Publications

Transforming Conflict
Books | Articles | Essays/Op-Eds | Resources & Inspiration
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The What-What

Topics I Cover Include:

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PSYCHOLOGY AND MENTAL HEALTH

Trauma, Moral Injury, Moral Distress, PTSD, Emotions, Grief and Loss, Resilience, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Attachment, Mindfulness, Somatic Psychology, Creative Arts Therapies, Narrative therapy, and Personal Growth.

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Ethics and Spirituality

Clinical Ethics, Narrative Ethics, Morality, Moral Psychology, Spirituality and Health, Meaning and Purpose, Lost Innocence, Crises of Faith, World Religion, and Interfaith Relations.

Black and white photo of a sand dune at dawn.
Conflict Transformation & Narrative

Mediation, Restorative Justice, Deliberative Dialog, Conflict Styles, Emotional-Based Decision-Making, Peacebuilding, Relationships, Storytelling, and Self-authoring.

Heart figurine on a fallen tree in the woods.
Heart Health and “SCAD” Dissections

Spontaneous Coronary Arterial Dissection (SCAD), Life after heart attack or stroke, Recovering after difficult diagnosis, Emotional health related to heart health, Heart health tools and resources. *I'm a 3x SCAD heart attack survivor.

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Featured publications
Psychology Today
That Powerlessness You Feel Is Called "Moral Distress"

Cultivate Moral Resilience Instead

Moral distress is the feeling that we've compromised ourselves or something we hold dear due to external forces seemingly beyond our control. Moral resilience shifts the narrative from powerlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness to one defined by possibility and principled choice.

(One of my all-time viewed articles.)

ELEMENTAL
Unraveling? Your Stress Levels Are Likely Beyond Your "Window of Tolerance"

Tips to reset your brain and body when everything feels impossible

According to psychiatrist and neurobiologist Dr. Dan Siegel, each of us has a “window of tolerance.” Siegel coined the term to describe normal brain/body reactions, especially following adversity...

(Another popular post.)

The War Horse
We Trudged Through an Unknown, Unexperienced Evil—Unaware How That Evil Took Hold in Us

Edited essay written by Joseph Simboli Jr., one of the members of the 89th Infantry Division who liberated Ohrdruf, the first Nazi concentration camp to be discovered by American forces in April 1945. For decades, Simboli struggled with the internal turmoil of what he saw and couldn’t prevent on that sunny April morning in 1945. Simboli never shared his wartime story in detail, until he lost his wife in 2019. The day after her funeral, Simboli pulled out decades of personal writings and artifacts from WWII. This is his incredible story.

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Books

NEW BOOK BY MICHELE
HOLDING ONTO AIR: The Art and Science of Building a Resilient Spirit

"Michele DeMarco has written a wise and welcoming guide to what comes after survival — the rebuilding of hope, spirit, resilience, and joy."              — Anne Lamott, New York Times best-selling author.

A top mental health writer, trauma researcher, and survivor illuminates the dual nature of loss — the science behind it and art of transforming it with a breakthrough book and truly holistic approach.

After experiencing two rare heart attacks at age 33 — and a third a decade later, DeMarco knows trauma intimately.

With poignant wisdom and refreshing insight DeMarco explodes traditional myths of resilience and shows what it takes to thrive through any of life’s challenges. DeMarco situates meaningful challenge and loss specifically in the context of “lost innocence,” and challenges common notions that we can think our way out of despair and back to a “normal” happy life when the unimaginable shatters it.

Leveraging advances in emotion science, somatic psychology, neuroscience, and trauma, Holding Onto Air brings the body and spirit into the solution, as much as the mind, and so presents a truly integrated, “whole person” approach to recovering from lost innocence and building resilience. It also makes spirit accessible for anyone of any background or belief — or no aligned belief.

More than a rudimentary map for navigating grief and loss’ rocky terrain (with tired tropes and shop-worn strategies), DeMarco offers a unique and trusted guide for an arduous journey every human being will have to face — the realization of evil, pain, or mortality that occurs after a person experiences trauma.

Coming Fall 2023, by Berrett-Koehler!

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ANCHORS FOR WHOLE SOUL LIVING

Resources & Inspirations

If you or your loved one is struggling with a moral dilemma, trauma, or the loss of integrity or innocence and feel uncertain how to get on the path of healing and wholeness, let me show you the way.

I’ve created a number of resources that are anchors for “whole soul living.” They are my gift to you.

RESOURCES
Assessment

The Whole Soul Assessment

Here you can assess your moral strengths, level of resilience, and areas for growth. It's a great place to start the journey to principled and embodied living.

Inspirations
Downloads

A Collection of Art, Heart, and Soul

Need a spark of inspiration, grounding, or hope? I know I do. Enjoy these downloadable illustrated quote cards.

RESOURCES
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Tips & Tricks

Real-Time Techniques for Anxiety and Despair

Stop trying to think your way out of in-the-moment stress or depression. These scientifically-backed practices really can help.

Inspirations
Inventory

Building Resilience

These building blocks make resilience possible. Learn how to make them a part of your life.

RESOURCES
Assessment

Do I Have Moral Injury or a Soul Wound?

Here is a quick self-assessment tool that can help you determine if your experiences, feelings, and behaviors may be related to moral injury.

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Write Life

We cannot recreate our lives going backward.
We can only reclaim our life moving forward.
-Michele DeMarco, from Holding Onto Air: The Art and Science of Building a Resilient Spirit