive to create a Pakistan Chair at the
University of Texas, raising over half a million dollars. He and his
wife, Fran, reside in Colleyville, Texas and have four children and
seven grandchildren.
All proceeds from the sale of Grounders go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and H.O.P.E. Farm.
