ASH TREE PUBLISHING Women's Health, Women's Spirituality P.O. Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498 USA Phone/Fax 1-845-246-8081 Ash Tree Publishing

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Author seeks to heal mothers and daughters
Cassie Premo Steele believes writing is a way to heal
By EllenFortson

Copyright © 2004 -2005
ColumbiaStar
All Rights Reserved

Cassie Premo Steele writes instinctively as a literary mama, and her message is loud and clear. This professor of literature and poet of healing words believes what mothers do today influences their maternal lines in the future. The author presents the question that haunts every mother, in every culture, “How can I heal my daughter, until I can heal myself?”

Using writing as a way to heal has always fascinated the editor of Moon Days, the author of We Heal from Memories , and her latest book Ruins , just recently promoted by the Godi Galleria.

“I was originally a pre–med major in college, then I switched to literature. As a young girl I was encouraged to keep a journal even in kindergarten. In the second grade, I wrote little stories and poems. I thought it was so cool in the fifth grade we kept a journal that counted as homework. I really loved biology, and as I grew more aware, I realized there had always been a link for me between writing and health.”

Dr. Steele has taught literature and women’s studies classes at USC and conducted writing and poetry workshops throughout the Columbia area. Her expertise in healing offers metaphors for psychic growth. She considers stories medicine, whether written or read, to be powerful resources. Responding to the story is the work of our daily lives. Stories are embedded with instructions to guide us about the complexities of life, both the joy and the pain.

Dr. Steele’s first book was a collaboration of authors working together on a woman’s series on menstruation stories. Lucinda Shirley and Karen Murphy formed a team of women who wanted to promote women’s awareness of health issues within the boundaries of our cultural sanctions. “We wanted to help our daughters, our mothers, and ourselves deal with everyday feminine issues without being afraid.”

“Healing is more than the absence of disease,” Dr. Steele reminded readers. “Awareness brings us back to our true nature, to pay attention to little things. I keep a continuous inner dialogue between nature and me. It’s a way of slowing down to live life fully.”

Dr. Steele’s essays and stories, and award– winning poetry can be enjoyed online in the family newsletters, Blessed Bee and Cup of Comfort , and Literary Mama , an online journal for mothers.