A Source of Inspiration

Inspiration is a feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something, that gives you new and creative ideas. ... If you describe someone or something good as an inspiration, you mean that they make you or other people want to do or achieve something.

May 23, 2007: I knew my decision to take a leap of faith and leave behind my award winning career as a VA social worker after the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome in December of 2006 to heal my life would inspire others. I sat in my bare office on the second floor of the VA outpatient clinic at 251 Causeway Street knowing that in two days I would be heading to the Jamaica Plain Campus to go through the clearing out process and walk into my new life. I did not know what that new life would look like but I did know that the symptoms of the "progressive neuromuscular disease" I had been diagnosed with were beginning to improve. I felt relief knowing I would not have to get up at 5:30 am every day, commute into Boston every day and work a full day providing social work intervention to veterans and their families and provide support to members of my multidiscplinary team. While I loved caring for veterans and their families, I knew it was time for me to take care of myself and heal my life.

As I sat there during those final hours of my award winning social work career, I fancied myself a soon to be bestselling author who was on talk shows, speaking to groups and of course being on Oprah. I wrote poetry and imagined my prosperous new business, "New World Greeting Cards - Original Poetry for Every Occasion".

Fast forward to May 23, 2014 - The Book Release Party for "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":


Coming Home became the first book in my Trilogy of Transformation after I finished "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" last year. I could not possibly see the whole staircase of my life unfolding before me but I did take that first step of faith by leaving my career.



Book Release Party
May 23, 2014 at Marathon Sports (Brookline, MA)

"Wait, I have one more goal," Mary McManus told her personal trainer in February of 2008 shortly after coming out of her toe up leg brace. "I want to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital." Mary traded in her polio shoes for running shoes and embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Mary McManus was at the height of her career as a VA social worker when she was told by her team at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s International Rehab Center for Polio in December of 2006 that she needed to quit her job if she had any hope of preventing the progression of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. In “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility” Mary takes you on her seven year healing odyssey as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma from her diagnosis, to taking a leap of faith to leave her award winning career at the VA to heal her life and follow her passion as a poet and writer. You’ll experience her trials, tribulations and triumphs as she trains for and crosses the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and discovers the opportunity for healing in the wake of new trauma: the suicide of her nephew in 2011, and the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. This is Mary's journey of coming home to her human form free from the influences of the ghastly ghostly invaders who had invaded her sacred earthly home. Her memoir includes journals and blog posts from her seven year healing odyssey. This is her journey of transformation and her message of healing, hope and possibility.



While I have not been on Oprah nor have I become a NY Times Bestselling Author - yet - I have been blessed to touch and inspire the lives of others through my journey. I have spoken to groups sharing my message of healing, hope and possibility and how, despite seemingly impossible circumstances, I crossed the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon:


I've been a guest on radio shows and my story has been featured in best selling author David R. Hamilton, Ph.D.'s book, 'How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body.'


I share my journey in this blog and continue to write the inspiring chapters of my life.

My Source for inspiration came on a cold dark day in February of 2007 as I took a deep breath, got still and asked for Divine Guidance.

I started writing poetry which harnessed the power of my imagination to heal my life and create a vision for my future.

That Source of inspiration enabled me to become a source of inspiration for others.

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com to learn more about my healing journey and for healing resources that may be a source of inspiration for you or someone you love.

My books are available on Amazon.

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary