Reunion Online

Judi McCreary is a producer and writer who has penned plots for many primetime dramas, including Law & Order: SVU, a task that takes her into the darkest precincts of what human beings can do.

New products designed to educate and inspire make their debut in the Heartshop.

What I Know Now:  Letters To My Younger Self

by Ellyn Spragins

Ellyn Spragins’s collection of forty-one letters by remarkable women from all walks of life is an inspirational read for all ages. Whether you peruse the book all at once or simply pick it up when you’re in need of some extra motivation, this compilation of letters will encourage and enlighten you.

TK.

Since the earliest days of the organization, Cristina Carlino has been one of Joyful Heart's most vocal and most generous supporters. Reunion editor-at-large Peter Hermann spoke with Cristina about her commitment to the issues and new plans for her philanthropic pursuits.

On November 8, 2001, Amy Homan McGee, a mother of two, was shot to death by her husband in their home in Pennsylvania. The murder was the final act of violence in a history of cruelty and abuse. She was thirty-three years old. In 2010, with the help of the Verizon Foundation, Penn State Public Broadcasting created Telling Amy’s Story, a documentary chronicling the events leading up to Amy’s death. With an introduction by Joyful Heart Founder & President Mariska Hargitay, the film uses interviews with Amy’s friends and family, law enforcement officers, court personnel and co-workers at the Verizon store where she worked to examine the warning signs that may have changed the outcome of Amy’s story.

Many of us remember making art as small children. Carving out that piece of floor or kitchen table or classroom and losing ourselves as we became engrossed in the task at hand. Immersed in a sea of paints, crayons, construction paper, brown paper bags and Popsicle sticks, all our senses were engaged. The smell of the crayons, the feel of wet paint or glitter glue on fingers, the sound of furious coloring or of our own rhythmic breathing as we focused on a task all grounded us to our mission. Some will remember the sense of pride and accomplishment at having completed this act of telling a story. Telling our story in a way that makes sense of ourselves, our families and our world.

Feeling Helpless and Hopeless “It’s really hard for me to get out of bed in the morning.”

A Sense that One Can Never Do Enough “There is no way I can ever get all the work done that I should.”

Hypervigilance “I must keep my guard up at all times to keep myself and those around me safe.”

Diminished Creativity “I can’t seem to come up with even a single possible solution to this problem.”

Inability to Embrace Complexity “There is good and bad, right and wrong.”

John Prendergast is Co-founder of Enough, the anti-genocide project at the Center for American Progress. John is co-author with Don Cheadle of the forthcoming Random House book, "The Enough Moment." He sat down with Reunion's Editor-at-Large, Peter Hermann, to discuss his lifelong commitment to helping those in need.

Rebekah Windmiller is an Expressive Arts Therapist, a licensed Creative Arts Therapist in New York State, and the Director of the New York Expressive Arts Studio Community Workshop.