In December of 2006, Mary McManus' mind, body and soul were crying out for healing. She was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease as Western medicine defines it. It was her wake up call to find a path for healing. In February of 2007, she discovered the healing power of writing poetry, foreshadowing her 2009 Boston Marathon run while using a cane, a leg brace and at times a wheelchair for mobility with the first poem she wrote, "Running the Race." She calls her pen her divining rod for healing that inspires healing mind, body and Spirit from childhood paralytic polio and sexual, physical and emotional abuse from the time she was 8 years old until her dad's suicide when she was 17 years old. When we bypass our analytical minds and are able to see beyond appearances, magic and miracles happen. Mary's hope and intention is that as you read these poems, you too will feel the heal, experience possibility and be inspired to open your heart to a world beyond what we see and know.
About the Author: Mary McManus has known challenges since she was five years old beginning with contracting paralytic polio followed by nine years of enduring violence at the hands of family members. Those early challenges helped Mary to grow into the woman that she is today and prepared her to take on the challenge of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. Mary was diagnosed in December 2006 when she was at the height of her award winning career as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs. As Mary had done when faced with life's trials and tribulations, she got still and asked for Divine Guidance. It came through her divining rod of healing, her pen, as poetry poured forth from her soul. She took a leap of faith leaving her career just three years shy of when she was eligible to retire to heal her life. The first poem she wrote, "Running the Race," foreshadowed her 2009 Boston Marathon run as a mobility impaired runner. Mary feverishly wrote poetry asking the question, 'How will I ever reclaim my life?' and yearning to run unencumbered and free. Eight years after beginning her quest to heal the effects of paralytic polio and trauma, Mary was finally able to get traction on her healing journey and experience the physical manifestation of all she had written about in her poetry. Mary holds a BS in Communications from Boston University, an MSW from Boston College and many fond memories of her veterans and their families who blessed her life when she worked at the VA . She lives in Chestnut Hill Massachusetts with Tom, her husband, her soul mate and the man who has gone the distance with her for the past 40 years.