Podcast appearances and mentions of amy oestreicher

originally released: June 17, 2020 • updated intro: April 9, 2021 Writer/performer/amazing human Amy Oestreicher comes to us with us to complete the Falsettos trilogy (by going back to Part 1). Topics Include: Bill Finn calling on the phone, convincing teachers to let you do your own version of the assignment, tap dancing so hard you need surgery, and another in what is booming a series of scrapbooks! Featured Recordings: In Trousers - Original Cast (1979) • March of the Falsettos - Original Cast (1981) • Falsettoland - Original Cast (1990) MERCH! T-shirts! Totes bags! BASEBALL SHIRTS! ETCETERA! DO YOU LIKE MOVIE MUSICALS? Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies! Right now you can hear Kimberly Cooper Schmidt (The Light in the Piazza) and Jay Schmidt (The Full Monty) talk about the best mockumentary ever made This is Spin̈al Tap (1984)! Patreon • Twitter • Facebook • Email

**2024 PODCAST OF THE YEAR WINNER: BEST FEMALE HOSTED PODCAST** Welcome to another captivating episode of our award-winning podcast that is renowned for its insightful and transformative discussions. In this episode, hosts, Kelly & Jessica, discuss the theme of creativity, focusing on 'Creativity and Gratitude: Exercises and Inspiration for a Year of Art, Hope and Healing' by Amy Oestreicher. The book, functioning as a workbook, encourages the integration of creativity and gratitude into daily life through 52 weeks of prompts and activities. They explore the author's personal story of overcoming life-threatening health challenges and how creativity played a crucial role in her healing process. Discussions include the concepts of resilience, gratitude, and viewing creativity as energy rather than just arts and crafts. The hosts share their experiences with the book's exercises, the impact of creativity on mental health, and practical tips for incorporating creativity into everyday life, such as keeping a sketchbook and embracing detours as opportunities for growth. Listener engagements and challenges to try out the book's activities and share their creative journeys are also highlighted. Episode Highlights: 00:28 May's Focus: Creativity and Gratitude 01:19 Diving Deep into Amy Oestreicher's Journey 03:03 Exploring Creativity as a Path to Healing 04:15 Creativity in Everyday Life: A Workbook Approach 05:24 Personal Experiences and Takeaways 14:28 Applying Creativity to Real Life: Challenges and Tips 22:59 Concluding Thoughts and Next Steps   Resources & Promotions: May Book Club Book: "Creativity and Gratitude: Exercises and Inspiration for a Year of Art, Hope, and Healing" TED Talks: Check out Amy Oestreicher's inspiring TED Talks Games: Blank Slate Just One  Pens: Friction Pilot pens - erasable markers great for sketching Follow Us for More Inspiration: Instagram: @chasingbrighter Blog: www.chasingbrighter.com Exclusive Offers: Audible: Get your next read and enjoy the convenience of audiobooks. Try Audible today! Amazon Prime: Special 50% discount on Amazon Prime memberships for our listeners. Join now! Warrior Strong Wellness: Fuel your body and mind. Use the code "chasingbrighter" for a 10% discount on all products. Shop here!

Amy Oestreicher is an Audie Award-nominated PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, award-winning actress, and playwright. She's also the author of a brand new novel, “My Beautiful Detour: A Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful”. In this week's new episode Amy shares how she was an ambitious, audacious teenager who had her life all planned out: go to college, win a Tony, and conquer the world. But life took an unexpected detour when the week before her high school senior prom, she found herself in unusual pain. She was rushed to the emergency room, and due to a blood clot, Amy's stomach exploded to the ceiling of the operating room. After both lungs collapsed, she almost died. Months later, she awoke from a coma covered in tubes, bags, and drains, and was told that she had no stomach anymore, she could not eat or drink, and it was not certain if or when she would ever taste one bite ever again. It took 27 surgeries and six years, but eventually, Amy was miraculously reconstructed, and with the intestines she had left, was given a system that digests food. Today, through her #LoveMyDetour “Detourist Campaign,” she creates content that inspires, educates, entertains, and transforms our perception of obstacles for individuals faced with unexpected bumps and “detours” in their lives – much like what Amy faced at 18 years old. As founder of #LoveMyDetour, she provides advocacy, entertainment, seminars, and peer-to-peer education on trauma, mental health, women's issues, storytelling, and diversity. Her vital message is delivered with humor, eloquence and heart in a down-to-earth, relatable and positive manner. To connect with Amy and to learn more you can connect with her on her website www.amyoes.com and on Instagram @amyoes70 Facebook @amyoestr and on Twitter @amyoes and to learn more about her new book, “My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful” click here Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here. *Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.

In memory of singer, actor, painter, mental health advocate Amy Oestreicher. She leaves behind a tremendous amount of art and an indelible impact on her community. https://www.amyoes.com/  

In this month's solo episode, I share all about the different creative cycles and seasons and how to determine which one you're experiencing. From creative spring to summer to fall to winter, how can we honor our creativity as cyclical beings and allow ourselves to ebb and flow?I also take a moment to honor the life and passing of Episode 23's guest, Amy Oestreicher.Sign up for Leya's newsletter list:www.leyavandoren.com

I’ve just learned that amazing friend of the podcast and past guest Amy Oestreicher has passed. Please relisten to her interview about In Trousers and enjoy her beautiful spirit and boundless energy. ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES: Writer/performer/amazing human Amy Oestreicher comes to us with us to complete the Falsettos trilogy (by going back to Part 1). Topics Include: Bill Finn calling on the phone, convincing teachers to let you do your own version of the assignment, tap dancing so hard you need surgery, and another in what is booming a series of scrapbooks! _Featured Recordings: In Trousers - Original Cast (1979) • March of the Falsettos - Original Cast (1981) • Falsettoland - Original Cast (1990) __Patreon • Twitter • Facebook • Email

It was with great sadness we learned that Amy passed away a few weeks after this podcast was published.  We have retained it here in her memory.  This Episode is an Interview with Amy Oestreicher Jenni Munday interviews Amy Oestreicher. She is an Audie award-nominated playwright, performer, and multidisciplinary creator. A singer, librettist, and visual artist, she dedicates her work to celebrating untold stories, and the detours in life that transform communities. PTSD A PTSD specialist, artist, author, Huffington Post columnist, international speaker, RAINN representative, and disability advocate, she's given three TEDx Talks on transforming trauma through creativity, and has shared her story on NBC, CBS, ABC, and contributed to 70+ publications on arts and community transformation. Touring Amy has toured her musical, Gutless & Grateful, to 200+ venues from 54 Below to Barrington Stage Co since its 2012 NYC debut, and premiered her multimedia musical, Passageways (original lyrics, music, book and artwork) at HERE Arts Center with the release of her memoir, My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful. Publications Her plays have been published by Eddy Theatre Co, PerformerStuff, Narcissists Anthology, New World Theatre's “Solitary Voice: A Collection of Epic Monologues,” finalists in Manhattan Repertory's Short Play Fest, NYNW Theatre Fest, #MeTooTheatreWomen,"Women in the Age of Trump," & performed across the country by students for immigration festivals, academic projects. Founder of "LoveMyDetour," a campaign creating performances designed to entertain, educate, and engage on the intersection of arts and social justice, is part of the National Initiative for Arts and Health in the Military. The ICWP Centre Stage Podcast was named as one of the Top 20 Playwriting Podcasts on the web by Feedspot.

Once upon a time, not long before her 18th birthday, Amy Oestreicher was a young woman full of hope and promise, with plans for college and dreams of Broadway. One week before her senior prom, a blood clot changed everything. In agonizing pain, she was rushed to the hospital—where her stomach exploded, literally. Both of her lungs collapsed. After months in a coma, Amy woke up to learn she might never eat or drink again. Eventually, she had 27 surgeries to salvage and replace her digestive system.  Today, nearly 15 years later, Amy Oestreicher is grateful for that “explosion”—her first of six difficult but wonderful life-changing “detours.” In her debut book, MY BEAUTIFUL DETOUR: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful (Singing Tree Publishing; November 19, 2019; ISBN-13: 978-17333138819) author Amy Oestreicher shares her incredible story of trauma and transformation. She also shares the beliefs and practices that took her from barely surviving to thriving—and blazing her own trails as a “Detourist.”    “A Detourist looks for the upside of obstacles,” Amy explains. “A Detourist follows that twisted path because they’re curious to see where it could lead. In addition, a Detourist embraces those unexpected routes as opportunities for growth, change, and self-fulfillment.”   Part memoir and part self-help guide, MY BEAUTIFUL DETOUR recounts Amy’s major detours—from her medical trauma to having her identity shattered to the return of memories of another trauma she thought she had buried: being sexually molested by a trusted mentor. As she acknowledges, she was hurt, betrayed, and broken—physically and emotionally. But her passion and determination stayed strong. A gifted storyteller, Amy writes with honesty, heart, and humor (yes, her book, which she describes as a “fun read” is filled with amusing adventures—like the time she “escaped” from the hospital for a shopping spree). She is also an amazing teacher. With MY BEAUTIFUL DETOUR to light the way, readers will learn how to:         Turn creativity into a force for healing, with insight into the power of artistic expression—whether in the form of sketching, painting, singing, dancing, acting, or writing—in alleviating pain and recovering from trauma.         To tap into the courage to find your own uniqueness and dare to reject the path you always thought you wanted and redefine the person you always thought you were.         Be grateful for what you take for granted (after years of being nourished by feeding tubes, Amy savored her first sips of water) and for the hardships and setbacks that give you the opportunity to rethink, rebound, and reinvent yourself.         Connect to, inspire, and lead others through storytelling. By sharing your stories, you touch hearts, open minds, enrich your community, honor the ideas you believe in, and pass on the lessons you have learned. Amy Oestreicher is living proof that even the most unwelcome and painful detour can lead to unexpected blessings. MY BEAUTIFUL DETOUR is a testament to her spirit and resilience—and her gift to those struggling to survive and find their way.   An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives and up to 20 percent of these people go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. An estimated 5 percent of Americans—more than 13 million people—have PTSD at any given time.   Amy Oestreicher was one of them. So, what happens when an ordinary teenager has to turn into a warrior just to survive? And can the journey through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder really become an “adventure?”   Amy had ambitious plans for college and a Broadway career, until her stomach exploded the week before her senior prom. Months later, she awoke from a coma to learn that she might never be able to eat or drink again. After years on IV nutrition, her first bite of food awakened her senses to life's ordinary miracles but also brought back memories of being sexually abused by a trusted mentor for months, just before the unexpected rush to the emergency room that fateful Passover night. With determination, imagination, relentless resilience, and an inner “hunger” for life, Amy created a roadmap where none existed. Her journey through life's unthinkable detours is nothing short of miraculous, but the creative path to healing she forged is accessible to anyone. As a survivor—and “thriver”—of abuse and extensive medical trauma, Amy discovered sources of resilience she didn’t know she had but it turns out we all possess. In this book, she creates a tapestry made from each of each thread of her journey, empowering others to find gratitude in every setback and discover their own infinite inner strength. Amy’s search for “home” proves to be the greatest test of cultivating resilience after near-death, and reclaiming identity after both sexual assault and medical trauma. Amy’s journey is ultimately a celebration of ordinary and extraordinary challenges and miracles.   In this coming of age story, Amy shares her struggles and discoveries living with both visible and invisible illness, the tremendous gifts to be reaped from trauma, its lessons which have illuminated her path, and how these gifts can be discovered as a unique, yet universal way to navigate any kind of uncertainty.   Interwoven through her remarkable story are insights on navigating any kind of uncertainty, including:   What is a “detourist”– and why is it important to take those detours? The importance of detours for college students How to transition from being a “survivor” to a “thriver” Amy's" Four Hardcore Skills" to resilience Finding your own uniqueness not through what’s happened to you, but what you choose to do with it The power of art to heal: five ways to incorporate art in your healing process Our innate ability to be artists, and why creativity is an essential mindset Why sharing your story is imperative to healing, and how to creativity to reframe your narrative How humor is a way through Turn messes, mistakes and setbacks into creative detours  My Beautiful Detour offers practical strategies for individuals and unexpected tools for the families of trauma survivors, helping communities build new, limitless futures. The book includes numerous “trauma insights,” and is enriched with humor, art, poetry, and useful takeaways for readers. Reading one woman’s heroic adventure through trauma, recovery, and discovery of new directions in healing the body and the mind is an empowering tale of not just getting through, but thriving. If you want learn more about living a fantastic life after alcohol, check out my book! https://www.amazon.com/My-Steps-Sobri... Wait, there is more!!! Have a look at  www.mystepstosobriety.com  to see which other books and projects I am involved in!  And follow me on Instagram, Podcast, Facebook and Linkedin! https://www.instagram.com/adifferentlifestory https://stephanneff.podbean.com/ https://www.facebook.com/adifferentlifestory https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephan-neff-author/

An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives. Furthermore, up to 20 percent of these people go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also, an estimated 5 percent of Americans, more than 13 million people, have PTSD at any given time. Amy Oestreicher was one of them. So, what happens when an ordinary teenager has to turn into a warrior just to survive? And can the journey through PTSD really become an “adventure?” Amy had ambitious plans for college and a Broadway career, until her stomach exploded the week before her senior prom. Months later, she awoke from a coma to learn that she might never be able to eat or drink again. After years on IV nutrition, her first bite of food awakened her senses to life's ordinary miracles. But it also brought back memories of being sexually abused by a trusted mentor for months, just before the unexpected rush to the emergency room that fateful Passover night. With determination, imagination, relentless resilience, and an inner “hunger” for life, Amy created a roadmap where none existed.  Amy’s journey through life's unthinkable detours is nothing short of miraculous. But the creative path to healing she forged is accessible to anyone. As a survivor, and “thriver”, of abuse and extensive medical trauma, Amy discovered sources of resilience she didn’t know she had.  Amy’s journey is ultimately a celebration of ordinary and extraordinary challenges and miracles. In this interview, Amy shares her struggles and discoveries living with both visible and invisible illness. In addition, she talks about the tremendous gifts to be reaped from trauma. Also, she shares lessons which have illuminated her path, and how these gifts can be discovered as a unique, yet universal way to navigate any kind of uncertainty.   Episode Highlights: First Amy talks about her upcoming audio book. Then Emily asks Amy to tell her story. Amy had her life planned out. She applied to 17 colleges.  She loved the world of theater. When she was 17, her mentor started abusing her. Amy told her mother abut the abuse in April of her senior year in High School. Shortly after that, Amy had a really bad stomach ache and her father took her to the hospital. Amy’s stomach exploded to the ceiling of the operating room. Her parents were told Amy wouldn't make it through the night. Months later Amy woke up from a coma. She was told she wasn't going to college.  Furthermore, Amy didn't have a stomach and the doctors didn't know when she'd ever be able to eat or drink again. Amy talks about her recovery in the Intensive Care Unit. It took 7 years and 28 surgeries before Amy could eat and drink but she still doesn’t have a stomach. Next Amy talks abut the challenges of being home and not being able to eat or drink. Consequently, Amy learned how to be creative in the kitchen.  Also, she discovered that she focused on what she couldn’t have. Amy’s memoir is about how creativity saved her life. Her first creation was a chocolate business. Next, she persuaded her parents to let her audition for the play Oliver.  And she ended up getting the lead role. Creativity was Amy’s safe container where she could do what she loved and be someone other than who she became medically. She took it one day at a time with no timeline in sight. Also, she got through by being in the moment and being grateful. Amy presents at surgical conferences and talks to doctors to educate them on the psychological impacts of hunger. And, she doesn't know anyone else who has been through what she experienced. Amy talks about how her family supported her. Her brother kept a journal while he was in the ICU with her for 72 days.  And Amy used that journal to write a play about how trauma affects a family.   When she was finally able to eat, the food unexpectedly fueled her memories. She went to college at age 25.  In college, Amy learned how the mind and body are connected and wrote a paper on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Amy calls herself a "Detourist" and Emily asks Amy to talk about the detours in her life. Gutless and Grateful is a musical Amy wrote about her life. She discovered that what happened to her was a beautiful detour. Trust your detour as you go through it one step at a time. We need community support when we heal and we get that by not playing the victim and by focusing on "what can we do with this." Detours are important for college students and Amy explains why. Discovering the Hero's Journey helped Amy discover her path. Gratitude was key to Amy's recovery. Also, gratitude helped Amy figure out her values. Amy discovered painting after her 13th surgery. Amy has give 4 TED Talks and the links are in the show notes. Emily and Amy talk about how everyone is an artist. Amy admits she needs to take time to breathe and appreciate what she's accomplished. Emily asks Amy if she's always so positive. Amy considers herself a very present person.   Then she talks about her grieving process. Amy adds a tear to every one of her paintings to depict that even with the joy, there is sadness. Focusing on each individual moment got Amy through. Emily and Amy discuss the importance of sharing your story when you're ready. Finally, this COVID time is a detour for all of us. And there are resources on Amy’s website for resilience and a section for others to share their detour story.   Resources Mentioned: Amy’s Website Amy’s Book Amy’s Audio Book LoveMyDetour Shop TED Talk:  Reweaving loss into memory: our responsibility as survivors Amy Oestreicher TED Talk TED Talk:  How to Turn Trauma into a Warrior’s Adventure   TED Talk:  Creativity  Connects: How to Heal the Environment in a Global Pandemic Emily Harman Soul Pajamas Onward: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Onward Movement Facebook Group | YouTube Schedule a Complimentary Coaching Call with Emily

Amy Oestreicher is an Audie award-nominated playwright, performer, and multidisciplinary creator. Amy overcame a decade of trauma to become a sought-after PTSD specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, international keynote speaker, RAINN representative, and health advocate. She has given four TEDx Talks on transforming trauma through creativity, and has contributed to NBC's Today, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and MSNBC, among others. Her multi-award-winning musical, Gutless & Grateful has been seen in over 200 venues and she has recently published her memoir, My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful.In this episode, we go into her story and how creativity and art got her through, how to deal with life detours and the unknown, the importance of sharing your story and taking the proper time to integrate and process contrasted with today's culture of "instant sharing" on social media, and human connection.Creative Resources Mentioned:Eugene O'Neill Theater CenterWhen God Was a Woman by Merlin StoneIf Women Rose Rooted by Sharon BlackieThe Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der KolkConnect with Amy:www.amyoes.comwww.amyoes.com/shop

Amy Oestreicher is many things, but first and foremost, she is a storyteller. Amy is an artist, writer, and influential speaker whose work is rooted in inspiration and built to be eclectic. From the visual arts to music to writing to education, click on any of the pictures above to explore her work and services offered. These include offerings such as a variety of hailed workshops and outreach programs, the sale of her visual art and fashion line, her original multimedia solo-musical PASSAGEWAYS, and My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey From Gutless to Grateful “Her survival journey, unveiled in My Beautiful Detour, is more than inspiring; it is a celebration. Against all odds, Amy finds—and creates—the magical out of the impossible.”” — Amanda Gronich, co-creator, The Laramie Project Amy had ambitious plans for college and a Broadway career, until her stomach exploded the week before her senior prom. Months later, she awoke from a coma to learn that she might never be able to eat or drink again. After years on IV nutrition, her first bite of food awakened her senses to life’s ordinary miracles but also brought back memories of being sexually abused by a trusted mentor for months, just before the unexpected rush to the emergency room that fateful Passover night. With determination, imagination, relentless resilience, and an inner “hunger” for life, Amy created a roadmap where none existed. Please order My Beautiful Tour through your local bookstore https://twitter.com/AmyOes https://www.amyoes.com/

When Amy reached out to me to be a guest on my podcast, I was gobsmacked by her story. We had so many parallels in our stories. Amy’s passion is being a performing artist and like Amy, My first love and passion is music, singing and songwriting. Yet, it was during a very intense performing arts program I experienced a major event in both my mental and physical health. Although Amy’s story around mental health was slightly different than mind, she has found a way to beautiful intertwine art and healing at the same time.   Amy Oestreicher is an Audie award-nominated playwright, performer, and multidisciplinary creator. A singer, librettist, and visual artist, she dedicates her work to celebrating untold stories, and the detours in life that can spark connection and transform communities. Amy overcame a decade of trauma to become a sought-after PTSD specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, international keynote speaker, RAINN representative, and health advocate. She has given three TEDx Talks on transforming trauma through creativity, and has contributed to NBC’s Today, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and MSNBC, among others. Amy has toured her multi-award-winning musical, Gutless & Grateful, to over 200 venues from 54 Below to Barrington Stage Company since its 2012 NYC debut, and developed her full-length play, Flicker and a Firestarter, with Playlight Theatre Co. Her multimedia musical, Passageways (original lyrics, music, book and mixed media artwork) has been performed at HERE Arts Center, Dixon Place, and the Triad Theater. Her plays have been published by Eddy Theatre Company, PerformerStuff, Narcissists Anthology, New World Theatre’s “Solitary Voice: A Collection of Epic Monologues,” and were finalists in Manhattan Repertory’s Short Play Festival, NYNW Theatre Fest, #MeTooTheatreWomen, "Women in the Age of Trump," and Tennessee Williams’s New Orleans Literary Festival, and performed across the country by students for immigration festivals, academic projects, and Sexual Assault Prevention Month. She is founder of "LoveMyDetour," a campaign creating seminars, workshops, curriculum, books, music, and performances designed to entertain, educate, and engage on the intersection of arts and social justice, is part of the National Initiative for Arts and Health in the Military. Her memoir, My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful. was awarded 2nd Place Winner of Best Memoir/Autobiography for the 2019 CT Press Awards, and she is currently recording the audiobook. She is in the process of creating a performance combining puppetry, Butoh, and site-specific theatre on environmental justice, ecofeminism, and sacred feminine mytholofgy to encourage women to claim their role in preserving our planet and has launched a series of workshops, Step Into Joy, inspiring people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to claim a walking practice that inspires connection with their environment and respect for various ecosystems. See more at www.amyoes.com.   5 Takeaways from Amy’s Episode: Creativity can help you release trauma.  Do what feels good to you. We have the power and the energy to make a difference just by inhaling and exhaling. Believe in your vision. Being vulnerable to really learn what you need.    AMY’S RESOURCES:   Www.amyoes.com/book   OKIKI RESOURCES: Need to Optimize your LinkedIn Profile? Try my new LinkedIn Profile Optimization Course! Video Editing  and Subtitle Programs I use (affiliates links are included): Subtitles: Happy Scribe Subtitles and Headers: ClipScribe Need high-quality virtual assistants? Mine is amazing and I met him through iWorker. Pivo App to create amazing video content: Want to create 360 Virtual Tours? Insta360 ONE R Camera Insta360 ONE X Camera Insta360 ONE R Virtual Tour Kit FREEBIES: FREE DOWNLOADABLE PDF: www.okikiconsulting.com/resources My Top 14 Resources for Entrepreneurs and Solopreneurs PDF contains: My Top 4 Free Resources for Creating Content My Top 4 Phone Apps for Creating Video Content My Top 3 Desktop Apps for Creating Video Content My Top 4 Recommended tools for Solopreneurs ABOUT FIYIN: Fiyin Obayan is the founder of Okiki Consulting, where she helps business owners communicate their personal brand or company brand stories through video content, in order to communicate to their target audience. She has been participating in video storytelling for 9 years starting with her previous Myspace Channel, and to her personal YouTube Channel. As an entrepreneur, She has learned to develop that skill for the social media and now specialized in using it for the LinkedIn platform. Through posting regular content from September 2019, She has gone from 1000 connections to 8000 connections on the platforms and gained clients and she wants to empower others to do the same. Contact Fiyin: Website: www.okikiconsulting.com Email: info@okikiconsulting.com Phone: (306)716-0324 Instagram: @Okikiconsulting Facebook: @Okikiconsulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiyinfoluwaobayan/ Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/okiki

Today we talk with singer, actor, painter, mental health advocate etc etc etc Amy Oestreicher! We talk beating the odds, mental health, and how to make theatre resonate in these difficult times.

Today's guest is Amy Oestreicher, who will share with us her beautiful detour journey to enlighten our mindset as writers. She is an Audie award-nominated playwright, performer, and multidisciplinary creator. A singer, librettist, and visual artist, she dedicates her work to celebrating untold stories, and the detours in life that can spark connections and transform communities.Two things she shares:CT Authors Trail - She'll be discussing my memoir "My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful," the strategies for resilience we could all use, especially now."Step Into Joy" – she's leading a series of six zoom workshops and participatory prompts on claiming your own walking practice, exploring Walking as Art, as Meditation, and Connection.Tips about setting up our positive mindset as writers:"When you write, be centered in your values, know why you are writing, and be strong on what matters to you”. When Amy was so uninspired, she just started making a list from A to Z and just made herself write one thing that she was grateful for every letter. She did that to give her some kind of structure because she thinks when we're lost sometimes, the structure helps.The power of story - read as many stories as you can because you'll start to trace those artsy of type of pattern and story stroke. There's so much we can learn from the stories around us, like stories from people around us. “Start asking more questions, be curious. Everyone does have a story to tell.” Even when writers are trying to get a new freelance client, the number one mindset you have to do is to listen. Listen to their struggles and pain because everybody is different.Four steps in Resilience she shares in her workshops that will help you develop a mindset :GratitudeStoriesCreativityHopeI really appreciate Amy and her connection with the audience. And I really appreciate her for sharing all her tips to have a proper mindset as writers with us. Support the show (http://www.thesavvyscribepodcast.com)

“Multi-Passionate Creative” doesn't even begin to describe today's guest. Amy is an artist, writer, and influential speaker whose work is rooted in inspiration and built to be eclectic. From the visual arts to music to writing to education, her services include the sale of her visual art and fashion line, her original multimedia solo-musical PASSAGEWAYS, and her newly released book which goes live this Fall! . Listen as Amy shares with us: How “Creativity is energy” and how to use it to transform your perception The first rule of creativity How to focus on the journey not the income * * Haley Hoover is an intuitive artist, success coach, and author who teaches women to embody their inner power. A certified Awakener Coach, her mission is to guide women on their path to a soul-aligned life--one that brings them joy and fulfillment. . She has been featured in PositivelyPositive, Thrive Global, Thought Catalogue, and Wild Woman Rising Magazine among others. . When she's not sitting behind her psychedelic-colored laptop, she can be found hamming it up on Instagram where she shares her life adventures of art and travel. . Learn more at TheSparklingHippie.com. * * Please, please, please share the love! If you enjoyed today's episode, like, subscribe and right a review for The Sparkling Hippie Podcast. I would love to read your review on the next recorded episode and give you a social media shout out!

Listen as Amy shows you how to transform adversity, detours, or trauma in your life through creativity and the four skills to resilience. Looking to get past certain hurdles in life can be challenging. Amy is here to help us get through it and push forward so we can be the best we can be in business & in life. Tune in! Goto-->AmyOes.com/subscribe Get-->Creativity WorkBook Facebook.com/amyoestr ________________________________ If you enjoyed this episode, would you mind giving a quick rating, a review, and subscribe so others can benefit as well? Thanks so much in advance. It means a lot. Celebrate with us as Kickoff this podcast! Subscribe to the AuthorityLetter.com to enter the 8 Week/One Prize a Week Giveaway!! Jump in & Win!Are you an authority in your field and want to be featured on an episode? DM Me to discuss getting you on the show. Say Hello on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram.

Amy had always wanted to pursue a musical theatre career and ending up at Broadway some day. So when Amy experienced the pain of sexual abuse and the trauma of entering coma and having her entire digestive system removed due to a blood clot, achieving her dream seemed impossible.Despite having 30 surgeries, being unable to eat, drink or even walk properly for years, Amy is now a playwright and actress for her own one-woman theatre shows, a Tedx speaker, teaching artist and PTSD specialist. Amy is the true definition of "never giving up", who not only overcame her trauma but has used her creative talent to encourage other trauma survivors to tell their stories and allow their pain to transform into hope and resilience.

On this episode we break silence on trauma & trashy past that can come with tons of wounds & untold secrets that we keep hidden for the sake of others & on our sanity cost. Amy Oestreicher, thriver & surviver teach us a lesson on how to turn a tragedy into a beautiful crazy adventure. DISCLAIMER : this episode contains sensitive matters such as abuse & mental health, please DO NOT LISTEN if you think you may be triggered. For more visit : https://www.amyoes.com/Subscribe & Listen on Spotify, Apple podcast, anchor, & many more platforms here https://linktr.ee/Casuallynormies For thoughts or requests, email at : casuallynormiescontact@gmail.com or simply follow the podcast instagram at @casuallynormiespodcast & hit us in the DMs. Here’s the link to share your story on the podcast : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6PFNr0AuZFvHNgP2AfES48-Yg0H7CyU7cxgb0-DmSuuAD-Q/viewform #yourstorymatters#casuallynormies#trauma#mentalhealth#psychology#AmyOestreicher#peace

As this podcast goes to air we are moving into our next full moon. The sun sign is in Leo and the moon is full in Aquarius… a reflective time time to nourish our creations and break through our limitations. Aquarius energy teaches us to break free of our limitation and the social norms to find our true self. The vibrations coming in now are all about breaking free and finding new perspectives. And as we have been talking about... this full moon is allowing each of us to open up fully to our light… to that part that inspires us to go beyond... to heal our wounds... to know that we are all evolving - evolution - revolution. It is also about questioning your own consciousness and where each of us can awaken… individually and collectively. This full moon asks you to feel your truth and then send it back out into the consciousness around you to help share a new reality. Aquarius and Leo energy encourages us to know where we are and insures us to shed expectation from others, to rise above the fear of rejection and align with our essence.  When you can reframe your challenges and problems as portals of energy… ways to illuminate the lessons rather than as just limitations, you open yourself up to discover the immense power you hold within yourself to heal and let go of your emotional blocks.  All of this I talk about about on the Energy Focus of the week which you can find live on Sunday nights on Facebook or Instagram.  Download my free guide to help you set up your own daily Practice. You can find it on my website at  TerriAnnHeiman.com. Or if you would prefer some private help, join me in my Empowered Spirit Program.  Schedule an Empowered Spirit Discovery Session with me and let's discover what three things are draining you of your energy and if this program is a fit for you. I am seeing clients, virtually and  some in person, and I do have just a few spot left for my private mentoring program . In today's episode, I talk with Amy Oestreicher about her life, her challenges and especially her creativity and how it has helped her to overcome her obstacles.  Her book, My Beautiful Detour, is one of the most inspiriting story I've heard in a long time. I absolutely fell in love with her! We talk about creating and art as a means to heal, detours, resilience, abuse, PTSD, eating and so much more that went into her own personal healing. Talk about reframing your challenges and problems... wow. Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD Specialist, Audie award-nominated playwright, performer and multidisciplinary creator. Amy overcame a decade of trauma to become a sought-after traumainformed teaching artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, international keynote speaker, RAINN representative and health advocate. She has given three TEDx Talks on transforming trauma through creativity, and her story has appeared on NBC's Today, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping and MSNBC, among others. A singer, librettist and visual mixed media artist, she dedicates her work to celebrating everyday miracles, untold stories and the detours in life that can spark connection and transform communities. Amy has toured her autobiographical musical, Gutless & Grateful, to over 200 venues from 54 Below to Barrington Stage Company since its 2012 NYC debut, as well as a mental health program for colleges, conferences and organizations. She is currently developing her full-length play, Flicker and a Firestarter, which just had its first AEA Staged Reading, and More Than Ever Now, a play based on her grandmother's story of survival. She most recently premiered her one-woman multimedia musical, Passageways, at HERE Arts Center, for which she created music, book, lyrics and artwork. As the 2014 Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec's Great Comebacks Award and WEGO Health “Health Activist Hero” and WeGO Health Expert, she speaks for National WOCN conferences and the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress and writes for the official print publication of the UOAA. She has devised programming for the Transformative Language Arts Network National Conference, the Eating Recovery Foundation, the 40th Anniversary New England Educational Opportunity Association Milestones Conference, three Annual National Mental Health America Conference and others. She has been the featured keynote speaker for national conferences including the Pacific Rim Conference of Diversity and Disability, the International School of Social Work Conference and Women of Resilience. As a playwright, Amy has received awards and accolades for engaging her audiences in dynamic conversation on trauma's effects on society, including Women Around Town's “Women to Celebrate” 2014, BroadwayWorld “Best Theatre Debut,” Bistro Awards “New York Top Pick” and the “Singular Award” at the Sarasolo Theatre Festival, presented annually for a “performance that is exceptionally uncommon, groundbreaking, original and inventive.” Amy has performed excerpts of her solo oral history play, Divers, as part of Brooklyn's immigrants and Exile, Beechwood Art's Giving Voice, Dixon Place, Seekonk Storytelling Television Special, and Museum of Jewish Heritage Festival of Untold Women. She is a cabaret and theatre reviewer for BroadwayWorld, Her theatre education essays and monologues have been published in Creative Pedagogy journals, as part of a theatre curriculum for high school students in the Philippines. Her play, "We Re-Member" honoring the immigration stories of her grandparents, has been performed in twelve states, and her full-length play, Factory Treasure, has been performed at the Philadelphia Arts Center, Identity Theatre, LIU, The Depot and Actors Theatre of Newburyport. Her short plays have been published by the Eddy Theatre Company and finalists in Manhattan Repertory Theatre's Short Play Festival, as well as NYC Playwright's Women in the Age of Trump. Amy's collaboration with Beechwood Arts on the immersion salon, “Resilience and the Power of the Human Spirit,” has traveled around the world to health and arts facilities as a public installation, incorporating her monologues, art, writing and recipes to express the life-altering detours and ultimately the invaluable gifts of her resilient journey. Amy is also an active artist and teacher in the Jewish community, being honored by United Way in 2005 for her music programs at Hollander House, completing artist residencies at Art Kibbutz, and delivering “Hope, Resilience & Biblical Women” keynotes for synagogues and religious schools. She is a teaching artist with Brooklyn's Community World Project, and trained ACTSmart, a Playback Theatre troupe in Amherst, MA. She is also a passionate arts education advocate, a successful mixed media visual artist, a continuing education studio arts teacher and her artwork has been shown in esteemed galleries in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Chicago, San Diego and New York, as well as published in national publications including Conquer, Topology and Cargo Literary. She has recently published her memoir, My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful. See more at www.amyoes.com. Facebook. Instagram. YouTube #lovemydetour Join The Campaign. Walk - “Step into Joy” Step Into Joy Workshops: Walking for Connection, Discovery & Play  Covid masks -  Art stuff -  TedXTalks. Sexual trauma of my PTSD: It's OK to Freeze: Healing From Sexual Assault  Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth As Amy says… we are have this creative force within us.  Allow yourself to go within and find this energy to help overcome any obstacle. Reach out to Amy for inspiration, her programs or to bring her to your group and have her share her inspiring story. I fell in love with her. #Lovemydetour - be a part of the movement! And, if you need help on your spiritual path, reach out to me. I have a few openings for my private mentoring program.   Thanks again for listening. To your Spirit, Terri PS… Schedule a Virtual Coffee here.   Join Terri's Facebook Group  Follow Terri on Instagram Find her on LinkedIn   EPISODE CREDITS If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD author, writer for The Huffington Post, award-winning health advocate and Ted Talk Speaker sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, performance, art and speaking. GOLDEN NUGGETS: 05:29 - Motivation to never give up 07:10 - Reinvent yourself in COVID-19 10:10 - Creativity as mindset 12:30 - 4 hardcore skills to resilience 16:20 - Dancing saved my life Would you like to know: * The benefits of having a creative mindset * 4 hardcore skills to become resilient * From trauma to freedom ...if so this episode is perfect for you. The Voltura Game SHOW is designed to bring together the best minds of our times so that YOU can have access and integrate their mindset, behaviour and business lifestyle, as a result, YOU can access your inner perfection, in a FUN, NEW and interactive way. Subscribe and stay updated: https://bit.ly/podcastvoltura. Our #16 guest is Amy Oestreicher. Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author of her own memoir “my beautiful detour” Amy's passion for the arts as a means of healing and expression led her to devise storytelling workshops for the Transformative Language Arts Network National Conference. Reach Amy: "My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful" at https://www.amyoes.com/book Watch Amy's 3 TEDx Talks: https://www.amyoes.com/tedx https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyoes/ https://m.youtube.com/user/AmyOes70 If you enjoy the podcast, would you like to leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? This will help us to improve the experience and to create better and more powerful episodes in areas like mindset, motivation and business lifestyle. For past guests, please visit https://bit.ly/podcastvoltura. Interested in getting your own game? visit https://voltura.co Follow Voltura Game: Twitter: twitter.com/volturagame Instagram: instagram.com/volturagame Facebook: facebook.com/volturagame YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwBUd5Y2N_lG1rizGq8mUwA Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-voltura-game-show/exclusive-content

Writer/performer/amazing human Amy Oestreicher comes to us with us to complete the Falsettos trilogy (by going back to Part 1). Topics Include: Bill Finn calling on the phone, convincing teachers to let you do your own version of the assignment, tap dancing so hard you need surgery, and another in what is booming a series of scrapbooks! Featured Recordings: In Trousers - Original Cast (1979) • March of the Falsettos - Original Cast (1981) • Falsettoland - Original Cast (1990) If you’re listening on June 17, 2020: click here to register for Amy’s even at Hamden Library. Info on Amy's 54 Below show, rescheduled for April 23, 2021 at 9:30pm! MERCH! T-shirts! Totes bags! BASEBALL SHIRTS! ETCETERA! DO YOU LIKE MOVIE MUSICALS? Join us on PATREON to get our patrons-only podcast The Original Cast at the Movies! Right now you can hear Kimberly Cooper Schmidt (The Light in the Piazza) and Jay Schmidt (The Full Monty) talk about the best mockumnetary ever made This is Spin̈al Tap (1984)! Patreon • Twitter • Facebook • Email

"Each morning before the doctors came in for rounds; I’d paint feverishly whatever abstraction came to mind and what evolved from my situation. When I completed my pieces, I felt like I had not only gotten out my frustrations and worry, but also found a place of joy and gratitude. I would put each canvas outside my hospital room, and soon the unit began to catch on, even taking patients by my room to see whatever I had created that day. Now, I was sustaining my aliveness and inspiring others, which filled myself with unanticipated meaning and satisfaction. Ironically, the darker the circumstances became, the more joyous my paintings seem today. Every tree seems to be singing and dancing, although the tear-drops and lightning bolts are always streaked across the bold backgrounds. Once I discovered painting, my world changed. I had found a way to express things that were too painful, complicated, and overwhelming for words. Suddenly, when the uncertainty around me seemed frighteningly unmanageable, the strokes of my paintbrush could soothe me as I created a peaceful world that my soul longed to rest in as a place of peaceful solace. My passion could ignite instead of my anger and despair. And slowly, the good feelings overwhelmed the bad because I could control the positive world portrayed on my canvases with what my subconscious chose to create." Amy Oestreicher is the author of  My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful (https://amzn.to/2AHSwhH) and can be reached at her self-titled site, Amy Oestreicher. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Art therapy and the intersection between chronic illness and mental health." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/07/art-therapy-and-the-intersection-between-chronic-illness-and-mental-health.html) This episode is brought to you by Saykara (https://www.saykara.com/), the first voice-powered ambient virtual assistant. 

You CAN find meaning and purpose in the midst of the storm. Let me reassure you: it WILL be ok. You can let the storm beat you down, or you can harness its power to become a better you.  Connect with Amy: http://www.amyoes.com https://www.facebook.com/amyoestr  Amy's Free Gift: https://www.amyoes.com/subscribe  Get access to ALL the Healing My Sisters 2020 talks at http://rebrand.ly/hms2020 

Listen in as Amy Oestreicher shares her unthinkable journey from gutless to grateful and reveals how creativity played a role in her healing. The post BEAUTIFUL DETOURS w/ Amy Oestreicher appeared first on Lindsay E. Preston Coaching.

Amy Oestreicher, an artist actress, influential speaker, and now author, joined us to discuss her newest release, "My Beautiful Detour", a book that describes, "What happens when an ordinary teenager has to turn into a warrior to survive?", as she takes us through her incredible journey.  From Her Website: "Amy had ambitious plans for college and a Broadway career, until her stomach exploded the week before her senior prom. Months later, she awoke from a coma to learn that she might never be able to eat or drink again. After years on IV nutrition, her first bite of food awakened her senses to life’s ordinary miracles but also brought back memories of being sexually abused by a trusted mentor for months, just before the unexpected rush to the emergency room that fateful Passover night. With determination, imagination, relentless resilience, and an inner “hunger” for life, Amy created a roadmap where none existed. My Beautiful Detour offers practical strategies for individuals and unexpected tools for the families of trauma survivors, helping communities build new, limitless futures. The book includes numerous“trauma insights,” and is enriched with humor, art, poetry, and useful takeaways for readers. Reading one woman’s heroic adventure through trauma, recovery, and discovery of new directions in healing the body and the mind is an empowering tale of not just getting through, but thriving."

NOW YOU CAN CLICK ON THE TIMELINE TO FIND YOUR FAVORITE SEGMENT(S) OR LISTEN TO THE WHOLE SHOW! Please check out our full radio show, or snippets contained within, from Wednesday, January 22, 2020, wherein we discussed: 0:00 - Hello, Introduction, Update, and Today's Show Details 2:20 - Arrogant Al Enters the Fray! (Mike and his Crew Have Been Stealing From US!) 4:24 - Our Listeners Write! 7:44 - Al's Sports Quiz for Paul 9:32 - This Day in History 12:03 - MUSIC - "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" - LOU RAWLS 16:18 - "Outta Our Minds" (Quit Stealing, Mike!" 18:32 - MUSIC - "Stone In Love With You" - THE STYLISTICS 21:56- Classic "10 Songs Contest" (All Songs from DISNEY Movies) - Hicksville Harry joined in! 38:10 - MUSIC - "Notorious" - DURAN, DURAN 43:04 - Part 2 of My Interview with "Amy Oestreicher" 55:45 - Paul's Science Quiz for Al - Part 23 57:44 - JOKES! (Snow!!!!) As a reminder, you can catch all of our live shows on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:00 am (ET) on "Impact Radio USA", through the following site: http://www.ImpactRadioUSA.com (click on LISTEN NOW) (NOTE: Each live show is also repeated at 5:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. on the same day) Enjoy! 

Amy Oestreicher is the epitome of overcoming challenges and rebuilding a life after loss. In just a few short months, at only 17 years old, she lost trust, lost her grandparents, lost her health and the future she expected to have. You will love her optimism and her wisdom. Like me she believes firmly that […]

Amy Oestreicher is the epitome of overcoming challenges and rebuilding a life after loss. In just a few short months, at only 17 years old, she lost trust, lost her grandparents, lost her health and the future she expected to have. You will love her optimism and her wisdom. Like me she believes firmly that […]

Amy Oestreicher, a PTSD specialist, Audie award-nominated playwright, performer, author and true survivor has made her mess, her message. Sexual abuse, literally becoming “gut” less, didn't stop her from her dream... but it did transform it. Listen in to this episode of The Conversational. #hoshimo  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Oestreicher overcame a decade of trauma to become a sought after PTSD specialist, artist, author, and writer for the Huffington Post. An international keynote speaker and health advocate. She’s given three TEDx talks on transforming trauma to creativity and her story has appeared on NBC’s Today, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and MSNBC among others. Amy has toured her autobiographical musical Gutless and Grateful to over 200 many venues from 54 below to Barrington Stage Company since its 2012 New York City debut as well as mental health program for colleges, conferences, and organizations. And you can read her new book out right now. My Beautiful Detour which chronicles her life.

Healing from physical pain, disease, or trauma is not an exact science; there is no "one size fits all" approach to healing. Each of us is different and experiences the feelings and emotions that come from healing in different ways, and of course on our own timeline. We talk often on the podcast about different ways that survivors of trauma, chronic pain, or illness, have found to embrace healing. The ways they have taken what's happened to them in life and figure out a way to turn it into a learning experience and being able to help others. Our guest on this episode, Amy Oestreicher, using art and creative expression in her journey, and she talks about that with us in an inspiring chat that is sure to leave you encouraged. Amy is many things, but first and foremost, she is a storyteller...she is an artist, writer, and influential speaker whose work is rooted in inspiration and built to be eclectic. From the visual arts to music to writing to education, click on any of the pictures above to explore her work and services offered. These include offerings such as a variety of hailed workshops and outreach programs, the sale of her visual art and fashion line, her original multimedia solo-musical PASSAGEWAYS, and her newly released book available below!During our chat, Amy talks more about how she uses creative expression to heal and navigate PTSD:Amy talks about the 29 surgeries she's had throughout her life and a backstory of how she first ended up in the hospital with a condition that nearly killed her.How does she cope with emotional and physical healing; the sexual abuse she experienced and the physical trauma. How is emotional recovery different than physical recovery. The four hardcore skills to resilience that have helped her. How creativity can be anything you want it to be, and the importance of being ok with making mistakes. In addition, how the approach to writing and creative expression in similar to the approach she takes in all of her life. Why she wrote her book, My Beautiful Detour, and the message she wants to share with everyone. You can learn more about Amy, her story, her artwork, her one-woman show, Ted Talks, her book "My Beautiful Detour, and more, over at her website, AmyOes.com. Be sure and follow her on social media as well!facebook.com/amyoestr linkedin.com/in/amyoes instagram/amyoes70 twitter.com/amyoes youtube.com/amyoes70If you enjoy these podcasts would you consider doing 3 easy things for us?1. Share it with someone who might find it helpful.2. Leave a review on your favorite podcasting app.3. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.That’s it…Super Easy and it would mean the world to us.If you want to go a step further, we have a special Thank You just for You!Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sPH8pMZ)

Amy Oestreicher is an artist, writer, and influential speaker whose work is rooted in inspiration and built to be eclectic. From the visual arts to music to writing to education, she is foremost a storyteller. Amy overcame a decade of trauma to become a sought-after PTSD specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, international keynote speaker, RAINN representative, and health advocate. She has given three TEDx Talks on transforming trauma through creativity, and her story has appeared on NBC’s Today, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and MSNBC, among others. Amy has toured her autobiographical musical, Gutless & Grateful, to over 200 venues from 54 Below to Barrington Stage Company since its 2012 NYC debut, as well as a mental health program for colleges, conferences and organizations. And you can read her new book out, My Beautiful Detour, which chronicles her life. Amy had ambitious plans for college and a Broadway career, until her stomach exploded the week before her senior prom. Months later, she awoke from a coma to learn that she might never be able to eat or drink again. After years on IV nutrition, her first bite of food awakened her senses to life’s ordinary miracles but also brought back memories of being sexually abused by a trusted mentor for months, just before the unexpected rush to the emergency room that fateful Passover night. With determination, imagination, relentless resilience, and an inner “hunger” for life, Amy created a roadmap where none existed. We’re so excited to have Amy on to talk with us today about how she’s overcome trauma, how her detour moved her on to this amazing path of creation that she’s on, and being a woman in the world! Learn more at Jubilance.com/blog

Hosted by David Green of The Cultural Alliance Of Fairfield County. Our October edition is both a broad and in-depth discussion about Accessibility & Inclusion in the Arts – specifically rooted in issues around arts venues and arts organizations making accommodations for people with disabilities. The discussion is an outgrowth of the ADA Principles and Practice Workshop conducted by Elanah Sherman for the CT Office of the Arts, on October 1. This discussion on October 14 will include Elanah Sherman, Tamara Dimitri from the Office of the Arts, and the three guests on the workshop describing their experiences and recommendations as people with disabilities working with arts organizations: Alan Gunzburg, Amy Oestreicher and Jamie Petrone. This program was recorded, in the studios of CRIS Radio, immediately after the October 1 workshop, by which time the three guests had learned a lot about each others’ experiences.

In this episode we interview with Audie award-nominated playwright, songwriter and performer Amy Oestreicher. Her incredible journey from health crisis to harmonic force of nature will make a believer out of the hardest heart.

Soulpreneur sisters, are you or have you ever struggled to see the light in a difficult situation? Are you someone who has experienced anomalous trauma and felt alone in healing emotionally and physically? In today's Astrid Mueller Talks feature, I speak with Amy Oestreicher, an accomplished artist, writer, TEDex presenter, and PTSD peer to peer specialist. Amy shares her experience with anomalous trauma, as well as the emotional & physical challenges it brought for her and her family. After spending months in a coma and waking up in a hospital, she endured an extensive recovery and was unable to eat or drink for 6 years. In sharing her story, Amy expands on her process to reflect on how art & gratitude supported her healing process and shaped her present-day being. This feature delves DEEP and Amy's vulnerability is awe-inspiring. By creating and producing art, she's able to bring light into the lives of many who have experienced anomalous trauma. Key points in this episode: Amy's hospital story The challenges of not being able to consume food or water for years Coping mechanisms Amy developed in the face of adversity The healing power of creating and manifesting art Cultivating gratitude as medicine and a survival skill How to escape negative thinking traps while processing emotions The importance of feeling supported in times of hardship And so much more!

#MentalHealth #MeToo #ArtTherapy #Resilience #MusicalTheater #Creativity #Gratitude Wonder Women Podcast S1E20 - The Detourist, Amy Oestreicher of AMYOES.com Today we’ll be talking about detours, about the detours that we all take, unwanted and unexpected, that propel us in directions that we never thought possible or reachable before the detouring events. Today we’re speaking with Amy Oestreicher, the Detourist, the light that just won’t quit, the bright spirit that fought a massive comeback after sexual abuse, trauma, many months-long coma, 27 surgeries, a stomach explosion, loss of speech and loss of movement, all starting at the age of 17, and all before the #metoo movement. We’ll talk PTSD, and art therapy, and how trauma lives in the body, emotional healing, mental health. Amy's a TEDx speaker, with multiple talks, she’s an inspiration for all of us that find life too difficult sometimes, and she’s making all our lives better with her musical theater pieces, with which she’s now traveling the country. They are educative pieces that speak about rising from the ashes of abuse, and getting what you want in this thing called life. To get in touch with Amy Oestreicher: https://amyoes.com/ Thanks for tuning in today. Remember to subscribe. Have you considered sponsoring us? You can find us at https://www.patreon.com/wonderwomenpodcast/ Your support will allow us to continue bringing you these interviews with the Wonder Women of every industry. And again, you can find us at https://ifundwomen.com/projects/business-magazine-women/ Our supporters get cool perks like getting your name mentioned in our next podcast recording or a handwritten card from us, or you’ll get the current issue of our magazine, The Business Magazine for Women, delivered directly to your inbox. We’ve been dubbed “Forbes for Women”, and just made the TOP 10 digital Business Magazines for Women! THANK YOU! Also, a quick reminder, our SUMMER ISSUE is out! Check it out, and catch up with our WonderWomen in issues 1, 2 and 3. http://thebusinessmagazineforwomen.com/magazine/ Podcast intro music is by composer extraordinaire, email marketing expert, Cheryl B. Engelhardt. Get your free music bundle at http://cbemusic.com Thank you, and remember to subscribe. #wonderwomenpodcast, #wonderwomen, #podcast, #thebusinessmagazineforwomen, #forbesforwomen, #mentalhealth, #ptsd, #arttherapy, #trauma, #metoo, #creativity #detours, #nevergiveup, #gratitude, #theater, #musicaltheater, #tedtalks, #tedx

Amy Oestreicher shares an open and honest conversation about PTSD and living life with PTSD. She discusses the role of creativity in a way that is not often discussed. You’ll hear of some wonderful resources in books and more in this thoughtful and helpful discussion with host Mike Domitrz.   Links to Amy's book are: https://www.amazon.com/My-Beautiful-Detour-Unthinkable-Grateful/dp/1733138811/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=dbs_a_w_dp_1733138811   And all ebook and paperback versions are available at https://www.amyoes.com/mbd   * You are invited to join our community and conversations about each episode on FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/MutuallyAmazingPodcast and join us on Twitter @CenterRespect or visit our website at http://www.MutuallyAmazingPodcast.com**     BIO of Amy Oestreicher:  Amy Oestreicher is an Audie Award-nominated PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, award-winning actress, and playwright. As a survivor and “thriver” of multiple traumas, Amy eagerly shares the gifts of life’s “beautiful detours” her educational programming, writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. Amy has headlined international conferences on leadership, entrepreneurship, women’s rights, mental health, disability, creativity, and domestic violence prevention. She is a SheSource Expert, a “Top Mental Health” writer for Medium, and a regular lifestyle, wellness, and arts contributor for over 70 notable online and print publications, and and her story has appeared on NBC’s TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, MSNBC, among others.   To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events. Her passion for inclusion, equity and amplifying marginalized voices has earned her various honors, including a scholarship from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor Professionals, the first annual SHERocks Herstory National Performing Artist Honoree, a United Way Community Helper award, and a National Sexual Education Grant honor. To creatively engage student advocacy efforts, Amy developed a trauma-informed program combining mental health education, sexual assault prevention, and Broadway Theatre for college campuses, organizations and conferences. She has designed a creative curriculum for “Detourist Resiliency,” an outreach program taken to schools, hospitals, and at-risk youth. She also has launched Detourist peer-led chapters on college campuses, Detourist creative arts workshops, and an online community to creatively fight stigma in society through storytelling. “Detourism” is also the subject of her TEDx Talk and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017.   As the 2014 Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award and WEGO Health 2016 “Health Activist Hero” Finalist, and WeGO Health Expert, Amy is a passionate voice in the ostomy community, founding the online community Fearless Ostomates, speaking for National and Regional WOCN conferences, and writing for the official print publication of the UOAA. Her presentations on alternative medicine, and patient advocacy and healthcare have also been accepted to international conferences on patient care, internal medicine, medical trauma and therapeutic humor in hospitals. She has devised workshops for the Transformative Language Arts Network National Conference, the Eating Recovery Foundation, the 40th Anniversary New England Educational Opportunity Association Milestones Conference, the Annual National Mental Health America Conference,2016 American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, and others. She was the 2016 keynote speaker for the Hawaii Pacific Rim International Conference on Diversity and Disability. and will be the featured keynote speaker at the 2018 International School of Social Work Conference in Ohio.   As a playwright, Amy has received awards and accolades for engaging her audiences in dynamic conversation on trauma’s effects on society, including Women Around Town’s “Women to Celebrate” 2014, BroadwayWorld “Best Theatre Debut,” Bistro Awards “New York Top Pick, and the “Singular Award” at the Sarasolo Theatre Festival, presented annually for a “performance that is exceptionally uncommon, groundbreaking, original and inventive.” Amy has written, directed and starred in a one-woman musical about her life, Gutless & Grateful, touring theatres, schools, festivals, conventions and organizations since it’s 2012 New York debut. Gutless & Grateful is currently being licensed to students across the country for academic projects and competitions. Amy spent Fall of 2015 participating as a playwright and performance artist in the National Musical Theatre Institute at the world-renowned Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, where she helped to develop the full-length multimedia ensemble piece, The Greeks Are Trying to Tell Us Something, and was a writer, actress, composer and set designer for “Playwrights and Librettists” – a festival of 27 30-minute plays in five days. Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, exploring the physical and psychological impact of trauma, premiered at the Producer’s Club in 2016, and is currently in development for a full New York production as Flicker and a Firestarter. Her short plays have been published by the Eddy Theatre Company and finalists in Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s Short Play Festival, as well as NYC Playwright’s Women in the Age of Drumpf. Her theatre education essays and monologues have been published in Creative Pedagogy journals, as part of a theatre curriculum for high school students in the Philippines, and as a teaching artist, she is a strong advocate for arts integration and education.   Amy’s collaboration with Beechwood Arts on the immersion salon, “Resilience and the Power of the Human Spirit”, has traveled around the world to health and arts facilities as a public installation, incorporating her monologues, art, writing and recipes to express the life-altering detours and ultimately the invaluable gifts of her resilient journey. Amy is also an active artist and teacher in the Jewish community, being honored by United Way in 2005 for her music programs at Hollander House, completing artist residencies at Art Kibbutz, and delivering “Hope, Resilience & Biblical Women” keynotes for synagogues and religious schools. After studying Theatre of the Oppressed in her studies at Hampshire College, she helped to train ACTSmart, a Playback Theatre troupe in Amherst, MA. She is also a passionate arts education advocate, a successful mixed media visual artist, a continuing education studio arts teacher, and an active member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, League for Advancement of New England Storytellers, Fairfield County Cultural Alliance, Alliance for Jewish Theatre, Theatre Artist Workshop, and several art guilds throughout Connecticut and New York.   Amy is currently developing a multimedia performance project incorporate her original music compositions with the oral histories of her grandmother, a holocaust survivor with musical director David Brunetti, and developing a new multidisciplinary solo musical based on herthird TEDx Talk this year: healing from trauma through the archetypal hero’s journey. She is also working on a full-length play with music, LEFTOVERS with director and dramaturge Susan Einhorn, based on her life after the surgical ICU. She is leading mixed media creativity and solo performance workshops to promote creativity as a mindset, an essential survival skill. Amy also offers creative coaching and consulting services help others navigate their own “life detours,” and prides herself most on ending each night with a gratitude list.   As the creator of Gutless & Grateful, her one-women autobiographical musical, Amy has toured theatres nationwide. She also premiered her drama, Imprints, at NYC Producers Club in May 2016, about how trauma affects the family as well as the victim.   Her #LoveMyDetour campaign helps others cope with unexpected events. “Detourism” is also the subject of her upcoming TEDx talk and book My Beautiful Detour.   LINKS: www.amyoes.com   Amy's Social Media: Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/amyoestr and facebook.com/lovemydetour Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/amyoes Or you can subscribe to G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106058010956085677457/posts Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/amyoes70/allspice-acrylics-a-celebration-of-life-and-beauti/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AmyOes70 Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/amyoes stumbleupon: http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/amyoes700 Bloglovin: https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/amyoes-14356407 Twitter: @amyoes Instagram: @amyoes70   Link to R.A.I.N.N. (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at www.rainn.org   Books Amy Recommends: Amy’s Book: My Beautiful Detour New World Theatre’s “Solitary Voice: A Collection of Epic Monologues” Nevertheless She Persusted by Tanya Eby & 8 Others The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine and Ann Frederick The Courage to Heal by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass  The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk MD and Sean Pratt    READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPTION of the EPISODE HERE (or download the pdf): **IMPORTANT: This podcast episode was transcribed by a 3rd party service and so errors can occur throughout the following pages: Mike:                       Welcome to the respect podcast. I'm your host, Mike Domitrz from mikespeaks.com, where we help organizations of all sizes, educational institutions, and the U.S. military create a culture of respect, and respect is exactly what we discuss on this show. So let's get started. This week's episode, we want to get right into it here 'cause you're going to be incredibly inspired by our guest's journey back to wholeness and reclaiming her voice using creativity as her lifeline. She gratefully discovered the upside of obstacles. Today Amy is a PTSD specialist, artist, author, Tedx, and Rain speaker, award-winning actress, a playwright, and mental health advocate. That is Amy Oestreicher. Thank you, Amy, so much for joining us. Amy:                         Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Mike:                       Absolutely. And so we want to dive right into this. The show, obviously, is all about respect, but you bring a different perspective in that you talk about PTSD and trauma. And let's get right into that. So when people hear trauma and PTSD, what form, or does it matter, that you're referring to? Amy:                         Well, what I'm referring to is, there's trauma that comes from many setbacks and many unexpected twists and turns in my life that I didn't expect, that really didn't come to my realization until years and years later. So for PTSD, something can impact us that can completely change our lives overnight, and we might sit with that for a bit, and slowly we feel that something isn't right. I don't feel the same. And slowly those memories come to surface, and I found my way through piecing together those memories and finding healing through creativity. PTSD, for me, started, with being sexually abused by a teacher that I trusted. And an example of a symptom of PTSD is the freeze response, where you don't think anything has happened, and you kind of wake up and go about your life, and think everything's as you were, and suddenly something is off, disassociation, meaning the world is around you, and you're somewhere apart from it wondering what's going on. Amy:                         I did not say no or fight back, although my mind was clearly thinking those things, but I just froze. I saw myself as somewhere separate. And years later it would take a lot of work to kind of bring those memories to light and start to heal through remembering all of that. Mike:                       Well, one, I want to thank you for sharing your journey, your strength, your courage as a survivor. And I think this is an important topic because a lot of times when people hear freeze, they think that the natural human response is freeze or flight or fight. They tend to think, oh, most people flight or fight. They think that, and they forget that freeze is actually the most natural human reaction under stress in our DNA system as human beings, because back in the times of cave people, you did not fight the creature there was 20 times larger than you. Amy:                         Right, right. Mike:                       You either played dead, freeze, or you ran. Fight was the last thing you did. So a lot of times people hear it and they go, "Why didn't you fight?" Because it's the last innate response that the human body is likely to have because naturally it's to freeze or to run. And in certain situations, running's not an option. Child teacher, you can definitely feel like, I don't have that option. So to freeze is the natural thing to occur, and I think too often people don't realize that. Amy:                         Exactly. Mike:                       And so I think for anybody listening, thinking that, saying, "Well, why didn't the person fighter? Or what ..." Those are not innately in our DNA. So the body reacts under stress to its most innate natural things that it thinks it should do, that saved it over thousands of years of human being in existence. And that's what can happen in that moment. Is that true? Amy:                         It's true, and I love to bring up an amazing resource that I found that, that changed my perspective on the freeze response. It's called ... It's a book called Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine. And what caught me, and what you brought up is, Peter Levine spent a lot of time just studying animals in the wild, and he saw that a gazelle when it's kind of running free it ... And a predator attacks it, it just plays dead. And then once the attack is over, it will just get up and just run and run and run and discharge that natural energy and restore its homeostasis and be back to normal. And Peter Levine was like, "Well, why can't humans do that? Why did we get stuck in that?" And, well, we have a brain, and we think ourselves, we overthink ourselves, and we stay frozen in that nestle, that bunches of energy, when really we just need to discharge that energy like the gazelle that is running through the wild. And we need to find a healthy container to get that capsulated energy out and bring it to light. Amy:                         Eventually through talking about it and sharing it or whatever feels like a release to you, but he really, Peter Levine really took his cues from these animals in the wild that have this freeze response in them, and they know how to know from it. And I think the community really needs to understand what goes on in the freeze response to really support survivors and understand that this may be all tucked in and it needs to be brought to light. Mike:                       Yeah. And one of the problems that communities can put on survivors at times is trying to understand why the survivor did what they did, instead of not understanding, the issue is what the predator did, not with the survivor did or did not do. To focus on whether the survivor fought back or run is missing the point. It's all about what the predator did. Now we need to be supportive of the survivor so that they can, like you said, be able to live that life, to be able to live a full life. Amy:                         Right. Or, "Why didn't you tell someone right away?" Your words often come last. Again, It's that you think of a kaleidoscope of ... I am an artist, so I've been creatively ... colors coming together, red anxiety or anger or fear, and the person just does not have those words. I mean, it takes time. But the, I think the important first step is the community needs to be so informed of what the freeze response is and be there for their survivors and believe them. Mike:                       Yes, well that's essential. And it is interesting because, depending on where PTSD has been discussed, people treat it differently. Military PTSD tends to be treated differently than sexual violence PTSD that's a result of sexual violence, because the military, and I get to work with the military all over the world, we thankfully are grateful from our military. Not everybody is, but a lot of people are. So when they look at the military, they go, "There's a hero who is struggling with something that happened because they sacrificed for our country." And so therefore there's empathy, there's understanding for that person. Yet there's not always the same toward sexual violence survivors. They don't have that same. Why do you think that is? Amy:                         Well, you have to remember, too, that it took a long time for those stories to be told as well. My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor, and I think about how she coped just coming right out of the war before PTSD was even a word. I think for survivors of sexual violence the encouraging part is it now is becoming talked about much more than when it happened to me. And I say keep going with that. But there are more blurry lines with that, especially with what's shown to us on the media, with messages we've gotten from the past from culture and things like that. And now we're all trying to kind of make a new game plan. But it is kind of a fuzzy area because things that have seemed okay to other people in the past, well, now these survivors' stories are being told, and we see that, you know when this happened, this was not okay. Amy:                         So I think it's our job, to be honest, everyone's job to make those boundaries just as clear that, just as PTSD is an atrocity with certain communities, it is an atrocity with survivors of sexual violence. I'm also a survivor of PTSD from almost 30 surgeries from another unexpected medical-related crisis. And I dealt with the same thing, that once I was done with all my surgeries and stitched up and ready to go, doctors thought, well, the physical part of me was healed, so why couldn't I just move on to the rest of my life? Whenever we encounter any kind of change in our life, where our life seems to just twist overnight, we need that support from those around us to know that it's going to take time for us to process that change, and we need to talk about it. Mike:                       Yeah. And that's so important. And that goes into you ... In your work you talk about sharing your story and why somebody sharing their story's so important. Can you share for our listeners, our viewers, why that is such an important journey? Amy:                         Yes. I didn't realize how important it was. My situation was very atypical, I guess. I guess unexpected, like anyone else would, but I was 18, and just a blood clot on caused me to go into many, many surgeries that changed my life overnight. And because of medical circumstances, I was very isolated for almost a decade. And so I didn't really have many people to talk to. I had my doctors, and I had my loving parents, and that's all. But slowly I started to write a little bit, and again, another book that inspired me was Joseph Campbell learning about, uh, the archetypal hero's journey, and I actually found my way through this dark, unanticipated chapter in my life through tracing Joseph Campbell's steps to what makes a hero in society and how they have to go away for a while and then come back transformed. I mean, it's in every Pixar movie, the heroes or in your Star Wars. And so I kind of used that as my own map. And so slowly I was typing. PART 1 OF 3 ENDS [00:12:04] Amy:                         Use that as my own map, and so, slowly, I was typing and typing to kind of uncover what I had been through for myself. That was only a very initial step because this was still all me realizing these things for myself. Then, years later, I finally was able to share it through theater, which I had always loved doing as a kid and which I thought was going to be my life. I ended up making that story arc into a one-woman musical that I've been touring since 2012, but it's very funny. That was the first time I'd ever shared anything about what I had been through, and in the very first opening venue in New York, I said one line about the sexual abuse. And it was very difficult for me. I didn't know whether it fit in with everything else, and then, over the years, as I became more and more comfortable with that, talking about it, more people that came to see my show came up to me and said, you know, "Something similar had happened to me." And I'd started the conversation. Amy:                         And now, I've expanded on the show, where I do go into that a lot and the healing that came come from it and the community that can come, so, I guess, writing my show and performing it was an example, for me, of how just planting the seed of just starting your story and getting to share it and share it and talk to other people, it can make you move on or go to the next step that you need to go to. Mike:                       And you're a big advocate of using creativity in that process, as you've explained. Amy:                         Yeah. Mike:                       So, yeah, you created the show, a one-woman, one-person show, that really has a powerful impact. If somebody's listening, going, "I'm just not creative. I am not an artist. I am not a performer- Amy:                         No, no, no- Mike:                       -I get- Amy:                         -don't say that. Mike:                       I know. I know, but that's what people are going to thing, so- Amy:                         I know. Mike:                       -we need to address that. I think there's a misunderstanding what creativity means, so can you explain what we mean by "creativity" and why- Amy:                         Totally. Mike:                       -it's so important and can be such a great resource in the process? Amy:                         Yes. Creativity is really just a mindset. I couldn't talk for many months after my surgeries because I had all these things going on, tubes in and out of me, and then I couldn't talk at times where I felt too shocked at everything going around me to even say a word. And I missed singing, and I wanted to go back to that. But that's when I started ... I picked up a paint brush by accident in one of the hospitals, started just painting, but by creativity is really just a way to see things differently. So, it means just taking a walk outside, taking a breath, looking at the tree and finding grounding by a tree in a new way. It means cooking a recipe you've always loved. It means putting a little bit of that locked-up energy that you'll ... that passion that was always there before all this that can never be taken away by any kind of trauma. It just gets frozen like a gazelle. You're playing dead. Amy:                         Creativity is a way to unlock that clenched-up energy and just bring it forward, and don't worry about the final steps of "Well, how am I gonna tell about what happened to me?" Just focus on that, those uncomfortable feelings you might feel in the freeze response, which is the anxiety, the pain, the fear. Feel that energy and see if there's a color. Start with that and see it in the sky or something and really just ... I got to say one more time, before you start working about how we're gonna show it to the community, just focus on getting out that energy for yourself and seeing that you were in there all along. You just got bring it to life somehow. Mike:                       Yeah. And you can choose to never share it with the community. It could be your process for your own journey. Amy:                         Exactly. Mike:                       And that's what I love about how you're describing creativity. I have always remembered. I was speaking to a doctor, and I work with a doctor who's both general practitioner and also holistic, so both sides of the equation. Mike:                       And he was once saying to me, "Hey, Mike, on a scale of one to three in how you feel the world [inaudible 00:16:49] the world, you're a three, very high, like, off-the-charts three. You feel everything in the world, which means you're a high creative," and I jumped back and went "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't do art. I don't write music. I love to sing, but I'm horrible at it. Like, I do not have artistic traits." And he went, "What? You get on stage and you share with people your thoughts and ideas. That's a very creative process in how that works and how you put the thoughts together and how you connect, and you're a massive problem-solver. That's what you love to do." So, that's all creativity, so I think- Amy:                         Oh, yeah. Mike:                       -for people listening, pause and go, "Are you a problem-solver? Because if you are, that's a high-level form of creativity. You're trying to creatively come up with a solution when you're problem-solving." Amy:                         Exactly. Yeah. It just means taking an unexpected turn and saying, "All right. I'll go with it and see what happens." And we never know what's coming next, so if you have creativity, that is your best resource because then you can just say, "Okay, unexpected twist, I'm gonna just follow you and use my magic reassembling creativity problem-solving skills to figure out whatever comes next." Mike:                       Yeah. And it's very natural, as a Buddhist approach, that we let go of the outcome, right, that we be present in the journey, let go of the outcome because when you're outcome-focused, it actually kills your creativity because- Amy:                         And [inaudible 00:18:11] the outcome. Mike:                       -you're creating pressure. Right. You're saying there has to be this end result versus actually just being free to the possibilities. That's creativity. Amy:                         Exactly. Mike:                       It is freedom of possibility, so I love that conversation. Amy:                         Open mind. Mike:                       Yes. Yeah, exactly. How do you think we help society as a whole have a universal empathy when we can't relate to what somebody else has been through? Somebody hears that and goes, "Well, why didn't they do this?" Or "Why didn't they do that?" And what's happening is they're watching through their lenses. They're thinking through their lenses and thinking, "I would've done this. At least, I think I would've. So, how in the world did they do that?" How do we help people understand that empathy means, "I don't think about it how I would've done it. I think about what they must have been going through, and I will never- Amy:                         Right. Mike:                       -fully understand it 'cause I wasn't there, but at least I'm trying to be compassionate from that viewpoint?" Amy:                         Right. I mean, I come from an acting background, and the first thing I remember learning is awareness without judgment. We're aware of everyone else around us, of everything else around us, but we don't judge. But, with these circumstances, I think, honestly, having been through it and now supporting other survivors of violence, I really think we all need to up our game and, again, be educated on PTSD and the various responses that can only not ... not only affect the survivors themselves, but the people that care about them. It can affect other communities and things they're going through. I mean, trauma both a universal and historical and ... we'll keep going because life changes. So, I think we're all better off if we understand what can happen, and we're ... as humans, we're all always going to think, "Well, I would've done this," or "I would've said 'No,'" or "I would've ...." Amy:                         I think, again, we can have those thoughts, but at the end of the day, we really have to understand that this is trauma. And I want to be open to whatever this person is sharing with me or chooses to share. Mike:                       Yeah. Amy:                         It's having respect. Mike:                       That's just it. It's treating everybody with respect and dignity, and in the wake of sexual violence, sometimes there's destructive coping strategies that show themselves- Amy:                         Exactly. Mike:                       -for a survivor and that can amplify symptoms of PTSD. And you used the word "victimization." Couple things. Those listening, when we say "destructive," what do we mean by that 'cause they might understand what that means and how do you help somebody who's experiencing that? Amy:                         So, destructive coping mechanisms. I'm gonna go back to that energy that survivors feel that has not been discharged. When we carry a secret, [inaudible 00:21:14] are like poison. They burdensome. They weigh down, and so those can often be coped with in anything from drugs and alcohol to other symptoms to any other way that we can find to become numb, whether it's scrolling up and down on Facebook all day. It's any way that we are trying to ignore that energy and kind of just close off and not deal with those things, and it takes a lot of bravery and a lot of courage to really look at that energy for what it is and maybe even remember a bit of what happened and how you felt. But it's a very important part of the process because all those destructive coping mechanisms ... really, it's about energy. Think of that energy that the gazelle wishes they could be running off and around with. It's that energy we need to get out, that we feel like we have to close down. Mike:                       Well, and I want to step in there because I, in this line of work ... and I'm sure you run into the same thing. People come up to me and go, "I have someone close to me in my life who either I know or I highly suspect is a survivor of sexual violence, but they have not told anyone. And I can see the destructive coping strategies in their life. How do I help them?" And what happens when they ask that question is there's two approaches. There's the "How do I help them? How do I support them?" And there's the "How do I fix them?" Which are two very different approaches. Amy:                         Yeah. [inaudible 00:23:02] true. Mike:                       Help and support is what people need. Being fixed is never gonna work with a human being. You don't fix people. I've made that mistake of trying to be a fixer in my life over [inaudible 00:23:12]. There were times, where I looked back, when I was trying to fix the person versus be supportive of the person, so how do we, instead of trying to fix them, how do we provide support when it's ... they're not asking for it? They have not come forward. I mean, verbally, asking for it. They're not outwardly saying, "Will you support me? Will you help me?" They haven't even told anyone that they are struggling with this. How do you help and support that person? Amy:                         And, honestly, they're role is very, very different because I think it's human instinct to want to fix people. When we see people struggling, we want to reach out, and we want to help them so badly. Surprisingly, the best way to help and support is not such a hands-on, fixing approach as you might have wanted. It's to really just ... being there as- PART 2 OF 3 ENDS [00:24:04] Amy:                         It's really just being there as a listener, as a gentle, compassionate listener. And if you need to say, "I believe you" ... It's taking in the words they're saying or whatever they're giving you. Mike:                       Yeah, because they might not tell you. They might not be in a believe you moment, because they might not tell you. And that's why saying that I'm here for you. If anything ever has happened or ever does, that's the language we teach our audiences. If anybody ever has or does. That way you're opening the door to possibilities of what could've already happened or what could happen in the future. It's so important for the person to understand, I'm here for you. And then the tough part is, you have to be patient. Amy:                         Right. Mike:                       Because they may not want to tell you for ten years, and that's their journey. It's not your right to invade and change their journey on them. Or ever. Or maybe they want to tell you right then, but it's their journey which means you have to be patient and understand this isn't about me finding out, or me being told. It's about them and being present for them. Amy:                         Yeah. And for those of you that are listening going, "That's it?" I get it, it's so simple and it's so difficult to just leave it at that, just be there. But it's that support. I always go back to theater and military veterans that the Greek plays of Sophocles about war and all those things. Those were originally meant for veterans of the war to come in and share their story to the community to get that community compassion, to have people know what they were going through. And there are other rituals that we still do today like dancing and group singing and all those things that show that our need for community is so important. So, survivors of sexual violence, if you feel kind of that no one in the community understands you, please know that coming back to the community is just such an important part of healing, even if it's scary. And for those that see these people struggling, just welcome them in and don't ask questions, don't demand answers. Just, we need to stay welcome with open arms. Mike:                       I love that you pointed out "Don't ask questions." Because that sounds like you're prying and you're investigating, which can very quickly turn into ... whether intentional or not, unintended victim-blaming is what can happen there. Amy:                         Right. Mike:                       So just listening is so important. Now, a great resource out there that you speak for, you're a RAINN speaker, is RAINN. Which for anybody listening is Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, RAINN.org. They also have an eight hundred number on their website, and you can call them and it's actually 656-HOPE, I think, is the eight hundred number. But you can call, you can email, and they'll hook you up with resources locally that are confidential and twenty-four seven. They can tell you what those are, but they can also just start by being there for you. It's a great organization. What are some additional resources that you feel are vital for survivors to know if somebody's listening right now and is experiencing PTSD? Amy:                         Right. So, first of all, I can't say enough good things about RAINN. They will connect you to anything ... and anonymously. I know a lot of people who are worried about saying who they are or saying who they feel the perpetrator was. You don't have to worry about that. They will take you wherever you are right now. Some books that really helped me again were Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine. He started this whole kind of therapy with the body called somatic experiencing, which is all about using breath work to really feel your body again. And another book that helped me understand is called The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk. But in terms of online resources, PTSD.org, there are so many resources there. Mike:                       So you just said that's PTSD.org? Amy:                         Yes. Mike:                       Okay, I just want to make sure we have all that on our show notes, for anybody who's listening so they can find that there. Amy:                         Right. And again, any of these places will connect you to someone ... Oh, no, that's not even there anymore. Oh my God. I will have to send you a new link for that. I'm sorry about that. Mike:                       Which link are you referring to? Amy:                         I was actually referring to PTS- Mike:                       Oh, yes, you're right, I see that now. There's nothing there. So that's okay, we'll have the link to RAINN- Amy:                         I will get you- Mike:                       -and we'll have links to all the books you've brought up, we'll have that in the show notes. Let's get into some more books here that you recommend for people. One is your own, your book, My Beautiful Detour. Another one is New World Theater Solitary Voice: A collection of epic monologues. And then you have Nevertheless We Persisted by Tanya Eby and others. If you want to dive in, why those three books? Obviously we'll start with yours, My Beautiful Detour. Amy:                         That's on pre-order now, I'm very excited for that because it is the whole story of a long-winded detour and lots of PTSD, where I felt very isolated and felt like no one understands me, I can't reach out for help, who would get this? But then how all this creativity ... and I say "creativity" in this general term of a mindset, kind of figuring this out as I went along ... how that really helped me along my journey. And eventually how I was able to reach out. I talk about being a detourist, where you see a detour in the path and you find a little creativity and find your way through. So besides talking about my story and how I healed, I also have a lot of really good plans for when life crashes over night and you need to find a way out again. So, I hope it's helpful. Mike:                       Absolutely. Well, I appreciate that. It's in a pre-order so it's still on its way, but people can get it now, so as soon as it comes out. And then, New World Theater Solitary Voice: A collection of epic monologues. What about that one? Amy:                         Well, again, I listed these because, again, the monologue that I wrote for this is actually how I originally discovered I was sexually abused, by picking up a book on a bookshelf, which is really the important resource that I wanted to bring up called The Courage to Heal, Laura Davis, and I'll have to ... The Courage to Heal really saved my life. It's a workbook for survivors of sexual violence and since then there have been editions for their caretakers to fill out with the survivors. There have been many recent versions, but I can't say enough about the book, The Courage to Heal. So, this book that just came out has a monologue where I talk about that first time that I take that up. Amy:                         And then this last, Nevertheless We Persisted, is actually a collection. It was nominated for an Audie Award this spring of monologues and stories about finding a voice in total darkness. So I hope those performances are very inspiring, as well. Mike:                       No, I appreciate that. And your book and your stories, you're getting the messages out there. Now, the one book that you just mentioned, The Courage to Heal, if somebody's looking for that, there's two different versions by completely different authors. There's How to Overcome Sexual Abuse and Childhood Trauma. There's also A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Which one were you referencing? Amy:                         Right. So I was referencing the one that originally changed my life by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass. Mike:                       Got it, the Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, okay. Amy:                         Right. Mike:                       Just so our listeners are hearing, I want to make sure we give them the right one. And we'll have that in the show notes, we're going to have all these in the show notes. Amy:                         Yes. Mike:                       So I want to thank you so much, Amy. Amy:                         Thank you. Mike:                       For everyone listening, this is Amy Oestriecher. Amy:                         Hi. Mike:                       Our show notes will have all of the links to Amy, 'cause she gave us a lot for social media. All these books, I'm going to have it all there so you can find it all there. Remember you can also jump in this discussion on Facebook, we have a discussion group called The RESPECT Podcast discussion group, jump in there on the conversation, subscribe on iTunes. We love it if you leave a review, too, that always helps. So, Amy, thank you so much for joining us. Amy:                         Thank you. Thank you. Mike:                       Thank you for joining us for this episode of The RESPECT Podcast, which was sponsored by The DATE SAFE Project at datesafeproject.org. And remember, you can always find me at mikespeaks.com. PART 3 OF 3 ENDS [00:33:25]

A survivor shares her windy journey of healing and how creative expression kept her sane #LoveMyDetour

1. Who is Amy Oestreicher and how do you currently spend your time?  2. Having had so many setbacks in your life, what have been some of the biggest lessons you've learned that have helped you to keep moving forward.  3. TED talk, you share the idea of the "detourist".  4. What are some practical things people can do to change the way they view bad situations?  5. What does your current success look like? 6. What kind of productivity tools and apps do you use?  7. Any final advice or words of wisdom?    If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast. I'd also love it if you could leave me a review. Doing this will help more people discover the show so they to can get more done and get more out of life. If you want to start creating your own life and asking yourself those deeper questions: email me at logantylernelson.com

Amy Oestreicher discusses how to get booked at colleges without an agent. She talks about the opportunities for performers, the types of shows colleges are looking for, and she shares her exact marketing strategy to get booked. Amy is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, writer for Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, and is an award-winning actress and playwright. She has performed her one-woman, autobiographical musical, "Gutless & Grateful," in theaters and colleges nationwide. To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope with unexpected events. "Detourism" is the subject of her TEDx talk and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour. She's also contributed to over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC, CBS, and in Cosmopolitan. Show Notes: If you join Amy's Newsletter you’ll get a free guide with speaking and marketing tips that will help get your show booked! http://amyoes.com/discover Website - http://amyoes.com TEDx - http://amyoes.com/TEDx Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/amyoestr Facebook Page - facebook.com/lovemydetour Linkedin - https://linkedin.com/in/amyoes Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/amyoes70/allspice-acrylics-a-celebration-of-life-and-beauti/ Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/AmyOes70 Tumblr - https://www.tumblr.com/blog/amyoes stumbleupon - http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/amyoes700 Bloglovin - https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/amyoes-14356407 Twitter - @amyoes Instagram - @amyoes70 Download the outreach email and Amy's Press Kit - https://wellattended.com/blog/065-break-college-market-without-agent-amy-oestreicher/ - Download our free marketing resources at https://wellattended.com/resources

On Episode 31 Of "Your Program Is Your Ticket" My Guest Is Multi-Talented Theater-Maker, Writer And Artist - Amy Oestreicher! She Talks About Her Unique, Amazing Journey To Becoming A Theatrical Success!!! Plus I Give Tips On Affording New York Theater On A Tight Budget (It Can Easily Be Done! Thanks TDF!). And I Recommend The Sensational New Broadway Musical “The Band's Visit!!! Sidebar: Take A Look At My Backstage Video Where I Interview The Winner's And Presenter's Of The 2017 New York Innovative Theatre Awards!!! (Musical Intro And Outro By The Phenomenal North Coast, NYC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Oestreicher turns her personal hardships into successful plays, artworks, and books. She uses her creativity to deal with her pain from the many years of recovery from a severe illness and from sexual abuse. But she also uses it to help others.   Visit our blog for more info http://www.sustainablelivingpodcast.com/   The article about Amy's new play: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/13739704 More info: amyoes.com/flicker You can help to make the full production happen with any kind of donations here: patreon.com/amyo Gutless and Grateful: amyoes.com/gutless Amy's programs and presentations at amyoes.com/ptsd Amy's TEDx talk: amyoes.com Twitter: @amyoes Facebook.com/amyoestr Amy's book: amyoes.com/book Here are the guidelines for #LoveMyDetour guest posts: https://amyoes.com/lovemydetour-guest-post-guidelines-for-why-not-wednesday/

Episode 189: Theatre is my life line At 15, Amy Oestreicher believed that she was going to be a performer and go to Broadway. Life threw a curveball at Amy to make Broadway the farthest possible goal imaginable. How did she use theatre as a life line?  How was she able to harness her creativity?  You don't need to think you're an artist to create. This is a story everyone should listen to. Show Notes Drama Teacher Academy Follow Your Detour Ted Talk Amy Oestreicher, Great Comebacks Recipient Theatre and Empathy Amy's website Episode Transcript Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk – the Drama Teacher Resource Company. I'm Lindsay Price. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening! This is Episode 189 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode189. Today, we're talking about lifelines. How many of you have ever thought of theatre as a lifeline? I have, for sure. I meet students every day who tell me that theatre saved their life in one way or another. I remember a particular student telling me, after being through two hurricanes, that being in a play was the only thing getting her through. Our guest today has a deep connection with theatre as a lifeline for very good reason. So, I don't think I've ever done this before so I don't know if I'm going to do it right or wrong. I'm just going to do it. This is really a warning because I don't think you should be warned away from intense topics but this podcast contains intense topics and mention of sexual assaults. But, at the end of it, we have theatre as a lifeline. So, let's get to it, shall we? LINDSAY: Hello everybody! Today, I am talking to Amy Oestreicher. Hello, Amy! AMY: Hello! LINDSAY: Hello! Tell everybody where in the world you are located. AMY: I'm in Connecticut. LINDSAY: All right, cool. Amy has a story. It's something that really… I think it's really a good story to share. But then, also, the aftermath, I think the aftermath of your story is what's really interesting. I think it's what's going to be really interesting to our listeners. We're going to get into the bulk of this and we're going to talk about empathy a little bit and you will see, you will see, dear listener, why empathy is going to be the hallmark of our conversation today. All right, Amy. What happened to you when you were 17? AMY: All right. Well, you know, I was born a Theatrefolk. LINDSAY: You're one of us, eh? AMY: Oh, my god, don't even start but I was definitely born a musical theatre ham and extremely, like, Type A driven. That was what I knew my life was going to be – I was going to go to college and study musical theatre at the University of Michigan and be on Broadway and that was it. When I was 15, I'd been studying with a really big voice coach in New York who I really, really looked up to. When I was 17, he molested me and that was obviously a complete shock to me and I completely just left my body and don't remember anything that happened. I really kept that inside for almost a year – until I finally told my mother in the April of my senior year. We were going to go for therapy and all that. And then, I just had a really bad stomach ache that wasn't going away. My dad took me… LINDSAY: Cool. Now, before we get to the stomach ache part which is the part that I knew, I think that you've just hit on something which I think is really important to mention about how many of those people who are listening have students who have mentors or teachers – you know, not necessarily in the classroom but just like you had someone that they looked up to who were not good people. AMY: Yeah. Whenever I talk on podcasts, I'm always like, “You have to say how old he is!” You know, he was 60 and I was 15. And so, you know, I really looked up to him. He actually wrote a letter to my parents,

Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, award-winning actress, and playwright. As a survivor and “thriver” of multiple traumas, Amy eagerly shares the gifts of life’s “beautiful detours” her educational programming, writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. www.amyoes.com Song Premiere: "Hot AF (Acoustic Version)" by Joel B. New. Featuring Mike Pettry on guitar. www.joelbnew.com

Have you ever taken a detour in your career and wondered why things weren’t going as you planned? You’re going to love this week’s guest, Amy Oestreicher, CEO of Gutless & Grateful. Amy survived an unexpected bloodclot & stomach rupture that left her in a coma for months, followed by 27 surgeries, organ failure, on-going trauma and PTSD over the next 10 years. That’s quite a detour! You will be incredibly inspired by her journey back to wholeness and a satisfying career, using creativity as her lifeline. She gratefully discovered the “upside of obstacles.” Today, Amy is a PTSD specialist, artist, author, TEDx & RAINN speaker, award-wining actress, playwrite and mental health advocate. Amy is the recipient of Convatec’s “Great Comebacks Award”. Her story has appeared on NBC’s TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan and over 70 online and print publications including the Huffington Post. This week’s hot topics will cover: • Transforming Adversity into Creative Growth • The Four Hardcore Skills to Resilience • How to Love your Detours & Achieve Lofty Goals As the creator of Gutless & Grateful, her one-women autobiographical musical, Amy has toured theatres nationwide. She also premiered her drama, Imprints, at NYC Producers Club in May 2016, about how trauma affects the family as well as the victim. Her #LoveMyDetour campaign helps others cope with unexpected events. “Detourism” is also the subject of her upcoming TEDx talk and book My Beautiful Detour.

Look out…up ahead…A DETOUR! This week, on Laughbox, I have the great pleasure of talking with Amy Oestreicher. She’s funny, she’s talented, and she knows about the detours in life. She shares her story and how she’s learned to shift mindset and be more resilient. I think you’ll enjoy the interview…she’s VERY high energy! A little more on Amy… Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, award-winning actress, and playwright. As a survivor and “thriver” of multiple traumas, Amy eagerly shares the gifts of life’s “beautiful detours” her educational programming, writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking.  Amy has headlined international conferences on leadership, entrepreneurship, women’s rights, mental health, disability, creativity, and domestic violence prevention. She is a SheSource Expert, a “Top Mental Health” writer for Medium, and a regular lifestyle, wellness, and arts contributor for over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC’s TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, MSNBC, among others. To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events.  Her passion for inclusion, equity and amplifying marginalized voices has earned her various honors, including a scholarship from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor Professionals, the first annual SHERocks Herstory National Performing Artist Honoree, a United Way Community Helper award, and a National Sexual Education Grant honor. To creatively engage student advocacy efforts, Amy developed a trauma-informed program combining mental health education, sexual assault prevention, and Broadway Theatre for college campuses, organizations and conferences.  She has designed a creative curriculum for “Detourist Resiliency,” an outreach program taken to schools, hospitals, and at-risk youth.  She also has launched Detourist peer-led chapters on college campuses, Detourist creative arts workshops, and an online community to creatively fight stigma in society through storytelling. “Detourism” is also the subject of her TEDx Talk and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017. As the 2014 Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award and WEGO Health 2016 “Health Activist Hero” Finalist, and WeGO Health Expert, Amy is a passionate voice in the ostomy community, founding the online community Fearless Ostomates, speaking for National and Regional WOCN conferences, and writing for the official print publication of the UOAA.  Her presentations on alternative medicine and patient advocacy and healthcare have also been accepted to international conferences on patient care, internal medicine, medical trauma and therapeutic humor in hospitals.  She has devised workshops for the Transformative Language Arts Network National Conference, the Eating Recovery Foundation, the 40th Anniversary New England Educational Opportunity Association Milestones Conference, the Annual National Mental Health America Conference,2016 American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, and others. She was the 2016 keynote speaker for the Hawaii Pacific Rim International Conference on Diversity and Disability. and will be the featured keynote speaker at the 2018 International School of Social Work Conference in Ohio. As a playwright, Amy has received awards and accolades for engaging her audiences in dynamic conversation on trauma’s effects on society, including Women Around Town’s “Women to Celebrate” 2014, BroadwayWorld “Best Theatre Debut,”  Bistro Awards “New York Top Pick, and the “Singular Award” at the Sarasolo Theatre Festival, presented annually for a “performance that is exceptionally uncommon, groundbreaking, original and inventive.” Amy has written, directed and starred in a one-woman musical about her life, Gutless & Grateful, touring theatres, schools, festivals, conventions and organizations since it’s 2012 New York debut.  Gutless & Grateful is currently being licensed to students across the country for academic projects and competitions.  Amy spent Fall of 2015 participating as a playwright and performance artist in the National Musical Theatre Institute at the world-renowned Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, where she helped to develop the full-length multimedia ensemble piece, The Greeks Are Trying to Tell Us Something, and was a writer, actress, composer and set designer for “Playwrights and Librettists” – a festival of 27 30-minute plays in five days.  Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, exploring the physical and psychological impact of trauma, premiered at the Producer’s Club in 2016, and is currently in development for a full New York production as Flicker and a Firestarter.  Her short plays have been published by the Eddy Theatre Company and finalists in Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s Short Play Festival, as well as NYC Playwright’s Women in the Age of Trump.  Her theatre education essays and monologues have been published in Creative Pedagogy journals, as part of a theatre curriculum for high school students in the Philippines, and as a teaching artist, she is a strong advocate for arts integration and education. Amy’s collaboration with Beechwood Arts on the immersion salon, “Resilience and the Power of the Human Spirit”, has traveled around the world to health and arts facilities as a public installation, incorporating her monologues, art, writing and recipes to express the life-altering detours and ultimately the invaluable gifts of her resilient journey.  Amy is also an active artist and teacher in the Jewish community, being honored by United Way in 2005 for her music programs at Hollander House, completing artist residencies at Art Kibbutz, and delivering “Hope, Resilience & Biblical Women” keynotes for synagogues and religious schools.  After studying Theatre of the Oppressed in her studies at Hampshire College, she helped to train ACTSmart, a Playback Theatre troupe in Amherst, MA.  She is also a passionate arts education advocate, a successful mixed media visual artist, a continuing education studio arts teacher, and an active member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, League for Advancement of New England Storytellers, Fairfield County Cultural Alliance, Alliance for Jewish Theatre, Theatre Artist Workshop, and several art guilds throughout Connecticut and New York.   Amy is currently developing a multimedia performance project incorporate her original music compositions with the oral histories of her grandmother, a holocaust survivor with musical director David Brunetti, and developing a new multidisciplinary solo musical based on er second TEDx Talk this year: healing from trauma through the archetypal hero’s journey.  She is also working on a full-length play with music, LEFTOVERS with director and dramaturge Susan Einhorn, based on her life after the surgical ICU.  She is leading mixed media creativity and solo performance workshops to promote creativity as a mindset, an essential survival skill.  Amy also offers creative coaching and consulting services help others navigate their own “life detours,” and prides herself most on ending each night with a gratitude list.  

A recap of episode 72 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Amy Oestreicher wheres she talks about being a detourist, being more capable than we think we are, and how our creativity benefits from taking small risks.

Amy Oestreicher thought she had her life all figured out. Ever since she was young, she felt she was born to perform. She was all set to go to college for musical theater when medical complications derailed everything. During her senior year of high school Amy started having stomach pains. When she went into surgery to fix it, her stomach shot out of her body and she went into a coma for months. She spent years and many surgeries in hospitals trying to reach some semblance of normalcy. During this trying time, Amy turned to creativity to help keep her busy. She started painting and she even developed her own one person play based on all of her troubles and overcoming adversity. With one play in the books, and another on the way, Amy is the prime example of what it means to persevere. In this episode, Amy talks about being a detourist, being more capable than we think we are, and how our creativity benefits from taking small risks. Here are three things you can learn from Amy: Become a Detourist As we go through life, we often face obstacles that push us past our comfort zones. We face obstacles that scare us. Amy believes we need to force ourselves to take risks, to push past the comfortable. “Unfortunately I think we all get something that pushes us sooner or later but obviously, to prepare ourselves, I think we have to look for the scary… We have to take the risk. We have to go inside and ask that question… ‘If I could not fail, I would do this.'” Amy believes we need to follow our curiosity. We need to stop feeling so comfortable and safe. We need to embrace the risk even in the face of the unknown. “My TEDx talk was about being a detourist, and for me, a detourist is someone who at least shows up and has this curiosity. I think that’s the best thing we can do with anything in life even if life seems settled and okay. Be curious like what if, ‘What if I went in this alternate direction?’… The truth is, it’s not so hard for adversity to find us but I think sometimes we do feel comfortable and safe. We do have to really go inside and ask ourselves ‘What is a risk I can take in this moment?’ And the truth is if it’s not, even if you’re not in a comfortable place, I say start with a gratitude list. That’s what I tell anyone.” Being a detourist requires knowing yourself. And one of the best ways to get to know yourself is by creating a gratitude list. Your gratitude list will reveal what’s important to you, even if it scares you. “Those gratitude items on my list… were actually my values. And the more I did those lists, the more I realized what was important to me. So the reason I think anyone should start with that is, you’ll realize what’s really important to you and what you need to go for, even if you’ve been scared of it.” We Are More Capable Than We Think One of the things that you might realize over time is that we have the capacity to do great things. Even if you don’t know exactly what you are doing, you can create beautiful results. That’s exactly what Amy did when she got back into acting after all her surgeries. “It’s fake it til you make it. I feel like, just by acting, I was the actress back at work with the director. I felt like my mind was in such a better place.” Don’t let your lack of experience prevent you from doing something you believe in. With the fake it til you make it attitude and the willingness to embark on new adventures you can make the impossible come true. “The truth is, I booked a theater in New York when I still had tubes and bags on me and I had never even touched professional theater after the hospital. So it was a big risk and it was an investment. So I think we were all very nervous cause I had never done anything like this in my sick or healthy life.” Amy did not let her lack of professional experience dissuade her. She did not let the financial risk or her own nervousness get in the way. She went after what she wanted, regardless of the obstacles she faced. That is why we sometimes need to force ourselves into uncomfortable situations. We need to push ourselves to the limits to see what we are truly capable of. “Sometimes you need to light a fire under you to get yourself in gear. You know why I don’t ever feel like a victim is because I think we are always more capable than I think we are or than other people perceive us as. And sometimes it takes saying ‘You know what, I’m going to fail,’ to see that we don’t fail.” How Our Creativity Benefits from Taking Small Risks We often believe risk is a huge commitment or step in our lives that will change our whole perspective on the world, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Even the smallest risks can take you in the right direction. “I like to ask myself ‘What is the smallest micro-movement I could take? If I were an amoeba… what is the tiniest thing I could do?” That’s because risks aren’t an all or nothing proposition. Risks lie on a spectrum. You don’t have to quit your job to take a risk. Risk can be almost anything. “Risk is not an all or nothing thing. There are a spectrum of risks we can take. It doesn’t have to be quit my job and become a performance artist. It could be I’m going to make myself sit and write that opening paragraph I’ve been putting off… and I think that’s what makes it a little bit easier to start with. Not I’m going to paint a canvas. I’m going to take a crayon and draw a stick figure. So, there’s no excuse.” One important lesson we can learn about creativity and risk can be learned from kids. Kids aren’t worried about embarrassing themselves or making mistakes. They embrace it in the name of creativity. “Creativity can feel really superfluous, you know, like why I have this to do or that to do. But kids own it. You see that it’s a priority to them.” If we just allow ourselves to take risks and look at the world from a child’s mind, we can slowly create a world where risk isn’t such a big deal. Read more shownotes from episode 72 with Amy Oestreicher

Amy Oestreicher was a gifted high school student who seemed destined for a career on the stage. After what seemed to be a auspicious meeting with a respected mentor to several Broadway stars took a very dark turn, her life began to spiral out of control, culminating in an unheard of medical emergency. She lingered in a coma for months, and when she awoke she was unable to eat or drink. Putting her life back together seemed all but impossible. Produced by Matt Elzweig Story told by Amy Oestreicher Illustration by Richard Chance Music “Innamorata” by Glenn Kramer “Uddling” (Piano Makeover) by Garmisch “Colorless Aura” by Kevin MacLeod  “Despair and Triumph” by Kevin MacLeod  “Maccary Bay” by Kevin MacLeod “Exodus (cover)” by Marcus Eaton “Interlude – In Anxious Shadows” by Kai Engel “Glorious Food from Oliver Twist“ “Ephemeral (As Time Goes By)” by Karmic Interloper Sound Freesound.org: FolderPax, BastardWrio, Abyssmal, stratcat322, coetzee_megan12, pawelbas, sindhu.tms, ZoomNina, MacFalcon, Sforsman  

Amy suffered a significant health problem that led to over a dozen surgeries. During one significant hospitalization, her mother brought paints to the hospital. Amy created over 70 mixed media pieces, and upon her release from the hospital, held her first art show. Next, she took her journal entries and created a play, telling her story. Since then, she has continued to create art in different forms. Q & A What does self love mean to you? It means not only do you really enjoy the happy experiences you have, but also the pain and sadness. Take time to honor those. What was the number one thing that was holding you back from accepting self love? Not wanting to deal with those emotions that are difficult to experience. Who is one person who has changed your life for the better? My surgeons, but also my mother. What is the best advice you have ever received? Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, that’s not the end. What is a self care habit that you practice regularly? I do something physical. My yoga mat is right by my bed and I do it first thing in the morning. Can you share a resource, an app or a tool that we can use to build our selfcare practice. An app called DOCZ. It’s a peer to peer network. What book are you reading right now? I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors. I just finished Flourish. What is the one thing that you are most passionate about? Being on stage. Guest Bio Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright. As the creator of "Gutless & Grateful," her BroadwayWorld-nominated one-woman autobiographical musical, she's toured theatres nationwide, along with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre for college campuses and international conferences. To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events. "Detourism" is also the subject of her TEDx and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017. She's contributed to over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC's TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, among others. Learn about her art, music, theatre, advocacy, book, and inspiring story at amyoes.com, or "tweet me at @amyoes!" www.amyoes.com And I also have a blog I update daily. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/amyoestr and facebook.com/lovemydetour Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/amyoes Or you can subscribe to G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106058010956085677457/posts My other social media: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/amyoes70/allspice-acrylics-a-celebration-of-life-and-beauti/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AmyOes70 Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/amyoes stumbleupon: http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/amyoes700 Bloglovin: https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/amyoes-14356407 Twitter: @amyoes Instagram: @amyoes70

Healing U and Define U Radio host, Valencia Griffin-Wallace interviews Cindy Mazzaferro Valencia is joined by Healing U Advocate Tosha Dearbone of Positive Express Define U Radio's Facebook Valencia's Facebook and Website Tosha's Facebook Guest Bio: Cynthia Mazzaferro is a Motivational Speaker, author, renowned vibrational energy and intuitive healer, Reiki Master, teacher, and Powerful Beyond Measure Life Coach.   She is a retired Physical therapist of over 30 plus years and previous owner of an Ergonomic company where she performed work site analysis and spent a lot of time training and teaching employees on injury and stress reduction. Cindy’s new book, Powerful Beyond Measure is being released on April 4, 2017. The foreword is written by the international NY#1 Best seller author, Marci Shimoff, who co-authored the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and wrote Happy for No Reason and Love for No Reason. Visit Cindy’s website to purchase her book or explore her vast array of services at www.CynthiaMazzaferro.com. Support the show (http://patreon.com/defineuradio)

“I was not able to fully appreciate the beauty of my detours until I was able to share them. As a performer, all I’ve wanted to do was give back to the world.  But now I have an even greater gift to give: a story to tell.”   Amy grew up believing that her entire life would be dedicated to the performing arts.  Now, she identifies as a survivor and “thriver” of sexual abuse, 27 surgeries, coma, organ failure, and the PTSD that comes from ten years of trauma – or what she now calls her “beautiful detour.”   At 18, years old, a blood clot caused Amy’s body to go into septic shock.  She was in a coma for six months, and after a total gastrectomy, was unable to eat or drink a drop of water for six of the past ten years.  After 27 surgeries, she was miraculously reconnected with the intestines she had left.  To persevere through those tumultuous years took great inner and outer strength.   She has learned that the human spirit feeds off of hope, and hope is fuel we can cultivate ourselves.  Ultimately, she learned that with resourcefulness, creativity, and unwavering curiosity, we can transform any adversity into personal growth and a resilience that is uniquely ours.   http://www.goingdeepwithaaron.com/podcast   Connect with Amy Facebook Twitter Website If you liked this interview, check out episode 184 with the Drinking Partners Ed Bailer and Day Bracey, where we discuss comedy and the business of comedy.

Amy Oestreicher has a multifaceted career ranging from speaking, art, writing plays and acting, to writing for the Huffington Post, Speaking on the TEDX stage and writing her own book.Shaped by the adversities she's faced, Amy went from being unable to eat, drink or live a normal life, to writing a musical, starting her own business and providing awareness and support to the world.This interview is part of the “Personal Branding Expert Series“.Episode Summary:1. Amy Oestreicher talks about the mountain of adversity she had to face, and the good things that came as a result of her unexpected circumstances.2. She talks about her show: Gutless and Grateful, how it helped her heal and how it grew.3. Amy tells me how she manages everything she's involved in4. She discusses TEDX and what goes into securing that opportunity.5. Amy talks about how much of one's personal story should be shared.Quotes:“Creating was how I was proving to myself that I was alive”.“It takes time to grow”.“There are a lot of healthy ways to deal with feelings of adversity, but find these ways rather than say ‘I can't, or I shouldn't be doing this”.“Negative things are real, but we don't need o let them get bigger””.“There is a power to spreading your business with the power of a personal story”.“When all else fails, label a paper from A to Z and make yourself come up with one thing you're grateful for for every letter.”.Links:To learn more about Amy Oestreicher visit her website. She can also be reached out via Twitter or Facebook.Watch Amy's TEDX Talk : Follow Your Road, Find Your FlowerHere's a link to the article about Career Setback that I posted in December 2015.Intro Music provided courtesy of Accelerated Ideas (www.accelerated-ideas.com). Soundtrack – Siren KickbackEnding Music provided courtesy of Accelerated Ideas (www.accelerated-ideas.com). Soundtrack – No Need to Rush See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Coni Koepfinger hosts today's Air Play. With Interview of Amy Oesreicher. Plus Highlights from Amy's Live Performance.Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright, sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. As the creator of "Gutless & Grateful," her BroadwayWorld-nominated one-woman autobiographical musical, she's toured theatres nationwide, along with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre for college campuses and international conferences. Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, premiered at the NYC Producer's Club in May 2016, exploring how trauma affects the family as well as the individual. To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events. "Detourism" is also the subject of her TEDx and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017. As Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award, she's spoken to hundreds of healthcare professionals at national WOCN conferences, and her presentations on diversity, leadership and trauma have been featured at National Mental Health America Conference, New England Educational Opportunity Association's 40 Anniversary Conference, and have been keynotes at the Pacific Rim Conference of Diversity and Disability in Hawaii, the Eating Recovery Foundation First Annual Benefit in Colorado. She's contributed to over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC's TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, among others. Learn more: amyoes.com and support her work at patreon.com/amyo. Amy is currently participating as a playwright and performance artist in the National Musical Theatre Institute at the world-renowned Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.-- Amy OestreicherActress, Artist, Playwright, Author, Speaker, Survivor, and DetouristHuffington Post Columnist, TEDx, Great Comebacks Recipient SheSource Expert Featured in Cosmopolitan, & NBC's TODAY*Celebrating Life's Beautiful Detours Through Creative PTSD Education & Mental Health Programming*Award-Winning Musical Gutless & Grateful: See '17 NYC DatesSocial Media Channels)

Coni Koepfinger hosts today's Air Play. With Interview of Amy Oesreicher. Plus Highlights from Amy's Live Performance.Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright, sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. As the creator of "Gutless & Grateful," her BroadwayWorld-nominated one-woman autobiographical musical, she's toured theatres nationwide, along with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre for college campuses and international conferences. Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, premiered at the NYC Producer's Club in May 2016, exploring how trauma affects the family as well as the individual. To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events. "Detourism" is also the subject of her TEDx and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017. As Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award, she's spoken to hundreds of healthcare professionals at national WOCN conferences, and her presentations on diversity, leadership and trauma have been featured at National Mental Health America Conference, New England Educational Opportunity Association's 40 Anniversary Conference, and have been keynotes at the Pacific Rim Conference of Diversity and Disability in Hawaii, the Eating Recovery Foundation First Annual Benefit in Colorado. She's contributed to over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC's TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, among others. Learn more: amyoes.com and support her work at patreon.com/amyo. Amy is currently participating as a playwright and performance artist in the National Musical Theatre Institute at the world-renowned Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.-- Amy OestreicherActress, Artist, Playwright, Author, Speaker, Survivor, and DetouristHuffington Post Columnist, TEDx, Great Comebacks Recipient SheSource Expert Featured in Cosmopolitan, & NBC's TODAY*Celebrating Life's Beautiful Detours Through Creative PTSD Education & Mental Health Programming*Award-Winning Musical Gutless & Grateful: See '17 NYC DatesSocial Media Channels)

Coni Koepfinger hosts today's Air Play. With Interview of Amy Oesreicher. Plus a reading of Amy's Play by Christy Donahue.Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright, sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. As the creator of "Gutless & Grateful," her BroadwayWorld-nominated one-woman autobiographical musical, she's toured theatres nationwide, along with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre for college campuses and international conferences. Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, premiered at the NYC Producer's Club in May 2016, exploring how trauma affects the family as well as the individual. To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events. "Detourism" is also the subject of her TEDx and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017. As Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award, she's spoken to hundreds of healthcare professionals at national WOCN conferences, and her presentations on diversity, leadership and trauma have been featured at National Mental Health America Conference, New England Educational Opportunity Association's 40 Anniversary Conference, and have been keynotes at the Pacific Rim Conference of Diversity and Disability in Hawaii, the Eating Recovery Foundation First Annual Benefit in Colorado. She's contributed to over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC's TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, among others. Learn more: amyoes.com and support her work at patreon.com/amyo. Amy is currently participating as a playwright and performance artist in the National Musical Theatre Institute at the world-renowned Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.-- Amy OestreicherActress, Artist, Playwright, Author, Speaker, Survivor, and DetouristHuffington Post Columnist, TEDx, Great Comebacks Recipient SheSource Expert Featured in Cosmopolitan, & NBC's TODAY*Celebrating Life's Beautiful Detours Through Creative PTSD Education & Mental Health Programming*Award-Winning Musical Gutless & Grateful: See '17 NYC DatesSocial Media Channels)

Coni Koepfinger hosts today's Air Play. With Interview of Amy Oesreicher. Plus a reading of Amy's Play by Christy Donahue.Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright, sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. As the creator of "Gutless & Grateful," her BroadwayWorld-nominated one-woman autobiographical musical, she's toured theatres nationwide, along with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre for college campuses and international conferences. Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, premiered at the NYC Producer's Club in May 2016, exploring how trauma affects the family as well as the individual. To celebrate her own “beautiful detour”, Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events. "Detourism" is also the subject of her TEDx and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017. As Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award, she's spoken to hundreds of healthcare professionals at national WOCN conferences, and her presentations on diversity, leadership and trauma have been featured at National Mental Health America Conference, New England Educational Opportunity Association's 40 Anniversary Conference, and have been keynotes at the Pacific Rim Conference of Diversity and Disability in Hawaii, the Eating Recovery Foundation First Annual Benefit in Colorado. She's contributed to over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC's TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, among others. Learn more: amyoes.com and support her work at patreon.com/amyo. Amy is currently participating as a playwright and performance artist in the National Musical Theatre Institute at the world-renowned Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.-- Amy OestreicherActress, Artist, Playwright, Author, Speaker, Survivor, and DetouristHuffington Post Columnist, TEDx, Great Comebacks Recipient SheSource Expert Featured in Cosmopolitan, & NBC's TODAY*Celebrating Life's Beautiful Detours Through Creative PTSD Education & Mental Health Programming*Award-Winning Musical Gutless & Grateful: See '17 NYC DatesSocial Media Channels)

Amy Oestreicher is a normal teenage theater nerd... until the day her stomach explodes. Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright, eagerly sharing the lessons learned from trauma and has brought out the stories that unite us all through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. As the writer, director and star of the Gutless & Grateful, her one-woman autobiographical musical, she's toured theatres across the country, earning accolades since it’s BroadwayWorld Award-nominated NYC debut. As a visual artist, her works have been featured in esteemed solo exhibitions, and her mixed media workshops emphasize creativity as an essential mindset. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To learn more about Butterflies of Wisdom visit http://butterfliesofwisdom.weebly.com/ Be sure to FOLLOW this program https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wins-women-of-wisdom/id1060801905. To learn how Win walk and about Ekso go to http://www.bridgingbionics.org/, or email Amanda Boxtel at amanda@bridgingbionics.org.   On Butterflies of Wisdom today, Best-Selling Author, Win C and JC welcomes AmyOestreicher. Amy is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, the writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, award-winning actress, and playwright. As a survivor and “thriver” of nearly 30 surgeries, a coma, sexual abuse, organ failure, and a decade of medical trauma, Amy has been challenged with moments of extreme difficulty.  But, as an artist, newlywed, actress, college student, and overall lover of life, Amy eagerly shares the lessons learned from trauma and had brought out the stories that unite us all through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. Her original, full-length drama, Imprints, premiered at the NYC Producer’s Club in May 2016, exploring how trauma affects the family as well as the individual. To celebrate her “beautiful detour,” Amy created the #LoveMyDetour campaign, to help others cope in the face of unexpected events.  .Amy has devoted herself to providing college students with an empowered approach to mental health and sexual assault prevention through her traveling advocacy program and “Student Detourist” movement.  In 2015, Amy launched the Student Detourists Outreach Program, enabling students to create outreach chapters on their campuses. “Detourism” is also the subject of her TEDx and upcoming book, My Beautiful Detour, available December 2017. As the 2014 Eastern Regional Recipient of Convatec’s Great Comebacks Award, Amy is a passionate voice in the ostomy community, founding the online community Fearless Ostomates, speaking for the National WOCN conference, and writing for the official print publication of the UOAA.  Her presentations on alternative medicine, and patient advocacy and healthcare have also been accepted to into international conferences in Amsterdam, Dubai, Hawaii and others. Amy has written, directed and starred in a one-woman musical about her life, Gutless & Grateful, has flourished as a mixed media and acrylic artist, with her art in multiple galleries and mounting dozens of solo art shows, and continues to share her story through her art, music, theatre, workshops and writings, which  have appeared in Washington Post and On Being, with Krista Tippet.  Her story has appeared on the TODAY Show, CBS, WNBC and Seventeen, and her one-woman show have been seen in theaters across the country, earning rave reviews and accolades since it’s BroadwayWorld Award-nominated NYC debut. Amy has collaborated with Beechwood Arts on “Resilience and the Power of the Human Spirit,” using her monologs, art, writing and recipes to express the life-altering detours and ultimately the valuable gifts of her resilience journey. Amy is currently touring the country with her one-woman musical, Gutless & Grateful, her keynote presentations, workshops and signature talkbacks, which she has devised specialized versions for corporations, college campuses, survivors, healthcare professionals, and artists.  She is leading mixed media creativity workshops to promote creativity as a mindset, an essential survival skill.  Amy also offers private coaching to help others navigate their beautiful detours, and prides herself most on ending each night with a gratitude list. Visit amyoes.com for more information or contact her directly. To learn more about Win Kelly Charles visit https://wincharles.wix.com/win-charles. Please send feedback to Win by email her at winwwow@gmail.com, or go to http://survey.libsyn.com/winwisdom and http://survey.libsyn.com/thebutterfly. To be on the show please fill out the intake at http://bit.ly/bowintake. To look at our sponsorships go to https://ssekodesigns.com/buttfly?acc=537d9b6c927223c796cac288cced29df and https://ssekodesigns.com/. To learn about the magic of Siri go to https://www.udemy.com/writing-a-book-using-siri/?utm_campaign=email&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email. If you want to donate Butterflies of Wisdom, please send a PayPal donation to aspenrosearts@gmail.com. Please send a check in the mail so 100% goes to Bridging Bionics Foundation.    In the Memo section have people write: In honor of Win Charles.    Send to:  Bridging Bionics Foundation  PO Box 3767 Basalt, CO 81621   Thank you Win    

Listen to Amy Oestreicher shares the lessons she's learned from trauma through what she calls her beautiful detour.

Special Guest- Amy Oestreicher!Playwright, Actress and Survivor in more ways you can count Amy Ostreicher is the example of what Arisen Strength is all about and how it can make such a difference in day to day lives!Amy shares her amazing story where here stomach literally exploded during a procedure in the emergency room where she had to find her way through while not being able to eat or drink for 3 years! Support, Empower, and CELEBRATE! This is definitely a celebration you don't want to miss! Only on the Speaking to the Heart Radio Network!

Special Guest- Amy Oestreicher! Playwright, Actress and Survivor in more ways you can count Amy Ostreicher is the example of what Arisen Strength is all about and how it can make such a difference in day to day lives! Amy shares her amazing story where here stomach literally exploded during a procedure in the emergency room where she had to find her way through while not being able to eat or drink for 3 years!  Support, Empower, and CELEBRATE!  This is definitely a celebration you don't want to miss!  Only on the Speaking to the Heart Radio Network!

In this episode of the Productivity Podcast, I talk to Amy Oestreicher all about how to overcome the physical and mental challenges that life can throw at you. Amy has survived 27 life threatening surgeries after being in a coma for over a month when her stomach literally exploded. If you've ever felt like you can't move forward because of the obstacles and challenges in your life, then I think you'll enjoy this conversation with Amy. 1. Who is Amy Oestreicher and how do you currently spend your time? (3:45) 2. Having had so many setbacks in your life, what have been some of the biggest lessons you've learned that have helped you to keep moving forward. (20:59) 3. In your TED talk, you share the idea of the "detourist". What is a "detour" and what makes you a "detourist"? (28:30) 4. This reminds me a lot of what Ryan Holiday talks about in The Obstacle is the Way. He talks about how you perceive things and act afterwards as being so important. What are some practical things people can do to change the way they view bad situations? (31:50) 5. What does your current productivity workflow look like? (34:00) 6. What kind of productivity tools and apps do you use? (36:57) 7. Any final advice or words of wisdom? (43:05) If you want to be more productive, start my free email course, the 7-Day Productivity Plan. Receive actionable, easy to follow advice via one email a day for 7 days: PaulMinors.com/7days If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast. I'd also love it if you could leave me a review. Doing this will help more people discover the show so they to can get more done and get more out of life. Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/paulminors/message

If you've ever taken a detour in life, whether physical, spiritual, financial or otherwise, then do we have the detourist show for you. Today I'll be talking with Amy Oestreicher, Broadway performer, artist, survivor, Ted-Talker, and incredibly inspiring human being. Today we'll be talking about embracing your detours, about learning how to shine, no matter your life circumstance, and turn your detours into flowers. That plus we'll talk about sneaking out of the hospital, having graduation in the ICU, the power of edible arrangements, collecting drink containers, how to inhale a pizza…in no time flat, Kathie lee Gifford and musicals, and what the coolest trick in the world to do with red coolaid, on Halloween. Self-Help and Self-Improvement Topics Include: How creating was Amy's language How she found out what an agent was at 8. What happened to her at 17 that changed everything. What she shared with her mom. What happened at the hospital. Why you want to check out her Ted Talk on being a Detourist What happened when she got out of her coma. What's a honeymoon coma phase? How the highlight of her day was brushing her teeth What the decadence is of an ice-chip How she got reported and kicked out of the hospital How the Broadway composer William Finn came in to visit her. What does her Ted Talk topic Identity Shattered mean? What she was doing to numb out because she literally couldn't eat What was the power of journaling to her? How she got back to a happy place and stayed an optimist through the process How she went without eating for 6 over the last 10 How her trust was rewired and how she had to rewire for trust and courage again What does it truly mean to be in a place of awareness without judgment (mindfulness) What is an ostomy and what's it mean to get one reversed? What is a detourist? What's the #lovemydetour campaign? Hashtag a picture holding up a sign with #lovemydetour. Share with Amy how this detour changed your life. Visit her website at amyoes.com Her editor is Tom Fitfer from the TheGoodMenProject.com Amy Oestreicher is a Medical Miracle & Shares How to Discover Happiness in Life's Toughest Moments as a Detourist + guided meditation!  Ted Talk | Inspirational | Motivational | Inspiring | Spiritual | Spirituality | Career | Self-Help | Inspire For More Info Visit: www.InspireNationShow.com How to Find Happiness in Your Detours! + Meditation! Amy Oestreicher | Ted Talk | Inspirational | Spiritual | Self-Help

Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer, speaker, health advocate, survivor, award-winning actress, and playwright, sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. Her website is amyoes.com. This interview explores resilience, creativity, hope, and other forces that can come out of illness and trauma.

In this week's episode, I interview the creative nonfiction writer Sarah Viren, Plus Amy Oestreicher writes about a book that changed her life. TEXTS DISCUSSED Sarah Viren's My Murderer's Futon. Sarah Viren's How to Unmarry Your Wife.   Courage to Heal 4th Edition A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse 20th Anniversary Edition" target="_blank">                       NOTES Learn more about Sarah Viren here. Learn more about Amy Oestreicher, including upcoming dates of her one-woman show, Gutless and Grateful, here.

Amy Oestreicher joins us to discuss how she turned her life-threatening illness and over 27 surgeries into what she now calls a beautiful detour. HIGHLIGHTS Finding hope when in our most difficult times Dealing with the fear of not being able to make our mark on the world Turning obstacles into opportunity How Amy turned her story into a beautiful detour Why art and creativity can help us to heal The unexpected places that detours take us Bringing a sense of wonder to our daily lives Using gratitude to build resilience Shifting our questions from “why me?” to “why not?” Quotes I wasn't able to heal until I could start sharing my story. There's life outside the plans we have for ourselves. I don't think you can change people until they're ready to change. When you find out what you're grateful for, you realize what you're about. If life does take a detour you've got to follow that detour and just be open to where it leads because you really don't know what you'll get along the way. Sponsors This episode is sponsored by Hostgator. Use the promo code CREATIVE for 30% off all hosting package. This is episode is also sponsored by TrueCar. Visit their web site or download the Truecar App Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for RAINN, award-winning health advocate, actress and playwright. Amy Oestreicher joins us to discuss how she turned her life-threatening illness and over 27 surgeries into what she now calls a beautiful detour. HIGHLIGHTS Finding hope when in our most difficult times Dealing with the fear of not being able to make our mark on the world Turning obstacles into opportunity How Amy turned her story into a beautiful detour Why art and creativity can help us to heal The unexpected places that detours take us Bringing a sense of wonder to our daily lives Using gratitude to build resilience Shifting our questions from “why me?” to “why not?” Quotes I wasn't able to heal until I could start sharing my story. There's life outside the plans we have for ourselves. I don't think you can change people until they're ready to change. When you find out what you're grateful for, you realize what you're about. If life does take a detour you've got to follow that detour and just be open to where it leads because you really don't know what you'll get along the way. Sponsors This episode is sponsored by Hostgator. Use the promo code CREATIVE for 30% off all hosting package. This is episode is also sponsored by TrueCar. Visit their web site or download the Truecar App Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for RAINN, award-winning health advocate, actress and... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"My life didn't go exactly as I planned it – but does anyone's?, My stomach exploded. (Seriously.)" Join Anna Banguilan as she talks with Amy Oestreicher, a survivor and “thriver” of nearly 30 surgeries, a coma, sexual abuse, organ failure and a decade of medical trauma, she has been challenged with moments of extreme difficulty AND as an artist, newlywed, actress, 28-year old college student, detourist and overall lover of life, she is so grateful for all of the beautiful detours in her life, which have made her who she is today. Get to know Amy O, visit her at https://www.amyoes.com Watch Amy's Video Here    

In this episode, Cem and Wayne interview Amy Oestreicher who went from “survivor” to "thriver" when at the age of 18 her stomach exploded and her life was thrown into a new trajectory. c After 2 months in a coma, 27 surgeries and spending 6 years unable to eat or drink, through her art, performance and motivational speaking Amy now aims to inspire others to embrace their innate creativity, develop a deeper sense of gratitude and resilience so that we can learn to see the challenges of our lives as opportunities for growth. What You'll Here 03:15 - Leveraging limitations to fuel your creativity 06:15 - Using the art of others for inspiration 08:25 - Dealing with not being able to eat or drink for 6 years 18:50 - Therapeutic lying 22:30 - Creating a musical of a challenging story 25:44 - The challenges we face are relative 32:30 - Have a love of life 33:15 - "What's the most powerful piece of advice you've ever been given?" 34:25 - "What's the biggest load of nonsense you've ever heard?"   Resources http://www.amyoes.com The Hero with A Thousand Faces (Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years Of Life What Doesn’t Kill Us - Psychology Today Post-Traumatic Growth: From Ego To Spirit

In this episode, Cem and Wayne interview Amy Oestreicher who went from “survivor” to "thriver" when at the age of 18 her stomach exploded and her life was thrown into a new trajectory. After 2 months in a coma, 27 surgeries and spending 6 years unable to eat or drink, through her art, performance and motivational speaking Amy now aims to inspire others to embrace their innate creativity, develop a deeper sense of gratitude and resilience so that we can learn to see the challenges of our lives as opportunities for growth. What You'll Hear   3:25 - Stomach explosion and waking from a coma 8:00 - Waking up to discover your life has dramatically changed 10:55 - Fear of not being able to fulfil your dreams and a need to be productive 13:30 - Connecting to the world through creativity 17:40 - Creating art as a way of dealing with adversity 21:55 - Finding your creative language 24:10 - Creativity as a mindset   Resources http://www.amyoes.com The Hero with A Thousand Faces (Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years Of Life What Doesn’t Kill Us - Psychology Today Post-Traumatic Growth: From Ego To Spirit

Amy had a severe pain in her stomach while she was at a family celebration that caused her to pass out and remain comatose.  "My stomach exploded!  How cool is that!"  were Amy Oestreicher's first words to her biology instructor when she came out of a four-month coma.     She was given 122 units of blood and survived 27 surgeries to rebuild her digestive system.  She was told she would never dance again, never sing again and never eat food by mouth again.  She proved them wrong on each count.   Amy is a 28-year-old actress who tried out for a local production of Oliver and got the lead - WHILE hospitalized.  She wrote and starred in her one-woman musical, Gutless and Grateful, and was nominated for the Broadway World Award for Best Theatre Debut.   While in the hospital, she used various media types to produce 70 pieces of art (from tissue to cardboard) that were discovered by "The Today Show" and she is now a renowned artist.   She is a tornado to be reckoned with -- a one-woman powerhouse of determination and tenacity who has just begun.  

The Power of Our Stories with Amy Oestreicher Everyone has a story.  After Amy's was featured on TODAY with Kathie Lee and Hoda, she was inspired to bring hers to the NYC stage in 2012.  Ever since, it's been Amy's hope to bring out the stories that unite us all. Through telling stories, we feel connection, and similarity, yet can also define and create our stories through our own uniqueness. No one else can write the story of our life - its what makes us unique, yet we all can relate to certain themes and feelings. When we tell our story, we are asking for attention from those we care about or wish to affect. Telling our stories helps us process what happens in our lives. Through our shared experience, we can heal. It's not the details that matter - suffering is relative. By sharing our stories, we can connect with others who feel the same way. We suddenly feel less alone, in our ever-unfolding narrative. For more information visit: http://amyoes.com/ For Power of Words interview follow up visit: https://www.amyoes.com/2009/08/20/motivational-speaking-transformative-language-arts-network/

Gutless & Grateful - musical - with Amy Oestreicher Gutless & Grateful in United Solo Theatre Festival, October 11th, 2014 2014 United Solo, the world's largest solo theatre festival, celebrates its 5th anniversary season and its dynamic expansion in scope and popularity. All shows are staged at Theatre Row: 410 West 42nd Street, New York City.  Tickets, with a price of $19.25 (including a $1.25 theatre restoration charge) are available at the Theatre Row Box Office and online through Telecharge.  You may also call Telecharge at +1-212-239-6200.  Amy Oestreicher is a 27 year old actress, musician, composer, dancer, writer, artist, yogi, foodie, and general lover of life.   At the age of 18, Amy fell into a coma for months, and once she came to, she resolved that she would never become the “patient” or “victim” that her medical circumstances wanted her to be. She simply allowed the unexpected detour to force her to investigate new productions and hobbies – she started a chocolate business, learned to cook and authored a food blog.  She wrote a one-act play, a graphic novel, started her autobiography, and accomplished her biggest dream to date, which was to tell her story in the medium she's always loved best – the theatre. In 2012, she wrote and starred in “Gutless & Grateful: A Musical Feast” – a one-woman musical about her unique journey.  For more info visit: http://amyoes.com/

Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, speaker for TEDx and RAINN, health advocate, award-winning actress, and playwright. As a survivor and “thriver” of multiple traumas, Amy eagerly shares the gifts of life’s “beautiful detours” her educational programming, writing, mixed media art, performance and inspirational speaking. Amy has headlined international conferences on leadership, entrepreneurship, women’s rights, mental health, disability, creativity, and domestic violence prevention. She is a SheSource Expert, a “Top Mental Health” writer for Medium, and a regular lifestyle, wellness, and arts contributor for over 70 notable online and print publications, and her story has appeared on NBC’s TODAY, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, MSNBC, among others.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-trauma-therapist-podcast-with-guy-macpherson-phd-inspiring-interviews-with-thought-leaders-in-the-field-of-trauma/donationsWant to advertise on this podcast? Go to https://redcircle.com/brands and sign up.

Amy Oestreicher has returned!As you may recall, Amy joined me back on episode 267 of Trauma Therapist | 2.0. She is an Audie award-nominated playwright, performer, and multidisciplinary creator. A singer, librettist, and visual mixed media artist, Amy dedicates her work to celebrating everyday miracles, untold stories, and the detours in life that can spark connection and transform communities. First, a huge thank you to my sponsors:CPTSD FoundationCPTSD Foundation provides live, daily, peer-led, interactive group calls, in a safe atmosphere for survivors of complex trauma, equipping them with skills and information they can use every single day in their healing journey.Receive 50% off the first month when you join at: https://cptsdfoundation.org/traumatherapistpodcast/Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute (SETI)Trauma may be a fact of life, but it doesn’t have to be a life sentence. Somatic Experiencing is a psychobiological method of addressing clients’ physical and emotional trauma conditions and helps to give voice to their experiences without a need for them to retell the story. For more information please visit: https://traumahealing.org/kser Amy overcame a decade of trauma to become a sought-after PTSD specialist, artist, author, writer for The Huffington Post, international keynote speaker, RAINN representative, and health advocate. She has given three TEDx Talks on transforming trauma through creativity, and her story has appeared on NBC’s Today, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen Magazine, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and MSNBC, among others. Amy’s book is out, My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful, and today we talk about the genesis of the book and dive into her journey.You don’t want to miss this one!In This EpisodeAmy's WebsiteAmy’s new book: My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to GratefulConnect with Amy on FacebookThe Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der KolkWaking The Tiger: Healing Trauma, Peter A. Levine.The Overstory, Richard PowersSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-trauma-therapist-podcast-with-guy-macpherson-phd-inspiring-interviews-with-thought-leaders-in-the-field-of-trauma/donationsWant to advertise on this podcast? Go to https://redcircle.com/brands and sign up.