Moving On to What is Most Important

Q: Leaving the Saints seems to take the leaving quite literally—as in getting past and moving on.

Martha: In my writing, lecturing, and life coaching, I like to focus on transforming pain into positive action, so as to get on with the more important things in my life. However, my experience is that we stay with a problem as long as we need to, in order to learn the lessons it can teach us.

Q: Obviously, in writing the book you've faced your worst nightmares, about both confronting difficult personal issues and making them public. What do you hope Leaving the Saints achieves?

Martha: My hope is that one person who feels as lonely and lost as I did may find comfort and validation in this book—validation that telling the truth—to yourself and to others, is the first step toward healing, that forgiveness is always possible, and that you can never be cut off from the divine.

Q: Living in ways congruent with the true self is a theme in all of your work. What about your life continues to lead you back to this idea?

Martha: What keeps leading me back to the theme of the true self? My true self. The core sense of purpose that gives meaning to my life, as your true self does to yours. If I try to write about things my true self finds unimportant, I end up with a case of writer’s block so severe I have to call Roto Rooter.