FEATURED AUTHOR: Nan Campbell
I Almost Forgot I Was Happy
My occasionally raucous journey from melancholy to peace of mind…. A collection of writings by Nan Campbell
***A note from Nan
Dear Listeners, if you, like me, have lived in struggle, or are currently living in struggle, please know that throughout our conversation there will be references to alcohol and drug abuse as well as suicidality. Please take good care.
What is I Almost Forgot I Was Happy all about? It might be easier to ask what it’s not about. In this collection of narrative works, poetry and essays, Nan Campbell explores everything from the tender delight of puppy breath to the frightening prospect of the Hang Man’s noose.
*Please be aware that we had a wi-fi connection challenge about two-thirds of the way in this interview but not to worry. We didn’t go away. We came back and carried on as if there wasn’t a glitch at all. Still, gotta love technology!
I Almost Forgot I Was Happy is a brave, sometimes hilarious journey through the oft times apocalyptic chapters of a life steeped in trauma, teenage angst, loss of loved ones, addiction, near bankruptcy and yes, suicidality. Written during the lock down days of COVID, it is a highly experiential work leading the audience through the ups and downs of one woman’s life – Nan.
While on this heroine’s journey, Nan is surprised to discover that there was always joy, laughter, love, even while dialing 911.
Inevitably, Nan discovers that there is hope abounding, love in the crevices of a life led with reckless abandon and radical enthusiasm. Spoiler alert… this story has a happy ending.
Nan Campbell
Radical Enthusiast, Mindful Therapist, Truth-telling Author
Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there’s a seamlessness in you, and where there is a confidence and tranquility.
-John O’Donohue –
Who Is Nan?
Oh the great existential question! Nan is a mother, a grandmother, an educator, a businesswoman, a psychotherapist, an author, and a gladiator in the arena of personal pain and trauma… Ah did that catch your attention?
As a therapist, Nan’s true love is taking a deep dive with her clients to support them in revealing and healing. It is the work of the soul and the infinite; Nan has a strong belief in the “unwounded self” – that precious spark that is longing to be fanned into the flame of our highest and truest self.
Nan believes in the flow of congruence – when our insides match our outsides. Her experience has taught her that writing is a powerful path to congruence.
Nan currently lives on the wide open prairies in La Salle, Manitoba, just outside of Winnipeg. While she has spent the majority of her life on the Prairies, it was her time on Vancouver Island, where she first met Junie Swadron, that was the garden of her rebirth into “knowing”. Through Junie’s passionate and gentle guidance, Nan was able to begin to touch that which was “untouchable”, to say the “unsayable”.
Nan’s teachers are ever-present in her heart and mind: Linda Kavelin-Popov; Junie Swadron; Maria Gomori; Tara Brach; Jack Kornfield; Dan Siegel; Joana Macy; Kristin Neff; Gabor Maté; Sharon Salzberg; Mark Nepo; David Whyte; John O’Donohue; Thich Nhat Hanh; Pema Chodron… the list goes on.
Nan feels at once eager and blessed to be sharing this sacred time with you.
Nan’s Free Gift for you: I Almost Forgot I Was Happy: Chapter Two, Part Three: Golden Threads Caress Her Thighs
New Authors Featured Throughout 2023!
HOW TO WATCH THE INTERVIEWS
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“Like an angel, Junie Swadron embraces you all the way on this challenging terrain of finding your voice and tackling your toughest fears. And like magic, your cocooned story is ready to emerge.”Alissa Friedman, Chicago, Illinois, USA
