May 17, 2024 • 35 mins
In this powerfully inspiring episode, we delve into the life-journey of Shari Bookstaff, a marine biology professor and champion of empathetic healthcare. A brain tumor survivor, she shares the catalyst of her transformative venture, Impact of Empathy. Explore her remarkable journey to recovery, her revelations on the stark empathy deficit in healthcare, and the subsequent steps she undertook to bridge this gap.
Shari doesn't limit herself to healthcare alone. She broadens the scope of conversation, talking about her love for marine biology, her experiences teaching and exploring with her students, and her strategies for lifestyle adaptability in the wake of survival. Through her unique viewpoint on positivity and determination, she offers practical yet powerful techniques that reach far beyond generic advice.
Shari's stories also touch upon a surprising aspect: football's role in her recovery, providing her with life lessons to fight adversity face-on. She is indeed a living example of resilience made possible by the will to adapt and overcome.
Finally, Shari unveils insightful tips, borne from her work and experiences, on expressing empathy - the building block of her venture. Learn about the essential requirement of instant patient connection and the crucial role of empathy in work efficiency. Traverse through Shari Bookstaff's extraordinary path, from wrestling with life-changing adversity to spearheading positive change, only on this episode.
Also included is an intriguing narrative about a guest who had aspired for nursing but ended up making her mark in marketing. Listen to her underline the influential role of empathy in healthcare through invaluable anecdotes. The insights offered in this compelling conversation extend beyond the healthcare sector, touching upon the lives of individuals going through their distinct hardships.
Inspirations on facing and overcoming life's challenges in light of positivity, acceptance of help, the healing power of humor, and proactive empathy make this episode a must-listen. Packed with unparalleled personal experiences and practical takeaways, get ready for an episode that promises to redefine your perception of empathy and resilience.
Visit her website here: ImpactofEmpathy.net
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
In today's episode, we are speaking with Sherry Bookstaff, who is a marine biology
professor, author, and brain tumor survivor.
She is also the owner of Impact of Empathy, which offers workshops and activities
and tangible tips on expressing empathy in a variety of situations.
Thank you so much for joining. If you can start off with telling us a little
(00:32):
bit about yourself and how you formed Impact of Empathy.
Okay, my name is Sherry Bookstaff and I've been a biology professor at a community
college near San Francisco since 1990, so for a long, long time.
And then I was going about my life being a biology professor and in May of,
(00:55):
or in April of 2006, I started getting dizzy and nauseous, just on the moon, I started getting sick.
And I later found out that I had a brain tumor. And I got the brain tumor taken out in July of 2006.
You know, it's supposed to be very, I won't use the word routine,
but they use the word routine.
Surgery takes the tumor out. And I was supposed to have no lasting effects and,
(01:20):
you know, be in the hospital five to ten days.
And that turned into almost nine months.
And the rest of my life has been having lasting effects. So,
what I realized during that time was that the level of empathetic care that
I received from my healthcare providers varied drastically.
Some were really kind and considerate and compassionate, and some were not.
(01:44):
So when I came out the other side, I really realized that I had this ability to talk to people.
I wasn't afraid to talk to groups, so I started talking to groups of students
and other healthcare care professionals.
I'm kind of sharing my story and telling them, giving them practical tips on
how to connect with their patients immediately by expressing empathy.
(02:09):
Yeah, I really appreciate taking the time to share a story that is so profound.
And I'd like to know a little bit more about how maybe you reshaped your life
and kind of how that kind of maybe led into writing your book.
I know you have a few amazing books out there.
And then also your career as a marine biology professor.
(02:31):
Thank you. Well, I grew up in Wisconsin. I mean, not to go too far back,
but in Wisconsin, you know, there aren't really a whole lot of whales around.
And I love, you know, whales and dolphins. So I came out to California for graduate school.
And I was also a thesis. that I couldn't go work on a boat. So I got into teaching.
(02:53):
I won't say that I fell into it, but I loved it.
So I took up, I started teaching it at this community college.
But I was the kind of professor that would take my students on, you know, field trips.
And we would go down pretty rocky cliffs to get whale bones.
And, you know, I was pretty active with my students. And we went on a lot of field trips.
(03:15):
And then when this happened, you know, that part of my life really,
I won't say is over, but I can't do hikes anymore.
I can't really do hikes. Where did you go whale watching? The one thing that
I can do, you know, one of my mottos is to focus on what you can change about
yourself, what you can do.
And I can go on a boat. I go whale watching and I go on other,
(03:40):
you know, boat ventures. Those are kind of my adventurous things.
So that's one way that my life has really changed. Another mantra that I have
is modify your goals, but stay true to yourself.
So I try that, staying true to myself. Like, you know, what I like to do on
weekends is get outside and do something, you know, near the beach.
(04:06):
And there are certain things I can't do. I mean, even walking on sand is hard
without assistance right now.
But I can walk on, you know, the cement, the sidewalk next to the beach.
And there are other things that I can do. And I've been going out and seeing
whales a lot during weekends, during the summer when they're here in Pacifica.
(04:28):
So I still manage to incorporate what I love into my life, even though there
are certain things that I can't do.
Absolutely love that. And I love your resilience and approach to especially
getting back in back outdoors and focusing, as you said, on what you can do.
I think being outside, I know for me personally, no matter like what I might
(04:51):
be dealing with has had a monumental impact on like my mental health and of
course, physical health as well. Well, yeah.
And I'm a beach lover as well. I love being by the beach.
And I think that's one of the things that's hard about being a couple hours
away in Sacramento is the proximity to the beach is a little far.
(05:11):
It's a little far. Yeah. And I definitely hear what you're saying.
So I think, I don't know, for me, eventually the idea is to hopefully move closer
to the beach because it's such a beautiful place. Yeah.
And there are times when, you know, I'm feeling a little down and so what I'll have to do is go.
I mean, we've been having amazing sunsets around here.
(05:34):
So I'll go watch the sunset over the ocean. Even on a foggy day or cloudy day,
just something about watching the ocean and the waves in the ocean and kind
of that wonder of what's underneath.
It's just, it's really inspiring. And it's a way to reset yourself,
reset your mood. and, you know, give back.
(05:54):
But the impact of empathy in business is really all about what I can do to make
an impact on the healthcare community.
And kind of, the reason I'm so determined to make this work is that it's a way
of making my life more than what it is. It's not just about me.
(06:14):
You know, it's a way of taking my, you know, I mean, it was a tragedy what happened
to me And it really did affect my life in such a profound way.
But it's taking that really negative experience and using it to propel that
and using it to motivate myself to really give back to the medical community
(06:37):
and make sure that everybody knows how important it is to express empathy to their patients.
Absolutely. I absolutely love that. but would you be able to tell us about the
role that positivity and determination has sort of played in your healing process
and continuing your dreams despite the obstacles that you face?
(06:59):
Yeah. I mean, one thing that you always hear from like motivational speakers
or anybody is that you have to be more positive.
You have to leave with positivity and be more positive, but nobody really tells you how.
So, you know, what I do is in some of my talk, I give the how,
not just the do it, but how.
(07:20):
How do you get positive when...
Everything around you is so, you know, for lack of a better word,
crappy. You know, there's so lemony.
Life is giving you a lot of lemons. How do you stay positive?
Well, first of all, I don't think you stay positive all the time.
I think that it's okay and important to recognize your negative feelings,
(07:45):
too, and accept that it's okay to be sad about what's going on.
But eventually you have to kind
of let that sadness not let it go away but
let happy things into your life and into
your heart despite all the sad things and
that's actually where my book comes in the title
of my book is when life throws you lemons make cranberry
(08:09):
juice and you know the point of that that
other mantra that i live by is that you can't
turn lemons into lemonade made i'm not
about me purposing your lemons
or saying oh it's really not that bad or that bad
they could really be a good thing i'm not i'm not about twisting but
what it's about is that when you have those
(08:31):
lemons it's still okay to look
for and accept any kind of positive energy into your into your life and into
your heart that's all those positive entities is random so you have dilemmas
which are like could be really bad things it could be just you know minor irritating things in your life.
(08:53):
And I'm thinking you can put those aside for a little while.
I promise you they'll still be there when you come back and go and accept something positive.
And remember that playing barriers could be as little as you turn on the radio
and your favorite song is playing.
Or, you know, an amazing sunset at the beach.
(09:16):
Or they could be so small, but allowing yourself to experience that happiness
even briefly will help you reset your mind and you can go back and deal with
your lemons because your lemons are not going to go away and I'm not going to
tell you they're not that bad,
but I am going to say that you can deal with them better if you're in a different
(09:39):
mental place and if you allow yourself to be happy for me. Oh, absolutely.
And I love that title. actually, because the way it suggests that when you get
lemons, you can pivot and do something entirely different.
I absolutely love that. That is, that is so creative. And I really,
I really love that title. Thank you.
And I actually, you know, you mentioned that like a lot of motivational speakers,
(10:05):
they'll say it'd be more positive, but not how, and you're so right.
I hear a lot of, you know, be positive, be positive.
And throughout my life for people say that but you're right
there there isn't really no yeah exactly
and so it's it's
kind of more empowering to kind of know okay how can
they be more positive here are some of the steps that i can
(10:28):
take rather than just okay just be more positive and it's like just smile just
smile more right yeah like it doesn't just work like that but i've got four
mantras plus the one might do to do well and make privileges but the four mantras
focus on what you can change,
which you've heard before but really you know look at that phrase and tell yourself.
(10:51):
To focus on that. There's always something you can change.
And that's the thing. Do you think I'm in this deep, dark hole?
There's nothing I can do to get out of it. But there's always something that you can change.
I mean, for me, when I was being told, you know, nerves don't grow back,
then you're not going to get better after a year.
Well, maybe nerves don't grow back. But I knew that the muscles around those
(11:16):
nerves could get stronger.
And actually nerves grow new neural pathways, they kind of re-take different
passages when a nerve is dead.
So there are things you can change, even in that situation where,
you know, it's helpless because your nerve is dead.
There's something you can change. Yeah, and I love that you said that.
(11:38):
Thank you. And then I was trying to think of the acronym is GET CHARGED,
C-H-A-R-G-D. So the CHA was for focus on you can change. Art is for resources.
So do the best you can with the resources that you have. And also know that you have resources.
(11:58):
I mean, you may have limited resources too. They may be limited financially
or physically or socially, but there's always going to be something that you have.
Every human has some kind of resource.
And if you do the best you can with those resources, you're going to be more
productive you're going to feel more productive and everything else is going
(12:19):
to start to fall into place and the G is for modify your goals but stay true
to yourself again motivational speakers they never give up on your goals they'll
come through eventually with hard enough work.
And I'd say, okay, yes, you never want to give up on your goals,
but sometimes you need to modify them.
You know, when I went back to teaching after my brain tumor,
(12:42):
I couldn't teach in the same way that I tried before.
But I could teach online, but I still taught my animals class and my marine biology class.
So I stayed true to myself, but modified the way that I went back to teaching,
to modifying your goals. And then
don't be afraid to try something new and difficult is the D in charge.
(13:05):
Trying new and difficult things is how your neural pathways grow and how you
get new neural pathways and how you always are relearning things and educating
yourself and educating your body to really do what you want your body to do.
So those four mantras and accepting those cranberries really got me through
(13:29):
some of the darkest times of my life.
And even still, this was 18 years ago, and I still have to tell myself those every day.
Because there are times when you're just so, you get in a bad mood,
you get depressed. rest.
And just to put yourself out of it, to put myself out of it,
(13:49):
I would tell myself those four mantras and then go watch the sunset and know
that I'm going to fall better later.
True. I love that you mentioned that. And I think that is something that anyone
can be able to put into practice with those steps.
And that is just amazing.
And I know that sometimes I even get stuck and have to focus on,
(14:12):
okay, there's, there are some things that aren't in my control,
but what is in my control and it makes things that much better.
You also mentioned that football played a surprising role in your recovery.
Yes, it very did. Yeah. How did this contribute to your journey of resilience and empowerment? Yeah.
(14:32):
It's in a few ways, but one way is that I've always been a football fan.
And when I moved up to California, I was a 49er. I became a 49er fan.
Well, one thing about football, and one day I remember very clearly,
I was like really upset and just ready to give up.
And my thought process was, I just want to throw in the towel and give up.
(14:56):
And then my thought went to even football players take a knee sometimes at the end of the game.
And they take a knee and kind of end it. So why can't I do that too?
And then I thought, wait, they only take a knee when they're winning.
The losing team never takes a knee. They always throw that ball until the clap runs out.
(15:19):
Even if there's no possibility they're going to win because they're getting ready for the next game.
So the losing you know when you're losing you're never
taking me and that fear determination of
always keeping on trying no matter what the situation that is what you know
in that moment i remember that's what got me got me to go on to the next moment
(15:39):
and say okay i can't i can't take a knee yet because i'm not winning so that's
you know that that got me going to the next the next moment.
Throwing the towel, I guess, is, I think that's a boxing reference.
And I never, it's not a sport that I follow. So I was like, I can't do that.
You have to go up to take a knee thing and that you can't do.
(16:02):
Your company, Impact of Empathy, focuses on workshops and activities related
to expressing empathy in various situations.
What would you say that are some key insights or tips that you've learned about
empathy through your work and personal experiences?
Definitely making that, when you're a healthcare provider, making that instant
(16:23):
connection to your patient.
And by instant, I mean, I do understand that most healthcare providers don't
have a whole lot of time with their patients.
And one myth I will dispel right away is that expressing empathy doesn't take more time.
It actually is going to make your work more efficient and take less time.
(16:44):
Time because who would you rather you know stick
a needle into somebody who's pulling their arm away or
somebody who's giving you their arm willingly you know
what's going to take less time and as a lifelong i've
had a lifelong fear of doctors and needles but that nurse that connected to
me that i let take blood from me had a much easier time to make that instant
(17:08):
connection and again you're going to go with how you know how do i make that
instant connection and think about But if you walk into a patient's room.
You can even, your listeners right now can even think about your own room.
If somebody walked into your house, what's on your wall that they might be able
to comment on that's anything other than being a patient?
(17:30):
So think about anything, any clues as to their life or their personality when
you walk into a patient's room. So that gives you something to talk about with
them that is not medical.
So making any kind of non-medical connection immediately is going to make them relax right away.
(17:51):
And then you go from there.
And then you can start the medical stuff. But it really will be easier to have
your patient cooperate with you if you make that connection,
that instant connection.
That's so true. And I love that you shed some light on that.
Because funny story, actually, I at one point was thinking about studying nursing.
(18:15):
Oh, wow. Yeah. And over time, I kind of realized that like, there are just so
many, of course, like scientific requirements of a position like that.
But also, there is a lot of things you have to do in that field.
There's a lot of like physical and mental workload that kind of comes with that.
(18:36):
And as you mentioned, it's so important to be able to connect with your patients.
And I think that's That's what really kind of differentiates someone who may,
I don't want to say like a good or bad nurse or medical professional.
What don't necessarily want to say that, but just, I think that makes all the difference.
And I think for anyone to be successful in that role needs to be able to do
(18:59):
that and kind of have those connections and have that extra empathy, you know, practice.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And so I'm like, for me, I ended up deciding ultimately
what the field wasn't for me.
I'm in marketing now, but okay.
Oh, yeah. And so I can totally understand like, it is definitely not like that
(19:21):
role, not for the faint of heart.
And so, yeah, I appreciate what you're saying, because it's definitely a must.
One other thing I'll definitely say about that is that not only will expressing
empathy and making that connection be better for the patient,
but it will be better for the medical professional and it'll be less stressful
if your patients are cooperating so I'm looking at my workshop attendees having a long end.
(19:49):
Career having a long career without too much stress it's very stressful being
in the medical field but I think it's definitely less stressful if your patients
are cooperating with you,
So that's what it's all about. It's all about getting your patients to cooperate
with you, make your life better. Oh, that is so true.
(20:10):
How do you integrate your story of overcoming the adversity that you face into
your workshops based on empathy?
And what's maybe the impact that you hope to have on individuals through this process?
Well, I do share some stories of some of my best medical care and some of my,
(20:31):
well, not the best medical care.
So I share those stories and how it could have gone differently maybe.
And what the medical professional didn't do to connect with me immediately.
But I also give them tips on empathetic listening.
And some of the tips that I give them, they say they use in everyday life,
(20:53):
not just with patients, but it's better communication with everybody when you
can listen empathetically.
You become a really good listener and a really good you can be a really good
friend, co-worker leader I do workshops on leading with empathy,
which are a lot of the same tips because you're trying to connect with your
(21:15):
group and you need to connect with your group to have your group follow your
lead a little bit more you want to gain cooperation,
so I do share my story and you know just some of the best and best and become the best and worst.
Do this, not that, kind of thing with my students or attendees.
(21:37):
Is there any, in your workshops, are there any specific success stories that
maybe you'd like to share with us?
One story that I always like to share is one of my feet therapists would come
in to work on feet of me because I couldn't, I couldn't even swallow for six months.
So I would work on swallowing. These therapists also work on swallowing.
(21:59):
But she worked on speech with me, too.
So instead of having me read random words on a card, what she did is she came
in and she noticed that I had this poster of whales on my wall.
So she would make me recite the names of the whales instead of reading words off card.
So she'd point to a whale, I'd say gray whale. Point to another whale, I'm back whale.
(22:22):
Another one, blue whale. And then she would point again and make me say the
scientific names of the whales.
And this is back when I could barely speak.
So it wasn't very intelligible and she had no idea if I was saying them right.
But I knew that I was at least trying to say them right.
And what that did is it worked all of the speech muscles.
(22:45):
I mean, saying, make an optron, they'll be angling, it works all of your muscles
in your mouth. But it also made me realize that I still remember the names of those whales.
I still remember the scientific names of those whales.
So even though it was more than just beef therapy, that kind of therapy gave
(23:05):
me hope that I would one day be back to being a marine biologist.
So really, that's one of my best stories of how a therapist really used my passion
to motivate me. and doing the best that I can do.
Is there any advice that you would maybe give to any others who might be facing
(23:27):
similar challenges or setbacks based on your own journey?
Definitely. First of all, if anybody has an acoustic neuroma,
which is the kind of brain tumor that I had most of the time,
and it is taken out without any kind of effect.
So I would say do not read my book before you have that operation.
There's a chance that everything's going to be fine. But any other trauma,
(23:51):
I mean, one of the most important things, I think, and the most difficult things
is that when you're in trouble, you need to be able to accept help from others.
And asking for help is still hard. It's still hard for me to ask for help.
And you want to be independent and you want to be able to do things by yourself.
You need to be able to accept help from others. Well, people will offer to help.
(24:14):
And when people offer to help my advice
to you is to take it and i'm telling
you that they're not offering of course they're offering because
they want to help you but helping you is going
to help them you know they can't cure your brain tumor they can't make you feel
better physically but they can go to the grocery store for you they can take
(24:38):
you to the grocery store they you know There are things that they can do and people want to help.
So when somebody offers to help, accept it and think of something that you specifically
want them to do because that's,
You know, they are asking because they do want to be of use to you.
(24:58):
And there's so much that they can't do for you.
But there are things that they can do for you. So think about those things and accept that help.
I think honestly, a lot of our listeners might be wondering how they can maybe
help someone that is in a similar position.
Because honestly, it really is like hard for so many people to ask for help.
(25:22):
So I want to encourage anyone who's going through something similar.
Accept the help. Exactly. Either ask for help or being, you know, be able to offer help.
One thing I would say about offering help is offer something specific that they
can't, that you know they need, that they can't really say no to.
(25:43):
If you just say, call me if you need anything, they're never going to call you.
But if you say, yeah, I'm on my way to the grocery store.
Can I pick something up for you or do you want to go along? That's something specific.
So think of something specifically you can offer that you're willing to do.
Because remember, they might say yes.
But don't offer it back in their house unless you really want to.
(26:06):
Because they might say sure.
So offer something that you're ready to do.
But something that makes it sound like it's not a huge imposition for you.
And something that they won't say no to.
I love that you mentioned to be specific because, yeah, as you said,
a lot of people are like, oh, yeah, no, I don't need anything. I'm good.
(26:28):
But, yeah, if you be specific, then I think that's a lot more helpful.
Right. And I have a lot of people I never talk to who never,
like, call me to check up on me.
But I run to them and they say, oh, call me if you need anything.
And I'm like, you know, I'm not going to call somebody who I never connect with.
You know you do you have if you want to help
(26:50):
that's great and they need it but you're
gonna have to convince them that they need it and that's okay for them to
accept it yeah as you're mentioning like sometimes it's a lot of folks feel
like kind of kind of obligatory basically be like call me if you need anything
and then right right you know so it's like just yeah so So I think it's important
(27:13):
to be like more, yeah, for sure.
Like more proactive about it. And yeah.
How has your perspective on
life and empathy really evolved since experiencing life-changing events?
And is there anything that maybe you'd like to offer for our audience?
Anyone who's listening, who might be going through something,
(27:35):
something similar? I've been thinking about that one.
I mean, I try to use the empathy in my teaching, but I still teach to students.
So when they ask me questions, I'll know that even if it's Friday night and
they have a really serious question about something that was due that day,
(27:58):
they don't want to wait for the answer until Monday.
So if it's something that I can do right away, I'll tell them,
I got this, we'll take care of it Monday, don't worry about it.
And I even answered just that little answer.
So I'm trying to be more empathetic to others, but also, you know,
recognizing when you are short and tempered on something to apologize right away.
(28:21):
You know, there's been times when somebody has come up to me to say something
and I've been kind of short with them.
And it's like, that's not empathetic. But, you know, if you recognize that right
away and you apologize for it right away, that's pretty much all that you can do.
Things like that. Also things like, well, karma is a big one.
(28:41):
I don't believe in karma anymore because the way that we use karma is such a give and take.
You just think good and the universe will reward you.
Karma isn't really meant to be like that.
Karma is not like that because bad things happen to good people all the time.
(29:02):
Karma is something that, what I say is think of karma Karma is something you
give, not something you give back.
So it's okay to give good karma, not thinking, oh, I'm doing good things,
so good things will happen to me.
Because I do feel like the way that we use the word karma, we're negating that
(29:22):
bad things happen to good people.
And that's the only thing that you can tell your friend who might be going through
a tough time. Because one thing anybody who's going through a really drastic.
Drastic tragedy, they're wondering what they did to deserve it.
You know, what kind of karma they're getting back.
So maybe reassuring people all the time that bad things happen to good people,
(29:45):
that might take away some of the self-pity.
I know that it's okay to feel bad and to be sad and to feel sorry for yourself.
You've got to snap out of it at some point. And I think part of snapping out
of it is realizing that you didn't do anything. You deserve this.
Bad things happen to good people, and there is no explanation for it.
(30:08):
But there's things that we can do to pull ourselves out of that place.
Yeah, that's beautifully said. I honestly think that when everything difficult,
I had a cancer scare back about six years ago, and I remember going through this process thinking,
(30:29):
like, and I think many people, it's like, why me?
Like, what did I do? too, as you said. Right.
Yeah, I think that's definitely going through that why me stage and like that's
an unanswerable question.
So I think a different question, you know, this funny question than just,
(30:49):
I mean, I think using humor, too,
to get through any of these situations is going to help you just to find something to laugh about.
I was talking to my My brother, after I had a pretty bad fall,
I was telling him that I'm, you know, just like Simone Biles.
If she loses concentration, she'll fall.
(31:12):
And then, of course, she's falling off a balance beam, but whatever.
If I lose concentration, she's walking up a step off the nightfall.
So me and Simone Biles have a lot in common.
And that's, you know, just being
kind of silly like that is one way to get yourself to feel better, too.
Honestly, I know for me, like, it's even just focusing on some,
(31:35):
like, some small things that bring me joy have, like, really helped,
like, during those moments where I just, like, I feel angry,
like, you know, like, as we were saying, like, what did we do or,
you know, couldn't have said it better.
I remember that it's okay to feel that they have a moment of happiness in the midst of tragedy.
(31:59):
And that's, people don't think they should be smiling if something bad is happening.
But it's okay to take a moment and be happy. And then you go back to your lemon and deal with it.
Yeah. And I love that you say that because I think like there is a lot of,
I think they call like toxic positivity that kind of go around because I feel
(32:23):
like it's, it's always like, yeah, be positive, be positive.
But I think it's like, it's okay to have the feelings, but also not to sit and dwell on them.
And I think there, there's definitely a balance like allow yourself to have
those feelings and then also allow them to keep, to continue on,
you know, not allow them to stay there.
(32:44):
And so I definitely, I think it's, it's so
important right so i don't expect you to
make lemonade out of your lemon yeah you can
add some cranberry juice to your lemon 100% your lemon that'll make it taste
really good so there's ways and the cranberries might have nothing will probably
have nothing to do with the lemon they're totally separate but it's just a way
(33:08):
of i like it i like saying you're changing your internal scenery.
So internal scenery is going to be modified and that's going to change your
mood and that's going to help you do what you love.
Yeah. I'm not going to lie. I'm thinking about making some cranberry lemonade
now, because that actually sounds pretty good.
It is really good. Like that tart and that sweet thing together,
(33:32):
it's really yummy. Oh, yeah. Well, awesome.
Before we close out, would you be able to share with our audience where they
can find you and connect with you and buy your books?
Yeah. Actually, I have two companies, a nonprofit called Lifetime of Impact,
which is at lifetimeofimpact.com.
(33:52):
If you know of anybody who's a teacher of any kind of allied health,
students, I offer free presentations to student groups and to student classrooms.
I go into classrooms and do this workshop.
And then impactofempathy, which is at impactofempathy.net.
That is where I would like to go into professional organizations and then to
(34:17):
hospitals and give presentations to healthcare professionals or other professionals.
Everybody can use empathy. So I do have a Leading with Empathy workshop,
which I think are really important as well.
My book, One Life Surgery Learners Make Cranberry Juice, is on Amazon.
And I'd love to have – it's also linked to from impactofempathy.net,
(34:40):
but I'd love to have you go to Amazon or go to my impactofempathy.net And take
a look at my book. That'd be great.
Absolutely. I know I'll definitely be checking it out after this episode.
That's yeah, we get that purchase. Decided to learn more.
I love the title and I'll be sure to get all that linked down in our show notes as well.
(35:02):
So thank you for such a beautiful conversation.
Thank you. Yeah, I really appreciate you sharing your story of adversity with
us. And I think it can really help so many different people who are going through something similar.
So I really appreciate you sharing that with us.
Great. Thank you so much for having me.
Music.
Music.
(00:10):
In today's episode, we are speaking with Sherry Bookstaff, who is a marine biology
professor, author, and brain tumor survivor.
She is also the owner of Impact of Empathy, which offers workshops and activities
and tangible tips on expressing empathy in a variety of situations.
Thank you so much for joining. If you can start off with telling us a little
(00:32):
bit about yourself and how you formed Impact of Empathy.
Okay, my name is Sherry Bookstaff and I've been a biology professor at a community
college near San Francisco since 1990, so for a long, long time.
And then I was going about my life being a biology professor and in May of,
(00:55):
or in April of 2006, I started getting dizzy and nauseous, just on the moon, I started getting sick.
And I later found out that I had a brain tumor. And I got the brain tumor taken out in July of 2006.
You know, it's supposed to be very, I won't use the word routine,
but they use the word routine.
Surgery takes the tumor out. And I was supposed to have no lasting effects and,
(01:20):
you know, be in the hospital five to ten days.
And that turned into almost nine months.
And the rest of my life has been having lasting effects. So,
what I realized during that time was that the level of empathetic care that
I received from my healthcare providers varied drastically.
Some were really kind and considerate and compassionate, and some were not.
(01:44):
So when I came out the other side, I really realized that I had this ability to talk to people.
I wasn't afraid to talk to groups, so I started talking to groups of students
and other healthcare care professionals.
I'm kind of sharing my story and telling them, giving them practical tips on
how to connect with their patients immediately by expressing empathy.
(02:09):
Yeah, I really appreciate taking the time to share a story that is so profound.
And I'd like to know a little bit more about how maybe you reshaped your life
and kind of how that kind of maybe led into writing your book.
I know you have a few amazing books out there.
And then also your career as a marine biology professor.
(02:31):
Thank you. Well, I grew up in Wisconsin. I mean, not to go too far back,
but in Wisconsin, you know, there aren't really a whole lot of whales around.
And I love, you know, whales and dolphins. So I came out to California for graduate school.
And I was also a thesis. that I couldn't go work on a boat. So I got into teaching.
(02:53):
I won't say that I fell into it, but I loved it.
So I took up, I started teaching it at this community college.
But I was the kind of professor that would take my students on, you know, field trips.
And we would go down pretty rocky cliffs to get whale bones.
And, you know, I was pretty active with my students. And we went on a lot of field trips.
(03:15):
And then when this happened, you know, that part of my life really,
I won't say is over, but I can't do hikes anymore.
I can't really do hikes. Where did you go whale watching? The one thing that
I can do, you know, one of my mottos is to focus on what you can change about
yourself, what you can do.
And I can go on a boat. I go whale watching and I go on other,
(03:40):
you know, boat ventures. Those are kind of my adventurous things.
So that's one way that my life has really changed. Another mantra that I have
is modify your goals, but stay true to yourself.
So I try that, staying true to myself. Like, you know, what I like to do on
weekends is get outside and do something, you know, near the beach.
(04:06):
And there are certain things I can't do. I mean, even walking on sand is hard
without assistance right now.
But I can walk on, you know, the cement, the sidewalk next to the beach.
And there are other things that I can do. And I've been going out and seeing
whales a lot during weekends, during the summer when they're here in Pacifica.
(04:28):
So I still manage to incorporate what I love into my life, even though there
are certain things that I can't do.
Absolutely love that. And I love your resilience and approach to especially
getting back in back outdoors and focusing, as you said, on what you can do.
I think being outside, I know for me personally, no matter like what I might
(04:51):
be dealing with has had a monumental impact on like my mental health and of
course, physical health as well. Well, yeah.
And I'm a beach lover as well. I love being by the beach.
And I think that's one of the things that's hard about being a couple hours
away in Sacramento is the proximity to the beach is a little far.
(05:11):
It's a little far. Yeah. And I definitely hear what you're saying.
So I think, I don't know, for me, eventually the idea is to hopefully move closer
to the beach because it's such a beautiful place. Yeah.
And there are times when, you know, I'm feeling a little down and so what I'll have to do is go.
I mean, we've been having amazing sunsets around here.
(05:34):
So I'll go watch the sunset over the ocean. Even on a foggy day or cloudy day,
just something about watching the ocean and the waves in the ocean and kind
of that wonder of what's underneath.
It's just, it's really inspiring. And it's a way to reset yourself,
reset your mood. and, you know, give back.
(05:54):
But the impact of empathy in business is really all about what I can do to make
an impact on the healthcare community.
And kind of, the reason I'm so determined to make this work is that it's a way
of making my life more than what it is. It's not just about me.
(06:14):
You know, it's a way of taking my, you know, I mean, it was a tragedy what happened
to me And it really did affect my life in such a profound way.
But it's taking that really negative experience and using it to propel that
and using it to motivate myself to really give back to the medical community
(06:37):
and make sure that everybody knows how important it is to express empathy to their patients.
Absolutely. I absolutely love that. but would you be able to tell us about the
role that positivity and determination has sort of played in your healing process
and continuing your dreams despite the obstacles that you face?
(06:59):
Yeah. I mean, one thing that you always hear from like motivational speakers
or anybody is that you have to be more positive.
You have to leave with positivity and be more positive, but nobody really tells you how.
So, you know, what I do is in some of my talk, I give the how,
not just the do it, but how.
(07:20):
How do you get positive when...
Everything around you is so, you know, for lack of a better word,
crappy. You know, there's so lemony.
Life is giving you a lot of lemons. How do you stay positive?
Well, first of all, I don't think you stay positive all the time.
I think that it's okay and important to recognize your negative feelings,
(07:45):
too, and accept that it's okay to be sad about what's going on.
But eventually you have to kind
of let that sadness not let it go away but
let happy things into your life and into
your heart despite all the sad things and
that's actually where my book comes in the title
of my book is when life throws you lemons make cranberry
(08:09):
juice and you know the point of that that
other mantra that i live by is that you can't
turn lemons into lemonade made i'm not
about me purposing your lemons
or saying oh it's really not that bad or that bad
they could really be a good thing i'm not i'm not about twisting but
what it's about is that when you have those
(08:31):
lemons it's still okay to look
for and accept any kind of positive energy into your into your life and into
your heart that's all those positive entities is random so you have dilemmas
which are like could be really bad things it could be just you know minor irritating things in your life.
(08:53):
And I'm thinking you can put those aside for a little while.
I promise you they'll still be there when you come back and go and accept something positive.
And remember that playing barriers could be as little as you turn on the radio
and your favorite song is playing.
Or, you know, an amazing sunset at the beach.
(09:16):
Or they could be so small, but allowing yourself to experience that happiness
even briefly will help you reset your mind and you can go back and deal with
your lemons because your lemons are not going to go away and I'm not going to
tell you they're not that bad,
but I am going to say that you can deal with them better if you're in a different
(09:39):
mental place and if you allow yourself to be happy for me. Oh, absolutely.
And I love that title. actually, because the way it suggests that when you get
lemons, you can pivot and do something entirely different.
I absolutely love that. That is, that is so creative. And I really,
I really love that title. Thank you.
And I actually, you know, you mentioned that like a lot of motivational speakers,
(10:05):
they'll say it'd be more positive, but not how, and you're so right.
I hear a lot of, you know, be positive, be positive.
And throughout my life for people say that but you're right
there there isn't really no yeah exactly
and so it's it's
kind of more empowering to kind of know okay how can
they be more positive here are some of the steps that i can
(10:28):
take rather than just okay just be more positive and it's like just smile just
smile more right yeah like it doesn't just work like that but i've got four
mantras plus the one might do to do well and make privileges but the four mantras
focus on what you can change,
which you've heard before but really you know look at that phrase and tell yourself.
(10:51):
To focus on that. There's always something you can change.
And that's the thing. Do you think I'm in this deep, dark hole?
There's nothing I can do to get out of it. But there's always something that you can change.
I mean, for me, when I was being told, you know, nerves don't grow back,
then you're not going to get better after a year.
Well, maybe nerves don't grow back. But I knew that the muscles around those
(11:16):
nerves could get stronger.
And actually nerves grow new neural pathways, they kind of re-take different
passages when a nerve is dead.
So there are things you can change, even in that situation where,
you know, it's helpless because your nerve is dead.
There's something you can change. Yeah, and I love that you said that.
(11:38):
Thank you. And then I was trying to think of the acronym is GET CHARGED,
C-H-A-R-G-D. So the CHA was for focus on you can change. Art is for resources.
So do the best you can with the resources that you have. And also know that you have resources.
(11:58):
I mean, you may have limited resources too. They may be limited financially
or physically or socially, but there's always going to be something that you have.
Every human has some kind of resource.
And if you do the best you can with those resources, you're going to be more
productive you're going to feel more productive and everything else is going
(12:19):
to start to fall into place and the G is for modify your goals but stay true
to yourself again motivational speakers they never give up on your goals they'll
come through eventually with hard enough work.
And I'd say, okay, yes, you never want to give up on your goals,
but sometimes you need to modify them.
You know, when I went back to teaching after my brain tumor,
(12:42):
I couldn't teach in the same way that I tried before.
But I could teach online, but I still taught my animals class and my marine biology class.
So I stayed true to myself, but modified the way that I went back to teaching,
to modifying your goals. And then
don't be afraid to try something new and difficult is the D in charge.
(13:05):
Trying new and difficult things is how your neural pathways grow and how you
get new neural pathways and how you always are relearning things and educating
yourself and educating your body to really do what you want your body to do.
So those four mantras and accepting those cranberries really got me through
(13:29):
some of the darkest times of my life.
And even still, this was 18 years ago, and I still have to tell myself those every day.
Because there are times when you're just so, you get in a bad mood,
you get depressed. rest.
And just to put yourself out of it, to put myself out of it,
(13:49):
I would tell myself those four mantras and then go watch the sunset and know
that I'm going to fall better later.
True. I love that you mentioned that. And I think that is something that anyone
can be able to put into practice with those steps.
And that is just amazing.
And I know that sometimes I even get stuck and have to focus on,
(14:12):
okay, there's, there are some things that aren't in my control,
but what is in my control and it makes things that much better.
You also mentioned that football played a surprising role in your recovery.
Yes, it very did. Yeah. How did this contribute to your journey of resilience and empowerment? Yeah.
(14:32):
It's in a few ways, but one way is that I've always been a football fan.
And when I moved up to California, I was a 49er. I became a 49er fan.
Well, one thing about football, and one day I remember very clearly,
I was like really upset and just ready to give up.
And my thought process was, I just want to throw in the towel and give up.
(14:56):
And then my thought went to even football players take a knee sometimes at the end of the game.
And they take a knee and kind of end it. So why can't I do that too?
And then I thought, wait, they only take a knee when they're winning.
The losing team never takes a knee. They always throw that ball until the clap runs out.
(15:19):
Even if there's no possibility they're going to win because they're getting ready for the next game.
So the losing you know when you're losing you're never
taking me and that fear determination of
always keeping on trying no matter what the situation that is what you know
in that moment i remember that's what got me got me to go on to the next moment
(15:39):
and say okay i can't i can't take a knee yet because i'm not winning so that's
you know that that got me going to the next the next moment.
Throwing the towel, I guess, is, I think that's a boxing reference.
And I never, it's not a sport that I follow. So I was like, I can't do that.
You have to go up to take a knee thing and that you can't do.
(16:02):
Your company, Impact of Empathy, focuses on workshops and activities related
to expressing empathy in various situations.
What would you say that are some key insights or tips that you've learned about
empathy through your work and personal experiences?
Definitely making that, when you're a healthcare provider, making that instant
(16:23):
connection to your patient.
And by instant, I mean, I do understand that most healthcare providers don't
have a whole lot of time with their patients.
And one myth I will dispel right away is that expressing empathy doesn't take more time.
It actually is going to make your work more efficient and take less time.
(16:44):
Time because who would you rather you know stick
a needle into somebody who's pulling their arm away or
somebody who's giving you their arm willingly you know
what's going to take less time and as a lifelong i've
had a lifelong fear of doctors and needles but that nurse that connected to
me that i let take blood from me had a much easier time to make that instant
(17:08):
connection and again you're going to go with how you know how do i make that
instant connection and think about But if you walk into a patient's room.
You can even, your listeners right now can even think about your own room.
If somebody walked into your house, what's on your wall that they might be able
to comment on that's anything other than being a patient?
(17:30):
So think about anything, any clues as to their life or their personality when
you walk into a patient's room. So that gives you something to talk about with
them that is not medical.
So making any kind of non-medical connection immediately is going to make them relax right away.
(17:51):
And then you go from there.
And then you can start the medical stuff. But it really will be easier to have
your patient cooperate with you if you make that connection,
that instant connection.
That's so true. And I love that you shed some light on that.
Because funny story, actually, I at one point was thinking about studying nursing.
(18:15):
Oh, wow. Yeah. And over time, I kind of realized that like, there are just so
many, of course, like scientific requirements of a position like that.
But also, there is a lot of things you have to do in that field.
There's a lot of like physical and mental workload that kind of comes with that.
(18:36):
And as you mentioned, it's so important to be able to connect with your patients.
And I think that's That's what really kind of differentiates someone who may,
I don't want to say like a good or bad nurse or medical professional.
What don't necessarily want to say that, but just, I think that makes all the difference.
And I think for anyone to be successful in that role needs to be able to do
(18:59):
that and kind of have those connections and have that extra empathy, you know, practice.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And so I'm like, for me, I ended up deciding ultimately
what the field wasn't for me.
I'm in marketing now, but okay.
Oh, yeah. And so I can totally understand like, it is definitely not like that
(19:21):
role, not for the faint of heart.
And so, yeah, I appreciate what you're saying, because it's definitely a must.
One other thing I'll definitely say about that is that not only will expressing
empathy and making that connection be better for the patient,
but it will be better for the medical professional and it'll be less stressful
if your patients are cooperating so I'm looking at my workshop attendees having a long end.
(19:49):
Career having a long career without too much stress it's very stressful being
in the medical field but I think it's definitely less stressful if your patients
are cooperating with you,
So that's what it's all about. It's all about getting your patients to cooperate
with you, make your life better. Oh, that is so true.
(20:10):
How do you integrate your story of overcoming the adversity that you face into
your workshops based on empathy?
And what's maybe the impact that you hope to have on individuals through this process?
Well, I do share some stories of some of my best medical care and some of my,
(20:31):
well, not the best medical care.
So I share those stories and how it could have gone differently maybe.
And what the medical professional didn't do to connect with me immediately.
But I also give them tips on empathetic listening.
And some of the tips that I give them, they say they use in everyday life,
(20:53):
not just with patients, but it's better communication with everybody when you
can listen empathetically.
You become a really good listener and a really good you can be a really good
friend, co-worker leader I do workshops on leading with empathy,
which are a lot of the same tips because you're trying to connect with your
(21:15):
group and you need to connect with your group to have your group follow your
lead a little bit more you want to gain cooperation,
so I do share my story and you know just some of the best and best and become the best and worst.
Do this, not that, kind of thing with my students or attendees.
(21:37):
Is there any, in your workshops, are there any specific success stories that
maybe you'd like to share with us?
One story that I always like to share is one of my feet therapists would come
in to work on feet of me because I couldn't, I couldn't even swallow for six months.
So I would work on swallowing. These therapists also work on swallowing.
(21:59):
But she worked on speech with me, too.
So instead of having me read random words on a card, what she did is she came
in and she noticed that I had this poster of whales on my wall.
So she would make me recite the names of the whales instead of reading words off card.
So she'd point to a whale, I'd say gray whale. Point to another whale, I'm back whale.
(22:22):
Another one, blue whale. And then she would point again and make me say the
scientific names of the whales.
And this is back when I could barely speak.
So it wasn't very intelligible and she had no idea if I was saying them right.
But I knew that I was at least trying to say them right.
And what that did is it worked all of the speech muscles.
(22:45):
I mean, saying, make an optron, they'll be angling, it works all of your muscles
in your mouth. But it also made me realize that I still remember the names of those whales.
I still remember the scientific names of those whales.
So even though it was more than just beef therapy, that kind of therapy gave
(23:05):
me hope that I would one day be back to being a marine biologist.
So really, that's one of my best stories of how a therapist really used my passion
to motivate me. and doing the best that I can do.
Is there any advice that you would maybe give to any others who might be facing
(23:27):
similar challenges or setbacks based on your own journey?
Definitely. First of all, if anybody has an acoustic neuroma,
which is the kind of brain tumor that I had most of the time,
and it is taken out without any kind of effect.
So I would say do not read my book before you have that operation.
There's a chance that everything's going to be fine. But any other trauma,
(23:51):
I mean, one of the most important things, I think, and the most difficult things
is that when you're in trouble, you need to be able to accept help from others.
And asking for help is still hard. It's still hard for me to ask for help.
And you want to be independent and you want to be able to do things by yourself.
You need to be able to accept help from others. Well, people will offer to help.
(24:14):
And when people offer to help my advice
to you is to take it and i'm telling
you that they're not offering of course they're offering because
they want to help you but helping you is going
to help them you know they can't cure your brain tumor they can't make you feel
better physically but they can go to the grocery store for you they can take
(24:38):
you to the grocery store they you know There are things that they can do and people want to help.
So when somebody offers to help, accept it and think of something that you specifically
want them to do because that's,
You know, they are asking because they do want to be of use to you.
(24:58):
And there's so much that they can't do for you.
But there are things that they can do for you. So think about those things and accept that help.
I think honestly, a lot of our listeners might be wondering how they can maybe
help someone that is in a similar position.
Because honestly, it really is like hard for so many people to ask for help.
(25:22):
So I want to encourage anyone who's going through something similar.
Accept the help. Exactly. Either ask for help or being, you know, be able to offer help.
One thing I would say about offering help is offer something specific that they
can't, that you know they need, that they can't really say no to.
(25:43):
If you just say, call me if you need anything, they're never going to call you.
But if you say, yeah, I'm on my way to the grocery store.
Can I pick something up for you or do you want to go along? That's something specific.
So think of something specifically you can offer that you're willing to do.
Because remember, they might say yes.
But don't offer it back in their house unless you really want to.
(26:06):
Because they might say sure.
So offer something that you're ready to do.
But something that makes it sound like it's not a huge imposition for you.
And something that they won't say no to.
I love that you mentioned to be specific because, yeah, as you said,
a lot of people are like, oh, yeah, no, I don't need anything. I'm good.
(26:28):
But, yeah, if you be specific, then I think that's a lot more helpful.
Right. And I have a lot of people I never talk to who never,
like, call me to check up on me.
But I run to them and they say, oh, call me if you need anything.
And I'm like, you know, I'm not going to call somebody who I never connect with.
You know you do you have if you want to help
(26:50):
that's great and they need it but you're
gonna have to convince them that they need it and that's okay for them to
accept it yeah as you're mentioning like sometimes it's a lot of folks feel
like kind of kind of obligatory basically be like call me if you need anything
and then right right you know so it's like just yeah so So I think it's important
(27:13):
to be like more, yeah, for sure.
Like more proactive about it. And yeah.
How has your perspective on
life and empathy really evolved since experiencing life-changing events?
And is there anything that maybe you'd like to offer for our audience?
Anyone who's listening, who might be going through something,
(27:35):
something similar? I've been thinking about that one.
I mean, I try to use the empathy in my teaching, but I still teach to students.
So when they ask me questions, I'll know that even if it's Friday night and
they have a really serious question about something that was due that day,
(27:58):
they don't want to wait for the answer until Monday.
So if it's something that I can do right away, I'll tell them,
I got this, we'll take care of it Monday, don't worry about it.
And I even answered just that little answer.
So I'm trying to be more empathetic to others, but also, you know,
recognizing when you are short and tempered on something to apologize right away.
(28:21):
You know, there's been times when somebody has come up to me to say something
and I've been kind of short with them.
And it's like, that's not empathetic. But, you know, if you recognize that right
away and you apologize for it right away, that's pretty much all that you can do.
Things like that. Also things like, well, karma is a big one.
(28:41):
I don't believe in karma anymore because the way that we use karma is such a give and take.
You just think good and the universe will reward you.
Karma isn't really meant to be like that.
Karma is not like that because bad things happen to good people all the time.
(29:02):
Karma is something that, what I say is think of karma Karma is something you
give, not something you give back.
So it's okay to give good karma, not thinking, oh, I'm doing good things,
so good things will happen to me.
Because I do feel like the way that we use the word karma, we're negating that
(29:22):
bad things happen to good people.
And that's the only thing that you can tell your friend who might be going through
a tough time. Because one thing anybody who's going through a really drastic.
Drastic tragedy, they're wondering what they did to deserve it.
You know, what kind of karma they're getting back.
So maybe reassuring people all the time that bad things happen to good people,
(29:45):
that might take away some of the self-pity.
I know that it's okay to feel bad and to be sad and to feel sorry for yourself.
You've got to snap out of it at some point. And I think part of snapping out
of it is realizing that you didn't do anything. You deserve this.
Bad things happen to good people, and there is no explanation for it.
(30:08):
But there's things that we can do to pull ourselves out of that place.
Yeah, that's beautifully said. I honestly think that when everything difficult,
I had a cancer scare back about six years ago, and I remember going through this process thinking,
(30:29):
like, and I think many people, it's like, why me?
Like, what did I do? too, as you said. Right.
Yeah, I think that's definitely going through that why me stage and like that's
an unanswerable question.
So I think a different question, you know, this funny question than just,
(30:49):
I mean, I think using humor, too,
to get through any of these situations is going to help you just to find something to laugh about.
I was talking to my My brother, after I had a pretty bad fall,
I was telling him that I'm, you know, just like Simone Biles.
If she loses concentration, she'll fall.
(31:12):
And then, of course, she's falling off a balance beam, but whatever.
If I lose concentration, she's walking up a step off the nightfall.
So me and Simone Biles have a lot in common.
And that's, you know, just being
kind of silly like that is one way to get yourself to feel better, too.
Honestly, I know for me, like, it's even just focusing on some,
(31:35):
like, some small things that bring me joy have, like, really helped,
like, during those moments where I just, like, I feel angry,
like, you know, like, as we were saying, like, what did we do or,
you know, couldn't have said it better.
I remember that it's okay to feel that they have a moment of happiness in the midst of tragedy.
(31:59):
And that's, people don't think they should be smiling if something bad is happening.
But it's okay to take a moment and be happy. And then you go back to your lemon and deal with it.
Yeah. And I love that you say that because I think like there is a lot of,
I think they call like toxic positivity that kind of go around because I feel
(32:23):
like it's, it's always like, yeah, be positive, be positive.
But I think it's like, it's okay to have the feelings, but also not to sit and dwell on them.
And I think there, there's definitely a balance like allow yourself to have
those feelings and then also allow them to keep, to continue on,
you know, not allow them to stay there.
(32:44):
And so I definitely, I think it's, it's so
important right so i don't expect you to
make lemonade out of your lemon yeah you can
add some cranberry juice to your lemon 100% your lemon that'll make it taste
really good so there's ways and the cranberries might have nothing will probably
have nothing to do with the lemon they're totally separate but it's just a way
(33:08):
of i like it i like saying you're changing your internal scenery.
So internal scenery is going to be modified and that's going to change your
mood and that's going to help you do what you love.
Yeah. I'm not going to lie. I'm thinking about making some cranberry lemonade
now, because that actually sounds pretty good.
It is really good. Like that tart and that sweet thing together,
(33:32):
it's really yummy. Oh, yeah. Well, awesome.
Before we close out, would you be able to share with our audience where they
can find you and connect with you and buy your books?
Yeah. Actually, I have two companies, a nonprofit called Lifetime of Impact,
which is at lifetimeofimpact.com.
(33:52):
If you know of anybody who's a teacher of any kind of allied health,
students, I offer free presentations to student groups and to student classrooms.
I go into classrooms and do this workshop.
And then impactofempathy, which is at impactofempathy.net.
That is where I would like to go into professional organizations and then to
(34:17):
hospitals and give presentations to healthcare professionals or other professionals.
Everybody can use empathy. So I do have a Leading with Empathy workshop,
which I think are really important as well.
My book, One Life Surgery Learners Make Cranberry Juice, is on Amazon.
And I'd love to have – it's also linked to from impactofempathy.net,
(34:40):
but I'd love to have you go to Amazon or go to my impactofempathy.net And take
a look at my book. That'd be great.
Absolutely. I know I'll definitely be checking it out after this episode.
That's yeah, we get that purchase. Decided to learn more.
I love the title and I'll be sure to get all that linked down in our show notes as well.
(35:02):
So thank you for such a beautiful conversation.
Thank you. Yeah, I really appreciate you sharing your story of adversity with
us. And I think it can really help so many different people who are going through something similar.
So I really appreciate you sharing that with us.
Great. Thank you so much for having me.
Music.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.