When editor Linda Sechrist suggested that we ask some of our Natural Awakenings fans to share a mentor or book that’s significantly impacted their life for our special feature “Southwest Floridians Shine a Light on Their Mentors,” I realized how hard it would be for me to narrow it down to just a couple. As the saying goes: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,” and I’ve been an eager student for as long as I can remember.

Finding Louise Hay’s book You Can Heal Your Life in the 1980s helped me more deeply understand how my mind and body are connected, and that physical illnesses somehow have their root causes in emotional and spiritual beliefs and thought processes. Louise’s key message was: “If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed.”

During a very difficult period, Eckhart Tolle helped me aft er a significant loss in my life. I remember how many times I grabbed his book The Power of Now and the peace it brought me. Practicing staying in the present moment and surrendering to “what is” helped me bring acceptance to the unacceptable.

When I asked Linda who was at the top of her list, she said that she still has the signed copy of Deepak Chopra’s first book, Perfect Health, which had greatly impacted her. Linda also said if she hadn’t read Julia Cameron’s the Artist’s Way, she probably wouldn’t have been writing for Natural Awakenings all these years. Thank you, Julia!

In addition to writing about raising consciousness, Linda has a passion for being involved with and reporting on what is happening in our local environmental community, including the Pachamama Alliance of SWFL and Calusa Waterkeeper. In July, she saw for a second time the documentary Toxic Puzzle at the Calusa Waterkeeper’s Summit at Broadway Palm Theatre. On August 5, she’ll be attending the Florida Water Summit 2 and viewing the new documentary, Troubled Waters, produced by Calusa Waterkeeper and a panel of world-renowned scientists and medical professionals who speak about the public health risks of harmful algal blooms such as those we experienced last summer. She does a terrific job of keeping us informed, as discouraging as it can get sometimes. Get all the updates on this month’s events on page 23 and please join us!

With the kids heading back to school this month, it’s time for parents to hit the reset button. In “21st Century Parenting: Preparing Kids for the Future,” Meredith Montgomery offers insights into raising kind, resilient and resourceful kids in a world vastly different from the one we grew up in. I am excited that we now have our first Waldorfinspired school, offering a holistic and creative approach to learning for K-4 students here in SW Florida.

Adults and kids will find plenty of healthy activities and options in this month’s Natural Awakenings. Welcome to a hot summer issue!

Sharon Bruckman, Publisher