WELCOME

A friend who had been facing an extended period of challenges recently asked me,

“What else does life want from me?”

“Everything,” I answered, without hesitation.

I answered because that’s what I’ve experienced. Since the moment I committed to writing Riding Grace: A Triumph of the Soul, at 2 a.m., June 14, 1998, life has asked me to give everything to this process—from the full radiant glory to the face-down-smashed-in-the-mud messiness of my being.

It first asked me to give everything when I could only concentrate 15 minutes at a time because of a debilitating illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Life asked even though this creative act would also mean delving into the childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the root of the illness.

But my choice to give life everything has, oddly enough, given me everything—starting 12 hours after I made the decision to share my story, to embrace and accept it, no matter what trials it presented.

At that time, in a workshop led by two healers, I experienced a complete spontaneous healing of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that had been my companion for 12 years and a deep healing of the abuse issues. I’ve been healthy ever since.

Riding Grace: A Triumph of the Soul is the memoir of what I experienced and learned on the journey. It is my precious gift to you. My gift of everything.

--Alissa Lukara