I write about modern courageous women unbeknownst to themselves—my favorite archetype.

This month I celebrate two friends Olga Malyj and Yolande Barial (both August Happiness babies) who embody that archetype.

I met Olga Malyj through work when we were both in our early twenties.  Her work ethics, kindness, and resourcefulness compelled me to intentionally seek her out as friend and role model.  For about six months Olga joined the writing-critique group I was with (Evelyn Miche, Theresa Stephenson and I wanted to bring back our number to 4 when Cat moved back East).  During that time Olga fictionalized stories about her mother as a young woman in the Ukraine. I was mesmerized by the authentic details Olga used.

Fast forward . . . Even though Olga has chosen other outlets to express her creativity, her ability to use language in verbal and written communications is stronger than ever.

Olga Malyj is Consultant/Owner at Malyj Consulting. Her forte is in Business Development where she helps business owners effectively manage multi-cultural staffs, projects, global virtual teams, and strategic partnerships.  http://www.linkedin.com/in/olgamalyj

In her community, she is an advocate for public libraries and schools.

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A want ad (to work at the regional park district) brought Yolande Barial into my life.  She was about to become a mom for the first time and I subbed for her when she was on maternity leave.  That was 15 years ago.  Yolande speaks and practices her words-of-wisdom.  One of my favorite Yolande-ism is “Do your job. Go home.”

That’s a helpful reminder for many of us who work part-time or full-time at our homes.  Writing, researching, promoting, networking, mentoring—that’s a lot of work (sometimes thankless work)—we need to take breaks for the simple pleasures in our home lives.

A week ago I was at Yolande’s & Monica’s joint birthday party where I witnessed Yolande’s latest rendition of her profound poem DIVA.  Brava!

Yolande Barial is the founder of Your Words Project: Speaking on Purpose which seeks to enrich the lives of sisters of all ages and ethnicities through spoken word and other forms of creative expression. http://yolandebarial.wordpress.com/about/ YWP encourages girls and women to value each others individuality and nurture and honor that individuality.

This month I celebrate my 2 dear friends (and my darling sister whose birthday was pre-August).
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan
author of Love Made of Heart

To comment on any of my columns (blog posts), just click on the blue title bar of the post, fill in the boxes and press “submit.”  Please click here for my blog’s most current post http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/

As an author and community spirit, Teresa LeYung Ryan speaks out for public libraries, honors immigrant-stories, advocates compassion for mental illness, and helps survivors of violence find their own voices through writing.

Two days ago I received this email:

Dear Ms. Ryan,

I am commissioned by Scarecrow Press to write Historical Dictionary of Asian American lit and theater and would very much like to include you . . .  I have found all necessary info from your website, except for your educational background. Would you mind providing me with your degrees, majors, and universities?

Many thanks,
Wenying

Wenying Xu, Ph.D
Professor & Chair
Department of English
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL 33431

My reply:

Dear Professor Xu,

Thank you for wanting to include my profile in your project.

May I see your final write-up of my profile before you submit it to Scarecrow Press?

I’d be honored if you could include my favorite quote:

Author Teresa LeYung Ryan says: “You have the power to materialize your dearest dreams. Transform Your Personal Experiences Into Potent Stories.”

Education:
Lowell High School, San Francisco
I do not have a college degree; I have taken courses at City College of San Francisco, Skyline College, U.C. Berkeley Extension; I have attended many writing workshops; I have created and delivered many writing workshops; I believe that the more I read the better writer I become.

Again, thank you for wanting to include me in the Historical Dictionary of Asian American lit and theater.

How did you find me?

Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan

Why am I entitling this post “Thank You to My Husband” ?

Because . . . I work hard as a writer, and, I work well when I’m in lovely space that has “good vibrations.”  My husband helped me get to the place where I am today and I thank him!

As an author and community spirit, Teresa LeYung Ryan speaks out for public libraries, honors immigrant-stories, advocates compassion for mental illness, and helps survivors of violence find their own voices through writing.

Saturday, March 06, 2010 My dear friend author Lynn Scott http://lynnscott.wordpress.com/ fed me a lovely meal today; then she critiqued my letter to Ms. Glenn Close and said exactly what I needed to hear. Lynn reminded me to speak from my heart. Thank you, Lynn!

Dear Ms. Close,

You and I speak the same powerful mission statement.

Your riveting article “Mental Illness: the Stigmas of Silence” for The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-close/mental-illness-the-stigma_b_328591.html, especially revealing the truth about the original ending of Fatal Attraction, and your comment about how “certain words have power over us” in your Aha! Moment for Oprah http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Glenn-Closes-Aha-Moment touch me deeply.

Your delivery of Iris in The Natural has inspired me to be “a good woman.”  Picturing you as Iris (a calm tower of strength) and reading about your confronting mental illness in your family gave me the inspiration to present my book Love Made of Heart to you.

Since the publication of that story, I have spoken openly about how my mother suffered terribly as an immigrant woman with a mental illness.  As a young girl, I had learned from relatives to blame my own mother for “bringing on craziness upon herself” and “not being able to let go of grief like everyone else.”

I was 27 years old when my mother came to visit me and my sister (we were sharing an apartment).  She moved in without any discussions.  In our apartment, our mother plotted her way to end her misery.

Please accept my book as my expression of gratitude to you for speaking openly and unabashedly about the suffering that your loved ones and you endured.

I can see your face when I read the lines spoken by Dr. Gloria Thatcher, the compassionate psychologist in Love Made of Heart.

I’m dedicating this week to writing posts on my blog about you and your work with www.BringChange2Mind.org
The video of you and your sister is most inspiring.  “Words are powerful.”
Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan   www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

As an author and a community spirit, I, Teresa LeYung Ryan, use my novel Love Made of Heart to shed light on stigmas suffered by women, men and children with mental illness/traumas to the mind. I speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Other resources:

National Alliance on Mental Illness   www.nami.org

Stamp Out Stigma  www.stampoutstigma.org

www.BringChange2Mind.org 1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness.

Actress Glenn Close and Author Teresa LeYung Ryan Share Mission Statement About Stigmas & Mental Illness