North Star Guardians

The Fidelity Files

MP3 File

Length-19 minutes, 54 seconds

Jamie Mason, co-host of the North Star Guardians, interviews Ms. Jessica Brody, author of The Fidelity Files published by St. Martin Griffins.

Ms. Jessica Brody

Jessica Brody, 28, knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She started self "publishing" her own books when she was seven years old, binding the pages together with cardboard, wallpaper samples and electrical tape.

After graduating from Smith College in 2001 where she double majored in Economics and French and minored in Japanese, Jessica later went on to work for MGM Studios as a Manager of Acquisitions and Business Development. In May of 2005, Jessica quit her job to follow her dream of becoming a published author. Between 2006 and 2007, Jessica sold two adult novels to St. Martin's Press and two young adult novels to Farrar, Straus, Giroux. The Fidelity Files, her debut, is now available in stores (in real binding) and the sequel, which she is currently completing, is slated for publication in the summer of 2009. The Karma Club, Jessica's debut YA novel will be released in the spring of 2010.

em>The Fidelity Files has already sold in the UK, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia and Taiwan (to date).Jessica now works as a freelance writer and producer. She currently writes for Yahoo's hilarious online TV recap show, "Prime Time in No Time." The most recent episodes can be viewed at: http://primetime.tv.yahoo.com

Additionally, Jessica produces feature-length films for Cyur Films. Please visit www.cyur.com for information on current and upcoming releases.  Visit her website.

Visit Jaime Mason's website and blog.

Mommy I'm Still Here:Raising Children With Bipolar Disorder

MP3 File

Length- 32 minutes, 10 seconds

Jamie Mason, co-host of North Star Guardians Podcast, interviews Ms.Kate McLaughlin, author of Mommy I'm Still Here: Raising Children With Bipolar Disorder published by Behler Publications.

Ms.Kate McLaughlin

Kate McLaughlin was born and raised in Ontario, California. She attended Chaffey High School and graduated magna cum laude from the University of La Verne with a liberal arts degree. She married her high school sweetheart, attended graduate school at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino, and worked in the Upland School District. Her three children were born in Southern California.

After teaching elementary school, coordinating special programs, and training fellow teachers and classroom aides for over a dozen years, Kate began her writing career. As a columnist for Southern Progress Corporation, a subsidiary of Time-Warner, Kate wrote dozens of magazine articles, then added two regional gardening books to her list of achievements before switching gears to write, speak, and advocate on topics related to Bipolar Disorder, Depression, and mental health.

Kate frequently writes and speaks to Parent-Teacher groups, high school and college students, mental health consumers and their families, and other community members. She is a member of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Juvenile Bipolar Research. Visit her website www.katemclaughlin.net. 

Visit Jamie Mason's website and blog.

Easter Everywhere: A Memoir

MP3 File

Length-30 minutes, 33 seconds

Jamie Mason, co-host of The North Star Guardians Podcast, interviews Author Darcey Steinke, author of Easter Everywhere: A Memoir published by Bloomsbury USA.

Ms. Darcey Steinke

Darcey Steinke is the author of four novels, two of which were New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Her novel Suicide Blonde has been translated into eight languages, and her novel Milk has been translated into four. Her nonfiction has been featured in Vogue, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Village Voice, Spin, the Boston Review, and the New York Times Magazine. She currently teaches at both Columbia University and New School University in New York City. She lives with her daughter in Brooklyn.  Visit her website.

Visit Jamie Mason's website and blog.

Holistic Parenting: Raising Children to a New Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Well-Being

MP3 File

Length-1 hour, 13 minutes, 34 seconds

Dr. Kevin Keough, creator of the Warrior Traditions Project, and co-host of Warrior Traditions Podcast and North Star Guardians Podcast, interviews Ms. Lynn Wiese Sneyd, author of Holistic Parenting: Raising Children to a New Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Well-Being published by Keats Publishing.

Ms. Lynn Wiese Sneyd

Lynn Weise Sneyd is a freelance writer focusing on health and parenting issues. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1998, she received a writing fellowship at the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, Illinois, where she began work on her  book Holistic Parenting: Raising Children To A New Physical, Emotional And Spiritual Well-Being.

Lynn became interested in Holistic Medicine as a result of her husband’s degenerative nerve condition. After he endured seven years of unsuccessful conventional medical treatments, she decided to explore the world of Alternative Medicine. As she learned, she gradually incorporated changes in her family’s lifestyle. A pantry of organic foods, a kitchen without chemical cleaners and a microwave, and a medicine cabinet full of herbal and homeopathic remedies have become her family’s norms. In addition, her children no longer receive vaccinations. Her eight-year-old daughter has never been on an antibiotic, despite having childhood bouts with ear infections, sore throats, colds and flu.

After experiencing the simplicity and effectiveness of a holistic lifestyle, Lynn decided to write Holistic Parenting. The book explores such topics as Homeopathy, Herbal Medicine, Ayurveda, Organic Nutrition, Environmental Toxins, Vaccinations and Holistic Dentistry.

She also contributed to Healthy Solutions: A Guide to Simple Healing and Healthy Wisdom, written by David N. Russell, Ph.D, D.Sc., as well as How Happy Families Happen: Six Steps to Creating Emotional and Spiritual Health at Home, written by Audrey Ricker, Ph.D. Lynn's freelanced articles and poetry have appeared in publications around the country.  Lynn resides in Tucson, Arizona with her husband and 2 children.

Lynn Wiese Sneyd directs the literary publicity division of Russell Public Communications, coordinating national, regional, and local publicity campaigns for authors of non-fiction and fiction works  Visit her webpage.

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation

MP3 File

Length-37 minutes, 8 seconds

Dr. Kevin Keough interviews Professor Charles Barber, author of Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation published by Pantheon.

Professor Charles Barber

Charles Barber was educated at Harvard and Columbia and worked for ten years in New York City shelters for the homeless mentally ill. The title essay in his first book, Songs from the Black Chair, won a 2006 Pushcart Prize. His work has appeared in the The Washington Post, The New York Times and Scientific American Mind, among other publications, and on NPR. He is a senior administrator at The Connection, an innovative social services agency, and a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. He lives in Connecticut with his family.  Visit his website http://www.charlesbarberwriting.com

Love Signals: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship

MP3 File  Length-1 hour, 34 minutes, 29 seconds

Dr. Kevin Keough, co-host of North Star Guardians Podcast, interviews Dr. David Givens, author of Love Signals: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship published by St. Martin's Griffin.

Dr. David Givens

David Givens began studying body language at the University of Washington in Seattle. He served as Resident Anthropologist and Director of information services and programs at the American Anthropological Association in Washington, D.C. for more than a decade. He is currently Director of the Center for Non-Verbal Studies in Spokane, Washington. He teaches in the Department of Communication Arts at Gonzaga University. He offers seminars on nonverbal communication to diverse audiences, including lawyers, judges, social workers, salespeople, physicians. He works with law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Intelligence community.  Dr. Givens is also the author of Crime Signals: How to Spot a Criminal Before You Become a Victim.  Visit Dr. Given's website.

Visit The North Star Guardian's blog and Dr. Kevin Keough's blog.

The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die

MP3 File  Length-32 minutes, 54 seconds

Jamie Mason, co-host of North Star Guardians, interviews Dr. John Izzo, author of The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Dr. John Izzo

John Izzo is a visionary, author, community leader and professional speaker on leadership development, performance management, corporate culture, and organizational change. Dr. John Izzo has more than 17 years experience working in a wide variety of corporate settings. His clients include nonprofit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, Healthcare Organizations and mid-size companies. Over the last two decades, John Izzo has married his first career as a minister with his second career as a management & leadership consultant to help leaders create corporations and organizations where values and purpose are the foundations for success. Dr. Izzo spent five years as a senior organizational development consultant for Kaiser Permanente, and 4 years as Vice President of The Einstein Consulting Group, an international customer service consultancy prior to establishing his own firm. Currently he focuses on helping leaders and organizations reach sustainable success through the integration of purposeful leadership and business practices.

John Izzo obtained his Bachelor of Sociology from Hofstra University in 1978 before completing a dual Masters degree from McCormick Divinity School in Theology while simultaneously attending the University of Chicago to complete his Masters in Organizational Psychology. Dr. Izzo then completed his Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from Kent State University shortly thereafter. He is the author of over 60 articles, and is the co-author of the best selling book Awakening Corporate Soul: Four Paths to Unleash the Power of People at Work and its companion workbook. He is also the author of  Values-Shift: The New Work Ethic and What it Means for Business. His pioneering work has been featured on CNN, ABC World News, the LA Times, Canada AM, CBC Radio, The American Medical Journal, B.C. Business, The Seattle Times and the cover of Association Management Magazine on "Creating Inspiring Work Places".

Based on leading edge research and experiences with more than 200 companies, John Izzo helps people understand these shifting values and how they differ across generations and across gender.John Izzo works with leaders who are serious about finding and keeping talented people and who are willing to do what it takes to create an organization where values and purpose are the foundation of the culture. Visit his website.

Visit Jamie Mason's website and blog.

The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story

MP3 File   Length-40 minutes, 0 seconds

Jamie Mason, co-host of North Star Guardians, interviews Dr. Yvonne S. Thornton, author of The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story published by Kensington.

As senior perinatologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Thornton established and developed the program for a new form of early prenatal diagnostic testing known as CVS (chronic villus sampling). Dr. Thornton was one of the original American investigators whose CVS results were relied upon by the FDA prior to its granting approval for the procedure in 1989.  Visit her website.

Dr. Thornton is a double-Board Certified specialist in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine. She has risen to the academic rank of Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is a member of the Association of Women Surgeons, a life member of The New York Academy of Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Surgeons.

Her biography is presently in  Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World. She is listed in The Best Doctors -- New York Metro Area. She was listed in New York Magazine as one of the Top Ten Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists in New York City.

Doctor Thornton was the first black woman in the United States to be Board-certified in High-Risk obstetrics and to be accepted into The New York Obstetrical Society.

Dr. Thornton is the national best-selling author of the Pulitzer prize-nominated book entitled, The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story published in 1995, with over 300,000 copies in print. This family biography (co-authored with Jo Coudert) is a tribute to her parents and was condensed in The Reader's Digest, adapted into a World Premiere Movie and nominated for the Peabody Award and the Cable ACE Award for Best Picture.

In 1996, the American Library Association named it as one of the Best Books for Young Adults and Doctor Thornton was given the "Excellence in Literature" Award by the New Jersey Education Association. She has authored two other books;a medical text entitled, Primary Care for the Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Woman to Woman: Leading Gynecologist Tells You All You Need Know abt your Baby your Health.

As senior perinatologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Thornton established and developed the program for a new form of early prenatal diagnostic testing known as CVS (chronic villus sampling). Dr. Thornton was one of the original American investigators whose CVS results were relied upon by the FDA prior to its granting approval for the procedure in 1989.  Visit her website.   

Visit Jamie Mason's website and blog.

Manic: A Memoir

MP3 File

Length-29 minutes, 6 seconds

Jamie Mason, co-host of the North Star Guardians Podcast, interviews Ms. Terri Cheney, author of Manic: A Memoir published by William Morrow.

Ms. Terri Cheney

After graduating Vassar College with honors, Ms. Cheney attended UCLA School of Law. She then specialized in intellectual property and entertainment litigation at several prominent L.A. firms, including Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Over the course of her sixteen-year career, Ms. Cheney represented many celebrities and major motion picture studios, including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Universal, Columbia, etc. Her pro bono work ranged from counseling local theaters to petitioning the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the ACLU.

After years of secretly struggling with manic depression, Ms. Cheney decided to leave the law and devote her advocacy skills toward a cause that is closer to her heart: writing about her illness, and encouraging the mentally ill to tell their own stories. In recognition of her efforts, she was appointed a member of the Community Advisory Board of the UCLA Mood Disorders Research Program, the nation’s largest nonprofit research consortium regarding manic depression. She also founded a weekly community support group at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute.

Ms. Cheney currently lives in Los Angeles.  Visit her website.

Visit Jamie Mason's website and blog.

Your Critically Ill Child: Life and Death Choices Parents Must Face

MP3 File

Length-40 minutes, 51 seconds

Ms. Jamie Mason, co-host of North Star Guardians, interviews Dr. Christopher Johnson, MD, about his book, Your Critically Ill Child: Life and Death Choices Parents Must Face published by New Horizon Press.

Dr. Christopehr Johnson, MD

Dr. Johnson is a native of Winona, Minnesota. He received  his undergraduate education in history and religion at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania, where he was elected to phi beta kappa and graduated magna cum laude in 1974. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1978 from Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota. He subsequently trained in general pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, and in pediatric critical care medicine at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in both general pediatrics and in pediatric critical care medicine, and am a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Johnson has had a long-standing interest in how medical practice evolved in America and how it reached its present state of affairs. Reflecting that interest, he earned a Master of Arts degree in History of Medicine from the University of Minnesota for his work on that subject, and is a member of the American Association for the History of Medicine.

Dr. Johnson has practiced pediatric critical care medicine for over twenty years. He was for many years Director of the Pediatric Critical Care Service at the Mayo Clinic and Professor of Pediatrics at Mayo Medical School, as well as Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Mayo Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital. While on the faculty at Mayo, he was the author of over fifty scientific papers and book chapters in medical texts, and was the recipient of major grant awards from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the March of Dimes Foundation. He now devotes his time to practicing pediatric critical care as President of Pediatric Intensive Care Associates, P.C., and to writing about medicine for general readers. Visit Dr. Johnson's website and blog.

Visit Jamie Mason's website and blog.