Gwen Finestone, MFT, Ph.D., CT, is President of California Southern University and has been recently nominated as a “Woman of Influence” via the Irvine Chamber for her contribution as an inspirational leader, role-model and advocate and mentor helping women in the workplace rise in leadership. She began her career working in trauma forty years ago as a co-founder of a rape crisis center, helping countless people work through their life traumas from childhood into adulthood. She specializes in grief, loss, trauma, and dissociative disorders. Her expert witness services are retained by attorneys in civil and criminal cases.

In today’s new episode Gwen shares her journey and introduces her new book, “Finding the Gems,” where she helps readers overcome major life trauma and loss and teaches them to lead a happy and positive life without letting their tragedies define them. She blends psychology, spirituality, humanism, meaning and purpose to help readers free themselves from the pain of their losses. Throughout her career Gwen has often been asked by her patients: “Why did that happen to me?” “Why isn’t life more joyful?” “Why can’t I have what others seem to have so effortlessly?” “Why do I feel stuck?” “Why didn’t my previous therapy help?” “Was I born only to suffer?” “Where was God when this was happening?” “What is spirituality?” “How can I let go of my grief?”

Gwen shares that even if your most significant losses or traumas occurred as an adult, lessons learned in childhood will inform your interpretation of adult experiences.Personalizing the work of the great Viennese psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl, she blends psychology, spirituality, humanism, meaning and purpose. She argues that finding the meaning in painful experiences is what can free each one of us to be who we want to be. Each chapter is introduced by a quote and concludes with a spiritual lesson that will help you find the gems in painful memories and experiences.

“This book afforded me the opportunity to learn something very important about myself - at 64, there was still shame. After all the therapy, all the years of hard work, there was still some shame. I was still owning that experience. I was still taking responsibility for someone else’s bad, bad behavior. But you know what, I’m a thriver!”

— Gwen Finestone

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632

To connect with Gwen and learn more visit her on her website http://www.drgwenfinestone.com and on Twitter @finestonegwen Facebook @dr.finestone and you can find her new book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.