. good morning and welcome to mosaic. i am ron swisher. a privilege and joy to host mosaic on behalf of my cohost. most people know me that i am an avid reader and my favorite is memoirs, biographies, and because they share so much of what a person has gone through and life stories and he love them. there's great joy for me to have as my guest reverend donna ivory who wrote her memoirs

sleep, and heal and riveting store every her life. shows my guest and i am glad to have her. welcome. >> thanks. good to be here, ron. >> great. great. >> before we get into the book and memoir tell burst back ground and experiences. >> well, i am from california, born and raised. active in the united methodist church and ended up going to semmary and becoming a pastor. marrying my husband and having two little girl. just loving every single minute of life and then one day i -- we went to fancy meal at a restaurant in lake tahoe. and something fell on my head and sustained a head and neck injure and haven't worked and for 17 years i relied on a cane

opioids, and wheelchair to get around. >> but you have worked. >> well, i have written it's taken me 8 years to write this book. and i do a little preaching with some of the head injury stuff and you have to rest in order to let the brain come online so to speak. so i do ally the at a time and the spirit and spirituality helped me find my way. >> right. i read that. and i read the book twice. >> oh. >> that's how riveting and compelling the story isive a been pofbd by it greatly. we will get further into it. your father is a great preacher. don. >> yes, he is. >> your husband is a preacher. >> yes. >> and has his doctorate on spirituality from about howard

thurman. >> a phd from san francisco california intergat studies. >> i had him on years ago and it's great to have you. and i know he is in the audience and listening and eager to hear what you have to say even though i am sure he read quite a bit of it. >> he live it and read it. and edited out a few things. . >> love now you relate tower family in it and your mom and dad and sister and daughters tory. e woarticulate y. >>will >> i will do that. join us in the next segment with reverend ivory.

. welcome back to mosaic. if you just joined us we are talking about reverend donna ivory and i am interested in titles of books but only not just the titles of the books u but the chapers and chapters

but tell us about how you came up with the interesting title. >> after the 20 different ones this is the one at that thaá set right because i wrote it for the general audience not just the church. and i wanted a title not too churchy and sleep, pray and heal are the three components that really come together where found my path to wholeness and well-being which is the subtitle of the book. after my head injury, i had difficulty speaking, thinking, seeing, and had double vision and my eyes would jerk as it would go across. so i would get terrible stomach aches and dizziness from the ways my eyes worked and

wouldn't focus. my left side was weak. i had difficulty walking. and had chronic pain. and so, what my brain injury rehab physician instructed mow to do is for every hour up, lie down an hour. because the brain must rest to heal. and if you overdo it you run the risk of developing seizures and we don't want you to do that. so i was in the -- i was used to pushing it in order to get better. you go work out and do today a little more and a little more and go beyond, you know, and i was an overacheer. so it's like yeah, push the envelope. push the envelope and all of a sudden, it was turned on its head and said no go to bed, go to bed. >> and you had a reputation of being a very good preacher. >> yes. >> so you had to change your

whole approach. >> i had the reputation of being an excellent student and great preacher. and i loved being in charge. and i worked hard. and i would read a book a we are and i couldn't read a magazine article i just couldn't do it. and so i had to find a whole new paradigm for how to get through the day. and when you can't count on yourself for figuring things out or your words to pray, or you really don't know what you just did. or the name of your nephew or how many cups of rice you put into the motorcycle the microwave into the pot. two cups of rice with 4 cups of water i couldn't keep track of counting to two and counting to

four. >> the captainers are captivating but you have three sections that stand out. tell us about those? >> my first section is called breaking open and that's the time of the accident when the glass fell on me. but it broke me opened spiritually. when you can't count on your words or knowing what to pray, i kind of fell back into the very beginning, the essence of the spirit who created me. and i call it the brushes of the spirit. >> brushes of the spirit. >> brushes of the spirit. >> brushes. >> which kind of, you can feel it sometimes go this way and the second session is painting prayers because i couldn't speak or know my prayers. in all of the down hours, i would -- what i was trying to work out would kind of sit with me, and than i would paint it. so i painted my prayers and

what was phenomenal was the messages of spirit about. >> that's one of the paint there is. >> would be inside of the paintings. like this one right here i call it broken gifts. that's broken ostrich eggshells and it was the two year anniversary of my head injury, and i was told by an attorney that for that two years is pretty much what you got is permanent disability in didn't he bring it back from africa. >> yes and they broke just like the broken abilities of mine. and so i put them on a cross, giving my brokenness to god. >> wow. >> and in that painting, what the brushes of the spirit gave to me was i was feeling so discouraged with having not healed as i had hoped. because i thought, you know, if you had faith like a mustard seed you would be able to tell the mountain to move.

that was not happening with my brain injury. so it was my faith not good enough? and i wanted to return to normal. i thought that's what healing was. but that painting of the cross and the eggshells, i saw a new person being born out of the broken shells. and i thought oh, wait a minute, and the gospels healing its wholeness and i can be disabled and whole, i can be disabled and healed. and it's like new life, crucifixion and resurrection together. >> and that's why creating anew. >> and that goes into aco ating anew. so it's breaking open and painting prayers and creating a new and the same brushes of the spirit i became in tune with when they were moving and instrucking instructing me to a path of wholeness so it was quite an education. >> yes. it took a lifetime.

>> yes. >> right. the way i read it. >> right. because i have stories fromchildhood and meeting my husband. and the spirituality that give and take with god, it's, you know, that is the essence of the book. >> i love some of the pictures you have and we will see them in the next segment. >> wonderful. >> i am glad you brought them. >> great, thank you. >> please join us and we hope you join us in the next segment on mosaic here. thank you.

. in wouldn't of the last seg minutes we talk about painting prayers that donna has done, and i am going to ask mike, our cameraman to, show some of the pictures that she's painted.

so, we will lift them up here at this point. that he one. could you. >> i call this painting formed by tears. >> formed by tears. >> and it's a self-portrait painted it very quickly in very hard spot i was in. and it was my prayer about too much pain for too long. and what i discovered is that well, i hated the painting because i thought i was supposed to be counting my blessings and staying positive, and that's the way a get through it. and ace sat and watched this painting draw, i had to watch paint dry the most boring thing you can do is watch oil paint dry and. wait a minute, the brushes of the spirit told me. >> i hear honest. >> that's right. >> authentic. angry at times. >> that's right. and to give god your tears. >> yes. >> and tears are holy waters at work. that's what the brushes of the

spirit told me don't be ashamed of your tears. they are holy waters at work and moving through you. and it's a beautiful thing. and i changed my impression of tears. no longer am i ashamed of tears. and really, the brushes of the spirit, they move with hon of they. >> i like that. >> just like worship and spirit and in truth. like spirit is a partner to truth. in fact, the -- in acts jesus says spirit is a partner to truth. and so, the path to wholeness is always grounded in truth. whatever you're experiencing, and in the first year, it's like well i. should be better. let mow just take my mind off it and it will get better. that didn't work for me. because i had a long journey. and the only way to get fuel to pofb forward was to stay with truth and spirit. which is honesty. >> love the brushes of the spirit. >> thank you. >> i might use it as a title and give you credit for it. >> all right. >> let's see another picture

here. yes. tell us about that one. >> i call this painting rocking lost. and one of the affects of my head injuries is that i couldn't rock my baby who was 9- month-old at the time of my injury. and so i went through lot for a couple years being angry that was stolen from me. i had to quit nursing. couldn't rock her and get sick riding in the car or any time there's motion around me. and so i painted my prayer of this old rocking chair. and as the chapter in the book that's called rocking lost about this painted prayer and what i discovered here, i sewed empty craddled arms in a mat out of the blanket sleepers that wore and grew out of and at that was really where my heart was. that i was mourning the rocking lost and you know what, ron, it was so amazing when finally in the moment i finished this

painting, finally the monkey on my back that grief and anger over having lost that timed with my infant, it finally left. because i had taken it to god and received it there leave it there in prayer and it was always right back there. i was always angry. >> leave it there. >> yeah. leave it there. and when i finished painting and i can touch the blanket sleeper arms, it's like i gave that grief a home to reside. and that's the brushes of the spirit just showing me how to walk forward when you're sorrowful. >> what i have not asked yoisho write -- do inting >> well, there's three years. these are the brain injury paintings. the initial ones. and some of them took five minutes and some took 3 or 4 months. >> i see. >> and it just depended on where i was at and how hon of the i was being. and there are a lot of paintings that are not there.

the should you know i was should, you should feel this way, you should be doing this and i wanted bright stars, something beautiful. the creative spirit wasn't moving with that. >> i could hear that. >> and a lot of paintings got off the wayside because they weren't telling the truth and that's where the spirit moves is with truth. >> isn't that something. i had the privilege of hearing and seeing smoky robinson a few months ago. and he took five minutes to do one of the buoofive years to do my girl. which turned out to be one of the greats. >> yes. yes. like the formed by tears that's a 5 minute painting. >> yeah. >> because that was pallet two colors of paint and that's it. >> i hear that. let's see another one. yes. tell us about this one. >> i kau this tbi self-portrait

the glass fell. and from the outside i look fine. but from the-side looking out, it is like this painting appears. there are broken spaces where my brain is not connecting to one another. and the way i did this painting is i threw a mirror on the floor to see what happens when glass falls because that's my prayer. what, lord, happened to me when that glass fell on me. and then i cut pastel drawing of my self into the same pieces as the broken glass. >> how long did that take? >> oh, that was about four weeks. >> okay. >> but that's also on the path of me being up two hours a day. >> okay. >> so i do a little bit, lie down. do a little bit. get back and forth with that, you know, the sleeping praying and healing. that just that kind of gentle title motion. >> let's see those last two pictures of the family be

we go to the next segment. because i want to see the wedding pictures. that's great. what year was that. >> 1986. >> 1986. >> that's hubert ivory reverend dr. how canert ivory and hubert ivory and. >> your dad did it. >> we had so many ministers and we had everything possible but that was -- that was a wonderful time. >> let's see the family. the two daughters. >> that's with rocking lost with my youngest daughter imani and my older daughter eye eara and that's the first time i shared it publicly. >> wonderful how old are they. >> 30 and 26. >> wow. >> they are not little girls anymore. >> i remember when they were little girls. >> that's right. that's right. >> that's amazing. i am glad. thank you. we will have another segment,

and we will look forward to one more poem she has for us and one more picture i think is important se

. with reverend donna ivory

we talk about creating a new in the last segment of the book. and i wanted her to read a poem that would i think be so important during this christmas season and which we look for the new. and the christ child and dancing with pain as been her story also so this poem expresses that. share that with us. >> and this poem goes with the painting dancing with pain that has me dancing with a body of broken mirrors. >> yes. >> and dancing with pain. i do not choose to have pain as my partner. following my every step, bending my body to its intention, holding me always with cutting arms, tripping me up to fall fully into its blunt, harsh body. reflecting distort and exaggerated aspects of me. i do not choose to have pain as my partner. for three years now, i grown into knowing this partner he of

mine called pain. i caught onto an ebb of a stunning suspicious secret about pain's way. shh why the secret? perhaps the face of pain is so gruesome my fear goes over the character of pain. pain follows rim uth i step forward it steps back for moment and likeity split pain steps forward again. i overdo too many steps at once pain cuts in. i can do as long as as i keep rig with up pain. pane follows rhythm. with pain as my partner i can dance, triple step, step together side, back, tap, tap moving row joining feeling exhilaration of sheer freedom as body blends with breathless desire of soul. i can dance. it is a precarious delicate dance i live with the nasty partner called pain. but pain follows and knows rhythm. there ever i choose to improve

my dancing skills. i will outwit, outstep out event. i will keep up a joyous movement and keeping in rig you will with the muse ainge keeping in rhythm with pain. i become so advanced that i will take the lead? >> love it. i am glad we took the time for that. >> thank you. >> that's better than dancing with the stars. any time. we left out. >> yes. >> website, how to get your books. and any book readings coming up? >> i have a website adventures in healing.com. and you can get there by donna fatal ivory and facebook page adventures in healing and sleep, pray, heal can be found at any bookstore anywhere. just ask for it. and i also sell them on my website and amazon and barnes and noble. everyone where. >> great. second question, when's the next book? >> the next book is 2020 i call

>> and working with a brushes of the spirit. and how i restored my ability to walk again. >> we can dance with pain and we can fly. >> that's right. >> i love that. >> that's right. >> thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> and i am sure the congregation and audiences listens will be inspired and lifted and fool resilient because of your example. >> and resiliency of christmas. >> okay, yes not manger and everything going wrong. >> that's right. >> but yet the stars shown and jesus came. >> right. >> thank you for joining been lifted by the story that's in this memoir that is so gripping you will be deeply moved if you read sleep, pray and heal by reverend donna fatal ivory. god bless you during this season.

may god always be with you. the brushes of the spirit. thank you for joining us. we're all doing our part by staying at home. that could mean an increase in energy bills. you can save by setting your heat to 68 or lower... unplugging and turning off devices when not in use... or just letting the sun light your home. stay well and keep it golden.

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