Mary Ciofalo, Author of “Redemption Stories, Unwasted Pain.”

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Introduction

You’ve reached the website for the writing of Mary Ciofalo. Currently, I’m presenting two published books. Two more are ‘in the chute.’ I welcome interaction, and you can reach me by email at mciofalo@earthlink.net.

About the Author

I’m a native San Franciscan who strayed into other areas of California and Oregon but always returned to ‘the City by the Bay’ like a stretched rubber band relaxing back to its natural shape.

I began writing when I was 15 years old—typical adolescent brooding stuff. But, the deep compulsion to continue writing was enough to land me with a major at San Francisco State University in psychology (later to become my profession), and a minor in creative writing where I nurtured a love of writing, especially short stories. These dual interests created the background that would later lead to Redemption Stories.

For the last three decades I have worked as a marriage and family therapist, and feel grateful to have work that I love and am successful at. Much of my written work results from my profession. It reflects my fascination with and interest in what thwarts and what allows people to make changes—especially changes difficult enough to be considered redemptive.

Publications

Redemption Stories, Unwasted Pain. Available mid December, 2009 from Authorhouse Publishers. (Click to view the Authorhouse website for purchasing options and to read a free preview.)

In Redemption Stories, Unwasted Pain, I have collected and shaped interviews into a book of true and stunning stories of the journeys that ordinary people have made from pain to redemption. Unwasted Pain, the subtitle, refers to the facing and distilling of pain from such difficulties as abuse, hatred, evil, crime and war, and finding peace and equilibrium after what had distressed and harmed them and others.

Besides the twenty-one stories that comprise the chapters of this book, I have also written four essays that sum up the observations I made about the process of redemption… observations that I learned through the process of creating this book. I also include some views on redemption from an Advaitan Swami, an Episcopalian minister and a former warden of San Quentin Prison.

This book is intended to be inspirational. But it does have the potential to direct one’s thinking to include the possibility of redemption in situations where one might not even conceive of mercy or forgiveness or the possibility of redemption.

It So Happened That… the Unique Teaching of Ramesh S. Balsekar With Stories and Anecdotes, Zen Publications, 2000. Available through Amazon. (Click to purchase or read reviews on Amazon.)

This book is a collection of the stories and Anecdotes that my Advaitan teacher Ramesh Balsekar used to illustrate his teachings on Non-Duality. A disciple of Nisargadata Maharaj in the lineage of Ramana Maharshi, Ramesh Balsekar was educated in a London University, and was uniquely positioned to convey complex Eastern philosophy to the Western mind. He was my teacher for over 15 years. The book begins with a condensation of one of his opening talks, and then takes the ideas he uses and shows the stories, humor, and anecdotes he uses to illuminate those concepts. It is a lighthearted primer into his complex teachings, and was written with his encouragement and approval.

Contact Me

You can reach me by email at mciofalo@earthlink.net. I welcome your feedback and any redemption stories you wish to share.

For more about me and Redemption Stories, you can also visit the following links: Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Shelfari.