I read with curiosity a story in The Baltimore Sun last Sunday morning about a man who has deep regrets about his racists' past.

His life and character would easily fit into my new novel, The Cry of the Cuckoos. The theme of my novel is deceit and forgiveness and that's what Elwin Hope Wilson of South Carolina has been doing as he struggles with his own mortality. He has repented for his past sins and asked for forgiveness from the people - blacks - he has harmed in one way or another most of his life.

Now that he is 72-years-old, ill with diabetes, his eyes degenerating, Wilson wants to atone for his misgivings.

"The former Ku Klux Klan supporter says he wants to atone for the cross burnings on Hollis Lake Road. He wants to apologize for hanging a black doll in a noose at the end of his drive, for flinging cantaloupes at black men walking down Main Street, for hurling a jack handle at the black kid jiggling the soda machine in his father's service station, for brutally beating a 21-year-old seminary student at the bus station in 1961," the newspaper reported.

Sound familiar?

Wilson is a clock collector, and his life has been ticking away with the burden of racism for many years. Among his collections in his home is a cuckoo clock. I was mesmerized by the story because the characters in my book could have been Mr. Wilson.

In the final chapter of his life, Wilson is seeking forgiveness. The burly clock collector wants to be saved before he hears his last chime.
And so Wilson has spent recent months apologizing to "the people I had trouble with." "He has embraced black men his own age, at the same lunch counter where once they were denied service and hauled off to jail as mobs of white youths, Wilson among them, threw insults and eggs and fists.
"Wilson has carried his apology into black churches where he has unburdened it in prayer.
"And he has taken it to Washington, to the office of Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta, the civil rights leader whose face Wilson smashed at the Greyhound bus station during the famed Freedom Rides 48 years ago.
"The apologies have won headlines and praise. Letters have poured in, lauding Wilson's courage. Strangers, black and white, have hailed him as a hero.
"But Wilson doesn't feel like a hero. He feels confused. He cannot fully answer the lingering questions, the doubts. Where did all the hate come from? And where did it go?
And the question he gets asked most often: Why now?
"All I can say is that it has bothered me for years, all the bad stuff I've done," Wilson said. "And I found out there is no way I could be saved and get to heaven and still not like blacks."
"If you do get to heaven, his wife pointed out, they're going to be there with you."

Mr. Wilson has found a secret ingredient to his life now. His regrets and weight of the past has given him the freedom to be a real person.

There is a lesson in his story.

Holding onto regret is like dragging the weight of the past with us everywhere we go. It drains our energy, leaving less available for life in the present because we are constantly feeding an old issue. This attachment can cause illness the same way watering a dead plant creates decay. We know that something new and beautiful can grow in its place if we only prepare the soil and plant the right seeds.

We also know that we create our lives from our thoughts, so dwelling on the past may actually recreate a situation in our lives where we are forced to make the choice again and again. We can choose to move on right now by applying what we have learned to the present and perhaps even sharing with others, transforming the energy into something that is constructive and creative for ourselves and others.
Forgiveness is the soothing balm that can heal regret. In meditation, we can imagine discussing the issue with the self of our past and offering our forgiveness for the choice. In return, we can ask for our selves' forgiveness for keeping them locked in that space of judgment for so long.

We may also want to ask forgiveness from anyone else who may have been affected and perhaps offer our forgiveness. By replaying the event in our minds, we can choose a new ending using all that we now know.

Imagine that you have actually gone back into the past and made this change, and then say goodbye to it. Release your former self with a hug and bring the forgiveness and love back with you to the present. Since we are usually our harshest critics, it is amazing how powerfully healing it can be to offer ourselves love.
Keeping our minds and our energy fully in the present allows us to fuel our physical and emotional healing and well-being today. This action frees our energy to create the dreams we dream for the future. By taking responsibility and action in the present, we can release our hold on the past.

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Educational Association and Alabama Educational Association. He is the author of a new novel, The Cry of the Cuckoos http://www.thecryofthecuckoos.com/  You can contact him at jwcargile@charter.net. All conversations are confidential.

Many people live their lives plagued by negative thoughts and never even realize this. They tell themselves and others that they are doomed to fail, not good enough, or not worthy of love, yet they are amazed when their reality starts reflecting these words.

Just as the subconscious mind accepts as truth the critical statements we tell ourselves, however, it is also equipped to instantly accept the veracity of our affirmations.
Affirmations are statements chosen and spoken consciously. Once they enter our realm of consciousness, they also enter our subconscious mind where they have the power to change our lives.

The affirmations you create should be specific, not too long, worded positively, formed in complete sentences, and spoken in the present tense as if what you are affirming is already true.

It is a good idea to repeat your affirmations daily. You may want to tell yourself that you deserve to be happy or that you are in control of your destiny. Or, you may want to focus on a particular goal, such as attracting new friends. Rather than telling yourself you want to be well-liked, say, "I am well-liked."

Your subconscious mind will pick up on these positive messages, and you will begin to live your life as if what you are affirming already has happened.

Soon, your reality will begin to reflect your affirmations. If you find that you are thwarting yourself with negative thinking, try repeating your affirmations several times a day.

Write your affirmations down and say them aloud or in your mind. Allow your conviction to grow stronger each time you say your affirmations, and your negativity will be overridden by your motivation and positive thoughts.
Affirmations are a powerful tool for creating our desired reality. We consciously and subconsciously invite opportunity into our lives when we say affirmations. Trust in the power of your affirmations, and you will very quickly create what you have already stated to be true.

If you were able to read a transcript of your inner dialogue - that seemingly ceaseless chatter that fills our head - what would it say about your relationship with yourself? Friend or foe? When you face a major challenge, does the voice say "you can do it!" or does your internal critic kick in?
Directing your awareness to your self-talk can help reveal a hidden habit of self-defeat. Making a few adjustments to the dialogue can help empower you to break old patterns, overcome obstacles and put a positive spin on your outlook.

Positive affirmations are the antidote. Would professional athletes make it to the finish line by telling themselves "you can't do it?"

Encouraging, optimistic mental conditioning is integral to your success.
You are in charge of your thoughts, simply change the channel, turn the page, send the negativity into outer-space and replace them with more valid and useful words of wisdom. Developing your own positive affirmations is easy, just look at the truth. Allow yourself to focus on your true basic goodness and make a list.

Are you creative? Generous? Helpful? Intuitive?

If you are trying to lose weight, turn your finances around, or deal with loss, the truth of the matter is that you can do it. It is physically possible. So just tell it like it is. "I can do it."
If you need help developing affirmations, browse Louise L. Hay's books or card decks, which are filled with good ideas like "I accept all parts of myself," "I am surrounded and filled with infinite wisdom," or "I am willing to go to a new level to truly heal myself."
Once you have a few powerful messages for yourself you can:
* Repeat them several times during the day, especially at night before going to bed and after getting up in the morning.
* Post them around the house - on mirrors, doors, your alarm clock.
* Create a stack of note cards and pick one out to contemplate each day.
* Choose one and write it one hundred times in a notebook.
* Write them into your subconscious so that the positivity is with you always.
* Allow yourself a moment to truly experience positive feelings.
* Refresh your affirmations every two weeks so the message doesn't become stale.
* Remember to be patient. "It takes some time to go from a seed to a plant", says Louise Hay, "and so it is with affirmations, it takes some time from the first declaration to the final demonstration.

Here is a personal affirmation I use every morning, night and sometimes even during the day. It gives me comfort to know this:

The light of God surrounds me. The love of God enfolds me. The power of God protects me. The presence of God watches over me. Wherever I am, God is.

You can use the same affirmation for someone other than yourself i.e. spouse, child or friend or the world at-large.

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Educational Association and Alabama Educational Association. He is the author of a new novel, The Cry of the Cuckoos. http://www.thecryofthecuckoos.com/ You can contact him at jwcargile@charter.net. All conversations are confidential.

Our soon-to-be 3-year-old granddaughter is an inspiration whenever she visits.

The other night my wife asked her if she would like to say her prayers.

They began calling out each person's name: Daddy, Mommy, Papa, Nana, and the list kept growing and growing.

Finally, when they said amen our granddaughter looked up at her Nana and reminded her of something important.

"We didn't pray for me."

We can learn something from the wisdom of a child.

While it's great to pray for others, oftentimes we forget to pray for ourselves, which in many cases, we need more prayer than the person we are praying for.

One of the wonderful qualities possessed by babies and young children is that they are unaware that a cycle of life even exists. They simply are present to wherever they happen to be right now, and they don't give much thought to the past or future. Being around them reminds us of the joy that comes from living fully in the moment.

There are many ways we can instill the value of prayer and meditation. Since children tend to learn just as much, if not more, by observation and imitation, rather than by instruction, we can teach by example.

By following our practice, we show them that meditation and prayer are part of daily life. Even if they appear to resist, they will come to understand meditation's and prayer's importance in maintaining their inner health if you treat it as something that is as important and as essential as eating well and keeping proper hygiene.

Little children are not the only ones that can benefit by learning prayer and meditation; preteens and teenagers can also benefit from learning the skills necessary to calm their minds and spend quality family time meditating together.
We may be able to introduce them to the concept of closing their eyes and taking inner journeys by listening to visualization CDs, or you may be comfortable enough to guide them through a visualization of your own.

Creating a time of quiet listening in the middle of guided imagery helps them know that they can be silent and go within whenever they choose. You might want to sit together and hold hands, creating a deep bonding ritual that may become everyone's favorite part of the day.

By discussing afterward, you can discover how your child experiences his or her inner world. By teaching children how to create with their minds and how to access the stillness within them, you are giving them tools that will help them create the best lives possible.

As grown-ups, we often approach children with ideas about what we can teach them about this life to which they have so recently arrived. It's true that we have important information to convey, but children are here to teach us just as much as we are here to teach them.

They are so new to the world and far less burdened with preconceived notions about the people, situations, and objects they encounter. They do not avoid people on the basis of appearance, nor do they regard shoes as having only one function. They can be fascinated for half an hour with a pot and a lid, and they are utterly unself-conscious in their emotional expressions. They live their lives fully immersed in the present moment, seeing everything with the open-mindedness born of unknowing. This enables them to inhabit a state of spontaneity, curiosity, and pure excitement about the world that we, as adults, have a hard time accessing.

Yet almost every spiritual path calls us to rediscover this way of seeing. In this sense, children are truly our gurus.

Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 21:16. "Yeah, have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?"
When we approach children with the awareness that they are our teachers, we automatically become more present ourselves. We have to be more present when we follow, looking and listening, responding to their lead.

We don't lapse so easily into the role of the director of activities, surrendering instead to having no agenda at all.

As we allow our children to determine the flow of play, they pull us deeper into the mystery of the present moment. In this magical place, we become innocent again, not knowing what will happen next and remembering how to let go and flow.
Since we must also embody the role of loving guide to our children, they teach us how to transition gracefully from following to leading and back again.

In doing so, we learn to dance with our children in the present moment, shifting and adjusting as we direct the flow from pretending to be kittens wearing shoes on our heads to making sure everyone is fed and bathed.

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Educational Association and Alabama Educational Association. E-books, reference material and study programs are available at his website. He is the author of a new novel, The Cry of the Cuckoos. You can contact him at jwcargile@charter.net. All conversations are confidential.

One of the things in life which my mother taught, God rest her soul, is to pursue without limitations anything worth pursuing. She was an avid genealogist, and the work she did on her family tree gave impetus to start my own tree.

Most people do not begin their family genealogy until they are older, and have time on their hands because genealogy takes time and patience.

I cannot remember when I first started the family tree. It was some time long ago, back in the late 1960's. In later life I began to pursue it more judiciously.

I am most proud of the fact I came to know myself and understand my family a little clearer after tracing the family back to old Scotland. When I became aware of this fact, I began to call myself a Scots-American like thousands of other people who came to this country from Scotland through Ireland.

One of the last gleanings after discovering Scotland as the homeland of my ancestors was some of the traditions they celebrated. One of them happens to be the Christmas and New Year's celebrations or lack thereof. They brought these traditions with them when they came to the New America.

Not until 1958 did Scotsman celebrate Christmas as we do now. Older Scots believed Christmas was a pagan celebration, and there is enough evidence of it being a pagan belief.

Scots were mostly Protestants, and Christmas was brought about by the Roman Catholic Church. To Catholics, in those days, it was a "Christ Mass". The Scots fought England largely upon religious principle, and to follow the Catholic Church was considered "popery." The Scots believed in religious freedom and fought for it through many wars.

Up until 1958, however, older Scots celebrated what they called Hogmanay.

Most Scots worked over the Christ Mass celebrations until the New Year. The "party" was the New Year, which was a pre-Christian celebration.

Hogmanay has always been important to Scots. It is still celebrated in the streets and villages of Scotland today.

For many years it was customary to lavish gifts on friends and relatives on New Year's Eve. There is often the firing of a canon, and the sounding of a ship's siren to indicate midnight. It is then traditional to leave your own house and visit your neighbors.

In doing so, it was and is important to take some gifts with you; a bottle of whiskey, a lump of coal and some type of food. Traditionally oatcakes, black bun or shortbread were the foods of choice.

Those Scotsmen who stayed home generally hoped that the first person to visit them would be tall, dark and handsome. It was a throwback to Viking days when blond strangers arriving on your doorstep meant trouble. (I wondered where those blond jokes came from).

It was also a tradition that you should clear all your debts before you saw the New Year. This was to be a clean break, a fresh start. (What a great concept seeing that we are all in debt up to our ears).

The idea of firecrackers on New Year's Eve was brought to the New World by Celts.

Bond fires were lit in Scotland and, a traditional "Calling of the Clans." Scots came from every nook and cranny, hurling their torches onto a massive heap of wood. As the flames joined and reached toward the sky, battle cries filled the night air. Once all the Clans were announced and accounted for, the festivities began.

I guess the Scots' blood in me runs thick as I have always, for some reason, not been fully spirited when it comes to the Christmas holidays. The commercialism it stirs in all of us. The birth of Jesus gives it a great symbolical meaning, but historians agree Jesus was not born on December 25^th. He was either born in the Fall or Spring. No one really knows when Jesus was born.

So I have thought for years Christmas was a pagan idea we celebrate.

From the Babylonian times of the Old Testament stands the epitome of everything that is godless or perverse. In the New Testament, Babylon becomes Rome. The Roman Empire embodies the pagan beliefs and practices of ancient Babylon, and we in America are repeating history, like we never learned it, and are becoming like the Rome of yesteryear.

The American Empire, as we know it, is following the path of Rome. Our once democratic way of life is transitioning into a beast of an animal. Our society is breaking up piece by piece, and the terrorists in the East are having a field day with it.

You can see it happening all over America as "Christ" is being taken out of Christmas. People prefer now to say "Happy Holidays." The Christmas we once knew as children is taking a backseat to other religions or non-religious people.

Since it is a pagan celebration to begin with, it is time to break with the old traditions.

A Happy Hogmanay sounds better, at least to us Scots-Americans.

God bless us all since we can all trace our beginnings back to God. What a great family tree!

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Educational Association and Alabama Educational Association. He is the author of a new novel, The Cry of the Cuckoos, available soon in bookstores. You can contact him at jwcargile@charter.net. All conversations are confidential.

The true meaning of the holidays can easily get lost in the details.

The Christmas season has always been a great tradition in our family, but this year, when times are hard on everyone financially, we decided to forego gift-giving to the adults in the family. We're giving to children only.

It'll be hard giving up the tradition of gift-giving among the adults in our family. Everyone likes to receive and give during this time of season. While we will be celebrating Christmas three times during the next few days, the most beautiful gift is seeing the wide-eyed grandson or granddaughters opening up their gifts. Some traditions cannot be broken up when it comes to giving to children at Christmas.

Lost in all of this is the jolly with holly and mistletoe. Anyone still pick mistletoe and steal a kiss from someone you love?

But, the season is not about commercial giving. It serves as a reminder of the birth of Jesus, our Way Shower, and the child in all of us.

While many of the diverse festivals and feasts we celebrate are designed to be times for celebrating life, new beginnings, traditions, and landmark occasions, those sentiments can be swept away by the stress of overloaded to-do lists and seemingly never-ending holiday obligations.

Yet there are many unique and satisfying ways to celebrate the holidays without spending too much money or becoming exhausted in the process.

While the media, and possibly even loved ones, may encourage you to do and buy more, concentrating on the spirit of faith, giving, love, and hope during the holidays can help you do more with less. You can create new holiday traditions that help you focus on what you find important.
Holidays can be a wonderful time for taking stock of what matters most to you. This can include family, community, helping those less fortunate and loving life itself.
When exploring the true meaning of the holidays and getting back to the true spirit of the season, allow yourself to alter existing traditions. Even a blessing before a meal or a walk under the stars can help you reconnect with the holidays. Do what fulfills you and then stop before your celebration becomes more of a hassle than a happy occasion.

Get back to the basics of generosity and goodwill, and your holiday will certainly be a rewarding one.

Holidays and joy are two elements of our lives that are naturally intertwined. Traditional celebrations awaken within us an ardent desire to reconnect with the people we care about and to share our abundance. During the holiday season, we feel more driven to actively practice compassion, tolerance, selflessness, and gratitude.

When we feel stressed, we find peace in the company of loved ones. And, filled with warm thoughts, we endeavor to ensure that others can share in our celebrations. Yet while happiness and holidays go hand in hand, the serenity and optimism that blossom within as we act on our festive feelings need not be relegated to a few days or weeks each year.

We can carry the holiday spirit within us all year long if we make an effort to embrace a celebratory frame of mind no matter what the date.
Holding the holidays in your heart can be wonderfully transformative.

Changing your life can be as simple as thinking about the uplifting activities you engage in and the positive attitudes you adopt during the holiday season and then integrating them into your daily life.

If you learn to always be as open to wonder as you are around the holidays, the world will seem like a more magical place, whether it is December, March, or August. While holidays represent a great opportunity to reconnect with family and friends, there is little preventing you from reaching out to the people you care about throughout the year.

The patience, compassion, goodwill, and tolerance you feel while celebrating can easily become a part of your everyday experience.

Likewise, you will soon discover that the generous charitable gifts you give once a year mean just as much during other months and are often needed even more.
To remind yourself of your decision to carry the holiday spirit in your heart, consider displaying some small part of your holiday décor to signify your commitment. Remember that giving, whether your gifts are tangible or of the soul, always feel good whatever the occasion.

However you prefer to celebrate the holidays, practicing the ideals of the season every day means experiencing the beauty of the holiday season all year long.

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Educational Association and Alabama Educational Association. E-books, reference material and study programs are available at his website. He is the author of a new novel, The Cry of the Cuckoos. You can contact him at jwcargile@charter.net. All conversations are confidential.

John Wayne Cargile

Eloquent Books (2008)

ISBN 9780606935262

Reviewed by Richard Blake for Reader Views (11/08)

"The Cry of the Cuckoos" is the story of a son separated from his biological mother for over sixty years. They were reunited for the first time after she becomes a suspect in the murder of his father. Donald Drummond,the main character, is a retired news reporter. Award-winning writer John Wayne Cargile incorporates similarities from his own life in this novel of  murder, and intrigue.

Henry Drummond, Donald's father, was the leader of a rightwing supremacist group called the Society of Southron Patriots, whose goal was deception. It was also rumored that he had Mafia connections. After Henry's death, by arsenic poisoning, a terrorist plot aimed at killing Washington diplomats by poisoning the food at the concessions of the Super Bowl was uncovered. United Nations delegates were a target of this conspiracy.

Donald and his wife Anne were recruited by the FBI to work undercover as informants to help untangle the web of deception surrounding his father's death. A fast-moving, complex plot took the couple from Alabama to Texas where they encountered another murder with surprise twists and turns along the way.

Cargile carefully puts in place background details which provide interesting technical and medical information. His training in religion, psychology, and philosophy, as well as his strong interest in integral psychology and spirituality, are apparent throughout John's writing. "The Cry of the Cuckoos" becomes a platform for him to help people integrate their mind, body and Spirit into a Holistic lifestyle.

Cargile's character development reflects his understanding of flawed personalities. His narrative provides a related analysis of their symptoms, motivations, and resulting actions. The strength of character of the genuine religious or spiritual person is contrasted with the lip service and lifestyle of deception in those

motivated by selfishness and greed. These characters become colorful composites, expressions of idealism, reality, and deception. I was quickly drawn into the story of "The Cry of the Cuckoos" and the theme of deceit and forgiveness.

Cargile's writing style is crisp, direct, and engaging. While I found this directness appealing, it may be seen as too simplistic for others. Transitions of locale or time-frame and the pacing of conflict and resolution confronted by the protagonists were well-paced, maintaining the suspense element of the story.

I felt the story ended quite quickly, somewhat abruptly; however, an "afterward" wrapped up all the loose ends and gave closure to unanswered questions. The final chapters create the possibility of a sequel.

"The Cry of the Cuckoos" by John Wayne Cargile will appeal to readers who enjoy mystery, intrigue, and romance. Cargile's writing is thoroughly entertaining and highly informative.

It's been over two years since I began writing my first novel, and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is in the pre-production stage at a New York publishing house. I anxiously await the formatted text and the finished product. The cover of the book is gratifying.

Donald Drummond, the main character in the novel (The Cry of the Cuckoos), takes on a lot of characteristics as the author. I offer a brief synopsis of what Drummond was thinking when he and his family bury his father, Henry, at age 82.

"The Browns Funeral Home was at capacity as Henry's family sat left of the preacher behind closed curtains. Donald squeezed his large frame body between his mother, Rose, and his wife, Anne. His son, Joseph, sat next to his mother. His brothers, David and Daniel, sat with their wives on the first pew with their children beside them. Several other family members sat behind them, including 85-year-old Uncle Mack.

"A contingent of Henry's Society of Southron Patriots brothers came, filling up half the chapel.

"Henry Drummond told me before he passed over to the other side that he was a born again Christian," the preacher said. Donald nearly vomited right then and there. His stomach was tied in knots.

"Henry was a family man," the preacher continued in the funeral home chapel. "He did not always attend church until he found that he had prostate cancer. Friends and family can rest assured that Henry's spirit is now with God. You can take peace in knowing that. Henry leaves behind his wife, three sons, four grandchildren and many other family members. Let us pray."

"Donald's mind raced with thoughts. He was oblivious to the preacher's sermon.

Maybe this is what yin and yang is all about? While we are humans in flesh, our spirit is eternal. My father's spirit? Where did it go? He grew up a Christian but was always uncertain about heaven and hell. His father had not been in a church door as far back as he could remember, yet his father told everyone who visited from the church he was a born again Christian. Were heaven and hell actual places above and below us? Or were heaven and hell states of mind, conjured up by humans to explain the unexplainable? He wrestled with those thoughts for years. He bowed to philosophers, theologians and scientists to debate it until the end of time. Dante's "Divine Comedy," and "Inferno," had done more to proselytize a picturesque hell than any other western writer. If hell was an actual place, he knew without a doubt his father would be there right now, soaking in sweat; his soul burning."

While this is an excerpt of the book, readers will be able to see how good conquers evil.  I've already been asked if the novel is about me. Yes and no. Is it about my family? Yes and no. Subjects broached in the novel range from abortion, politics, marriage, murder, Alzheimer's, anxiety attacks, dirty and clean money.

Writing is a great practice and a benefit which creates long-term benefits. You might want to try it.

Everyone, at one time or another, has wanted to express his or her story. Writing a memoir to read privately, share with family or friends, or publish is an emotionally satisfying way to gain perspective on your experiences while sharing your unique voice. We've all experienced feelings and events in our lives that we are longing to write down. Giving in to that urge can give you an outlet for purging any frustration, anxiety, or long-dormant feelings. No one else has to read it. You may even want to write your story without reading it right away.

Satisfying the need to tell your story is not predicated upon your writing ability. It does, however, take effort to write down the truth in detail. Your memories, captured on paper as descriptive scenes, sights, sounds, and scents, might at first seem disconnected or incomplete. But rest assured that you possess the ability to shape your recollections into stories.
Everyone wants to be heard. Reading your story to others can meet that need. Writing your story can also help you understand your life experiences. And when you finish writing, you may be surprised at what you have accomplished. Your story can encompass as much or as little of your life as you prefer. You may surprise yourself with new insights, or you may find yourself exploring your roots, your identity, and your future through your words. Allow your writing to guide you and write as truthfully as possible. Don't worry about what others will think of your personal journey, your style of writing, or your words.
Research has shown that writing a personal narrative filled with feelings and perceptions can create long-term health benefits. As you write, remember to have compassion for yourself, particularly when writing about traumatic events. If you are a young person, you can add to your life story as you grow older. Your writing may help family members know you better, or they may understand themselves more through reading about your experiences. More importantly, you are expressing yourself in a permanent way, giving a gift to yourself, and letting your voice be heard.

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Educational Association and Alabama Educational Association. E-books, reference material and study programs are now available at his website www.21stcenturyministries.com You can contact him at jwcargile@charter.net. All conversations are confidential.

The cuckoo bird is a master of deception, fooling other species in their race to copy their chirping begging call. Donald Drummond and his wife, Anne, chase after the killer of his father, Henry Drummond, but find themselves up against a radical right wing supremacist organization called the Society of Southron Patriots and, like the cuckoo bird, deception is the Society's mission. The couple unravels a terrorist plot aimed to kill Washington dignitaries at the Super Bowl and delegates at the United Nations. Donald, a retired news reporter, and Anne, a retired school teacher, unfold the mystery leading them on a wild chase from Alabama to Texas. And one of the many murder suspects is Donald's biological mother, Betty Jo Duke, who he only just met after his father's death. Donald and Anne are hired as informants by the FBI to unravel the mysterious case and they get a lot more than they bargained for.