The Story Behind the Story with Author Olive Mazerolle of New Brunswick, Canada.

 

The Scribbler is pleased to have Olive as this week’s guest. 

She has an interesting and thought-provoking story to share. You will be treated to the SBTS, so read on my friends.

 

Olive Mazerolle was born in Baie Sainte-Anne, New Brunswick, Canada. She worked with the New Brunswick RCMP as a Civilian Member for 35 years and retired in 2016 with an unfortunate PTSD diagnosis. Discovering the post-traumatic growth (PTG) concept has given her a new lease on life.

Title

Dancing with the Clouds - A true story of post-traumatic growth

Synopsis

"Is it possible for trauma to lead to personal growth?”

As a civilian employee, Olive Mazerolle gave thirty-five years of her life to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. At the end of her career, after experiencing both personal and professional traumas, she found herself diagnosed with moderate-to-severe PTSD. Through years of seeking the psychological help she needed, she finally understood that her traumas had led her to Post Traumatic Growth (PTG).

For Olive, PTG was transformative and brought renewed growth after adversity. She turned towards altruism, opened up to new experiences, became spiritually mature and embraced gratitude for the life she now lives, saying, “Without these challenges, I may not be the person I am proud to be today.”

Healing from immense grief and guilt led her to accept that life’s adversities are indeed life lessons. Her cancer diagnosis led to a healthier lifestyle. Addressing sexual harassment in the workplace brought validation and restored her self-worth. Most importantly, she recognized that anxiety can be controlled by a shift to positive thinking.

This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir of survival, grace and evolution will deepen your appreciation for life.

The Story Behind the Story

 

Excerpt from the book - (beginning of Chapter One)

          Trauma and grief followed me at every moment of my life until I finally found true joy.

        I never thought of these events as abnormal until I started writing about them and reading them out loud to my writing group. Seeing the expressions of shock and awe from my five wonderful WOWs (Women of Words) made me realize that my experiences were not commonplace.

        It’s almost too much! It’s unbelievable that you have lived through these experiences and come out at the other end happy and healthy, said teary-eyed Eveline.

        That was an ah-ha moment for me! How did I end up living happily ever after with everything I had been through? And if  I could be happy, perhaps I could help someone else go through difficult times by writing a book about my journey to wellness. Would such a book be worthwhile to someone else?

Facebook: Dancing with the Clouds 

A question before you go:

Scribbler: What is the ideal spot for you when you write your stories? Music in the background or quiet. Coffee or tequila? Messy or neat?



Olive: I like moving around and having a window nearby when I write. So a lot of the book was written in my home office, but I had to move to the basement for a while where I have a larger table so I could refer to my many many notebooks which I continually referred to. In the end, I was in a comfy chair in our den sitting by large windows looking out onto our backyard.

I have a playlist on Spotify - Dancing with the Clouds - with songs that bring me back to the time and place of many of the events in the book.

Coffee in the morning and lots and lots of tea in the afternoon. And snacks of course. A glass of wine at the end of a productive day and Champagne when it was published.

I love being orderly but, honestly, my desk/table was mostly very messy with all the notebooks and photo albums I kept referring to.

Thank you for being our guest this week, Olive.

I am certain there will be many readers who find comfort and direction from your story. 

We wish you continued success with your writing.

And a Jumbo THANK YOU to all our visitors and readers.