Inside Out: Janet Conner's new book, Writing Down Your Soul

Janet Conner did not set out to be a spiritual writer or teacher. She earned a BS from Marquette University in Speech Pathology and an MA in Education of the Deaf from Northwestern University. Her first career was in special education. In 1982, she created the first videojournalist recruitment program at CNN. After she and her husband moved to Florida, she ran a division of an international search firm. But then, everything changed In 1997, in the midst of a lucrative consulting career, her marriage imploded and her life disintegrated overnight into wearing a police call necklace, keeping 911 predialed on her cell phone, and occasionally taking her young son into hiding. Out of sheer desperation, Janet poured her soul onto her journal every morning, describing what was happening in ghastly detail and demanding--demanding!--help. Here's the important part of the story: Help came. Every day. Sometimes in the form of direction, but often in the guise of questions she hadn't been willing to ask. Janet discovered that when she asked hard questions, the voice responded with rich, profound guidance. Like Hansel in the fairytale, Janet faithfully followed those bits of wisdom until, three years later, she and her son were safe, her business was restored to six figures, and she was able to purchase a new townhome. Those were the changes the world could see, but Janet knew the really big changes were inside. The gifts that came through deep soul writing Through her daily soul writing, she discovered Spiritual Geography, the seven country spiritual-healing process that heals the broken heart. One Sunday in March, 2001, she had a deep conversation with the voice. "I am ready to forgive," she wrote, "show me how." That afternoon she wrote, "Finally Forgive," a prayer of complete and total forgiveness.