Vicki L. Flaherty

I am dedicated to helping people live with clarity, intention, and authenticity. As an Industrial/Organizational psychologist, I empower individuals to express their full potential and bring their best to their work--through leadership, mentoring, coaching, mindfulness, and wellbeing. I am an avid runner, enjoy yoga and gardening, and love to travel with my husband Jim. I live in Iowa.

My poetry is inspired by moments when I am quiet and can hear my inner truth speaking to me. My experience with breast cancer in 2011 invited writing as catharsis. When I was diagnosed, I made a commitment to fully experience my emotions, seeing an opportunity to understand myself more deeply. My writing let me recognize and accept my deepest fears, sorrow, and sadness. I was surprised at how capturing my feelings on paper helped me move through my experience. Creating each piece was my way of finding peace and reaching for hope. When I shared my work with others, I was always surprised that somehow the words painted pictures that enabled them to see and understand my feelings and experiences, and that they found something more universal to which they could relate. My wish is that others might find a glimmer of peace and hope within the pages of Mostly My Heart Sings.

My second book of poetry, And Then Opens Possibility, is an invitation to pause and embrace the richness of life, to look within yourself, explore the range of your emotions, and make personal connections. My intention is that readers find each poem like a short meditation that brings them into the present moment…perhaps you will find yourself slowing down long enough to hear your inner voice and the essence of who you are speaking…perhaps you will find a safe place for lingering in the darkness, where the desire to be alive drowns out any fear that holds you back...perhaps you will find the joy and gratitude that’s possible from truly experiencing personal connection with others. The book is dedicated to all those courageous to look inside themselves where possibility awaits.