Category: poetry

Writer Talk with Darls Centola as she talks about her debut memoir "Finding Truth with Michael" – Prolific Pulse Press Podcast

Trauma therapist Darls Centola has written a unique, never-before-told story of young Michael Jackson and the relationship that changed both their lives, in FINDING TRUTH WITH MICHAEL: A Memoir of Friendship, Faith, and First Love, coming out on April 7th. Darls recounts her and Michael’s close, tender friendship forged during their time spent in a small, private high school in Los Angeles, where they held private Bible study sessions as teenage Jehovah’s Witnesses. Part memoir chronicling Darls’ and Michael’s secret friendship and spiritual bond as they both struggled under the weight of high-control religion, and part cultural lens, this book traces Centola’s path into—and eventually out of—an environment of high-control faith and spiritual abuse that shaped their lives. The memoir arrives amid a cultural shift toward understanding spiritual abuse, purity culture, and religious deconstruction. As a therapist, Centola has spent decades working with the complex impacts of adverse religious experiences and the restoration of personal sovereignty from authoritarian belief systems. As an author, she offers clarity, compassion, and an insider’s perspective on a rarely explored chapter in pop history. Centola would also love to discuss the intersection of celebrity, religious drama, and the clinical path to reclaiming one’s voice. About the author:Darls Centola is a licensed clinical social worker, educator, and EMDR consultant whose professional path has been shaped by the lived experiences explored in this memoir. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Hawaii and is based in Los Angeles, where she works as a trauma-informed therapist. Much of her work explores the impact of high-control belief systems and the process of reconnecting with self and self-trust.Learn more at http://www.findingtruthwithmichael.com

1. Writer Talk with Darls Centola as she talks about her debut memoir "Finding Truth with Michael" 40:32
2. In Conversation with Mimi Nichter | The Memoir Hostage 33:21
3. Chyrel J Jackson Recites "Americana Was My Grandmother's Glory" included in "Unsung Canaan Ballads" 02:23
4. Rebecca Herz Book Launch for Locus of Control 35:12
5. Poet Talk with Michael Poage 59:43

Have a listen…

I am pleased to announce that LaVan Robinson has published his second book of poetry entitled: Love’s Rhapsody-Poems of LaLa which is now available on Amazon.

As the editor for this book of poetry and Robinson’s prior book, Songs of LaLa-The Poet I may be biased, but I tell you what: The pleasure of reading these poems over and again has touched my soul.

You can access both books on Amazon. Here is a link:

LaVan Robinson’s Amazon Page

You can hear some of Robinson’s amazing poetry on my podcast:

Writer Talk with Darls Centola as she talks about her debut memoir "Finding Truth with Michael" – Prolific Pulse Press Podcast

Trauma therapist Darls Centola has written a unique, never-before-told story of young Michael Jackson and the relationship that changed both their lives, in FINDING TRUTH WITH MICHAEL: A Memoir of Friendship, Faith, and First Love, coming out on April 7th. Darls recounts her and Michael’s close, tender friendship forged during their time spent in a small, private high school in Los Angeles, where they held private Bible study sessions as teenage Jehovah’s Witnesses. Part memoir chronicling Darls’ and Michael’s secret friendship and spiritual bond as they both struggled under the weight of high-control religion, and part cultural lens, this book traces Centola’s path into—and eventually out of—an environment of high-control faith and spiritual abuse that shaped their lives. The memoir arrives amid a cultural shift toward understanding spiritual abuse, purity culture, and religious deconstruction. As a therapist, Centola has spent decades working with the complex impacts of adverse religious experiences and the restoration of personal sovereignty from authoritarian belief systems. As an author, she offers clarity, compassion, and an insider’s perspective on a rarely explored chapter in pop history. Centola would also love to discuss the intersection of celebrity, religious drama, and the clinical path to reclaiming one’s voice. About the author:Darls Centola is a licensed clinical social worker, educator, and EMDR consultant whose professional path has been shaped by the lived experiences explored in this memoir. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Hawaii and is based in Los Angeles, where she works as a trauma-informed therapist. Much of her work explores the impact of high-control belief systems and the process of reconnecting with self and self-trust.Learn more at http://www.findingtruthwithmichael.com

1. Writer Talk with Darls Centola as she talks about her debut memoir "Finding Truth with Michael" 40:32
2. In Conversation with Mimi Nichter | The Memoir Hostage 33:21
3. Chyrel J Jackson Recites "Americana Was My Grandmother's Glory" included in "Unsung Canaan Ballads" 02:23
4. Rebecca Herz Book Launch for Locus of Control 35:12
5. Poet Talk with Michael Poage 59:43

I am pleased to announce that Aruna Gurumurthy will be reading from her recently released book of poetry, published by Kelsay Books: Down the Grassy Aisles

This event co-sponsored by the North Carolina Writers Network will be a Zoom event on Saturday, October 24 as part of a two hour event from 10-noon ET Aruna will be reading from 10:15-!0:30. You can access the event via this link: Poetry Event

About the book

Down the Grassy Aisles is a collection of prose poems weaving through the richness of life and positivity. From dripping pink raincoats, to birthing courage, to dipping into the unknown, these poems are a fanciful splash of the tales of travel, joys of infancy, and subtlety of human emotion as the reader jumps over unseen realms of imagination.

Down the Grassy Aisles includes the title poem “Down the Grassy Aisles” which is a narrative of the morning walks I went on with my father in the grassy aisles of South Bombay (Now Mumbai). I draw the reader’s attention to the twists and turns, ups and downs of the poem as we meander through the green pastures, drinking chai, our “hmm’s” setting the tone of our brief convos as I breathe in his wisdom.

About the Author, Aruna Gurumurthy

Aruna Gurumurthy is an American author, creative thinker, and poet. Since her childhood in Mumbai, India, she has embarked on a journey of creative exploration and, within her short prose poems, sestinas, and free verse, she tries to capture the beauty and art in the world. An observer of human nature, Aruna started writing in a moment of epiphany just under four years ago, publishing seven books of poetry, essays and observations, Diya: A Megawatt Approach to Change (2015), Spark (2016), A Beginning to the End (2017), Buddha In the Brain (2018), Puppet Dolls (2018), Simplicity Beckons (2019) and Down the Grassy Aisles (2020), just published by Kelsay Books. From wisdom and discovery to development, perceptions and change, celebration of life, love, and motherhood, Aruna writes on a variety of themes and empowers people from many walks of life. Aruna’s body of work also appears in the regional anthologies Heron Clan V (2018) & VI (2019) (Katherine James Books), What it is to Be A Woman, Fewer Than 500, Grand Little Things reflecting an insightful journey of struggles and jubilations on the path to peace. Aruna lives with her loving family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Aruna was a guest on my podcast recently. You can hear her at this site:

Listen to “Episode 3 – Poet Talk with Aruna Gurumurthy by Lisa Tomey of Prolific Pulse Poetry Podcast” by Prolific Pulse Poetry Podcast. ⚓