Maura's Blog

Part 2 of Spirit Daily review of Miracles Every Day

9/2/2010 9:34:13 AM

http://spiritdaily.com/nemeh2.htm

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Spirit Daily review of Miracles Every Day

9/2/2010 9:31:31 AM

http://www.spiritdaily.com/nemeh1.htm

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TV 5's Tracy Carlos on Miracles Every Day

8/19/2010 12:23:16 AM

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/miracles-every-day-soars-on-catholic-best-sellers-list-

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Debut at #2

8/4/2010 2:00:00 PM

#2 On The Catholic Bestsellers List

A debutante, I am not. Neither am I a performer. However, I finally know the thrill of making a debut. Six weeks after having been released, my book, Miracles Every Day, made its debut in the #2 slot on the August 1, 2010 Catholic Bestsellers List.

I'm surrounded by best-selling authors. Scott Hahn's Many Are Called (a book that was edited by my very own editor, Gary Jansen of Doubleday Religion) garnered first place. Matthew Kelly, who wrote a beautiful endorsement of my book, has four of his titles represented in the top ten. (I keep worrying that maybe Mr. Kelly regrets having written such an enthusiastic review of my book; after all, Rediscovering Catholicism is in third place behind Miracles.)

While my book, like the Little Engine That Could, was chugging its way into the bestseller list, I have been receiving beautiful letters from all over the country. A letter from Kentucky broke my heart:

I just finished reading your book, Miracles Every Day, and want to thank you for writing this beautiful story. I was diagnosed with cervical cancer three years ago, thought I was cured, but was ...

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Joseph-Beth Booksellers Signing

7/5/2010 8:44:00 AM

Kathleen

Three years ago, when I began working on Miracles Every Day, I spent many hours in Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Legacy Village, in Beachwood, Ohio. I tracked down quite a lot of information and wrote a number of pages in J-B's cozy restaurant, The Bistro. The store atmosphere is conducive to research and reflection; the food served in the Bistro was wonderful and the waiters uncomplainingly kept my refillable water bottles topped-off; and the staff was as friendly as family. I remember wandering the store, lost in admiration, unable to depart without having bought at least one or two new books each time I was there.

Sometimes I would consider what it would feel like to see my own book on a shelf in a store--even, perhaps, this store!--but I really couldn't wrap my head around that thought very well. It seemed more an out-of-body experience than something that would someday come true. In the meantime, I availed myself of the rich and lively schedule of author discussions as often as I was able. My favorite was the evening I met Karen Joy Fowler, who was there to discuss her marvelous book, The Jane Austen Book Club. I ...

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Youtube Video of Launch Event at Barnes & Noble

6/24/2010 9:37:56 PM

Filmed and Edited by Local Superstar

Miles Foisy

Elyria Catholic High School Class of 2010

Launch of Miracles Every Day, Barnes & Noble @ Crocker Park, 15 June 2010

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Jim McIntyre's Interview, Part 2

6/20/2010 10:30:42 AM

This is the second of a two-part interview of
Dr. Issam Nemeh and me.

Part 2 of Jim McIntyre's Interview

The interview was conducted by Jim McIntyre in the studios of Cleveland's WDOK 102.1 FM.

Like Part 1, this interview is uncut and unedited, which is, I believe, noteworthy.

I enjoyed the interview experience so very much. In fact, it was a blast!

I'm very grateful to Jim McIntyre, Trapper Jack, and Terry Moir

for making me feel so welcome

and for allowing me the opportunity to articulate answers

to some of the questions people have about Dr. Nemeh

and about Miracles Every Day.

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Miracles Every Day is now available at

6/16/2010 12:46:18 AM

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Hardcover

Random House

Audiobook from Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Hardcover

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Day #1 - Release Date

6/15/2010 12:34:51 PM

Stone Books

My heart was speaking to me. It told me to ignore the zillion tasks that were squawking at me. It told me, Go home. I lifted my eyes from my work at the computer, gazed out the windows of my study, and saw that my heart was leading me south.

Yes. You are right, I answered. There was something that I needed to do. I decided to follow my heart. And so I walked away from the noise of life for one day.

As soon as I made that decision, of course, many frustrations arose to threaten my journey. They filled me with indecision. Are these omens telling me I should not go? I wondered. Half a dozen times I paused and considered turning back. Each time I decided to stay the course because the first message contained the essence of something we call "purity of heart."

It took many more hours to arrive at my destination than it should have. All along the way I coached myself--and truly believed--that it was all happening as it should. Despite the misgivings that flew at my resolve as if they were angry blackbirds pecking at my face, I felt ...

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Day #2

6/14/2010 12:00:00 AM

Who Was That?

You have to understand this: I was raised in a Roman Catholic family. I consider myself to be a deeply, but quietly, spiritual person.

However, I have never been comfortable talking The God Talk. I find it much easier to contemplate and relate to God the Father than I do Jesus--perhaps because I had such a wonderful earthly father. I've never really been comfortable saying Jesus' name out loud. As for the Holy Spirit, no one in my life has ever been able to explain that whole concept. Nobody, that is, except Issam. Prayer was more like throwing pennies into a fountain and making wishes than dialoguing with someone I love. I had never read the Bible before beginning work on this book.

I was not seeking anything when I began writing Miracles Every Day. All I wanted to do was write. It just so happened that the opportunity to write about Dr. Issam and Kathy Nemeh's ministry fell into my lap. I remember pacing back and forth the first night I was offered this chance, arguing with myself, But I don't WANT to write someone else's story! I want to write about what is inside ...

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Sunday, 13 June WDOK 102.1 FM Jim McIntyre Interview

6/13/2010 6:22:14 PM

http://wdok.radio.com/2010/06/13/dr-nemeh-2/

This is Part One of a two-part interview of Dr. Issam Nemeh and me, Maura, conducted by Jim McIntyre.

This interview is unedited. The tape was just rolling.

You can tell the three of us were enjoying our conversation.

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Day #3

6/13/2010 12:00:00 AM

The Divine Experience

Last Monday I met with Ted Henry, TV 5's Emmy-award-winning news anchor, now retired, to give him an advance copy of Miracles Every Day. I felt I owed it to him. After all, in 1994, Ted broke the story of Dr. Nemeh's gift to Northeast Ohio and then continued with follow-up segments in subsequent years. To provide context as to the scope of his in-depth reporting and fascination with the doctor, I will quote Ted, who wrote that he "personally did 36 news stories and aired a prime time documentary twice. I can safely say that this is not just the most reports I have ever done in 44 years as a journalist for a single story, but that the station has ever done for a story like this as well."

Ted and I chatted for an hour and a half. He is well-traveled, curious, open-minded, and fascinating. He says he is as busy in retirement as he ever was during his career. He and his wife, Jody, travel the world in search of spiritually gifted people. He interviews and films them. His profiles are viewed all across the globe, thanks to the Internet. In ...

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Day #4

6/12/2010 12:34:00 AM

Just Another Day at the Office

In early August 2009, Sharon Deitrick brought her sister, Cookie, to Dr. Nemeh's office for an acupuncture treatment. Cookie, who lives in Washington, D.C., received a prayer in absentia weeks earlier. Simultaneously with that prayer being prayed in Akron, Ohio, Cookie began a steady rebound from what appeared to be imminent death. Now recovered enough to travel from her home to Ohio, Cookie was anxious to meet this physician about whom her sister thought so highly.

I saw over and over again in the course of my work that other friends often tagged along with the patient. Sometimes it was just to keep the patient company. But often, there was another reason. It seems that the word has gotten around about the doctor's spontaneous prayers.

I had talked to the doctor about this. He told me he felt it was important to be asked, or invited in, before praying over someone. However, this was at odds with the way he was led by the Spirit to pause and pray over those who were simply placed in his path. Many times, people seated in the treatment room were surprised to find themselves the object ...

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Day #5

6/11/2010 11:34:21 AM

11 June 2010

http://wdok.radio.com/2010/06/11/miracles-everyday-part-2/

This is the second installment in a two-part interview conducted in the broadcasting studios of WDOK 102.1 FM in Cleveland, Ohio. Trapper Jack, Jim McIntyre, and Terry Moir interviewed Dr. Issam Nemeh and me.

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Day #6

6/10/2010 1:13:32 PM

This is a link to the WDOK 102.1 FM interview of Dr. Issam Nemeh and me,
conducted by Trapper Jack, Jim McIntyre, and Terry Moir.
This interview aired on 10 June 2010.

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Day #7

6/9/2010 12:00:00 AM

Father Dan

As I worked on my book, I was told by many people that Father Dan Schlegel, Pastor at the Holy Angels Church in Bainbridge, Ohio, was someone I must interview for a better understanding of the Nemehs and their ministry. Kathy arranged a lunch during which I did far more typing than I did chewing: Nearly every statement Father Dan made about the Nemehs was worthy of being in the final manuscript. Because he had hosted the Nemeh ministry four times in his six years as Pastor, he knew Dr. Nemeh well, and therefore was a credible witness. He told me how much his congregation loved Dr. Nemeh. I was anxious for the 10 August 2008 healing service at Holy Angels so that I could see this for myself.

Father Dan anoints with Holy Oil during the service. He chokes up when his parishioners appear at the line for a prayer, perhaps because he is thinking about their challenges, or heartaches, or worries. His musicians are there from Mass until the very last prayer is prayed in a touching display of loyalty--and impressive display of stamina. Everywhere I looked I saw evidence of community-wide support from the ...

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Day #8

6/8/2010 12:00:00 AM

Joseph, Joshua, and Jim

Everybody is special in his or her own way. Some people, however, shake you to the core at your first introduction. These people are heroic. Unforgettable.

The late Jim Lyle comes to mind. He was never easily overlooked or soon forgotten, according to reports from those who knew him before he got sick. But by the time I met Jim, he was in what I would call the devastation phase of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neuro-degenerative disease for which there is no cure.

I met Jim when I first began working on my book about Dr. Issam Nemeh, Miracles Every Day. Through observing at healing services and being present at the office when Jim happened to come in for treatments, I could tell that Dr. and Kathy Nemeh loved this man. Jim was so majestic in his suffering he imparted an air of nobility to this most cruel of all human diseases.

Jim was a newlywed in his mid-thirties, and his bride was only three months pregnant with their first child when he self-diagnosed his initial symptoms. Keeping his fears from Karin to protect her and the baby from ...

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Day #9

6/7/2010 10:14:38 PM

Celebrations

When my youngest son was in preschool, he discovered the Cleveland Indians and became an avid fan. For his fifth birthday, I planned a party to match his fledgling interest in Major League Baseball. He invited his Montessori School classmates and all the neighborhood children. When they arrived for the Sunday afternoon "game" they were given red or blue t-shirts upon which was printed the name of their favorite MLB player, and they pulled these "game jerseys" over their heads with happy grins of anticipation.

Hands over our hearts, we looked to the stars and stripes that flapped from Mrs. Hayes' flagpole across the street and sang The National Anthem. A real life umpire, Matt St. Marie, was imposing as he roared, "Play ball!" My husband manned the public address system, complete with re-verb for the proper effect, and introduced each of the players: Jim Thome (Dillon), Ken Griffey (Connor), Nomar Garciaparra (Rhyne St. Marie), and so on.

There was a pitcher's mound. Runners made sure to touch the regulation bags as they crossed first, second, and third bases. Some players needed a T in order to connect with the ball. Others took their pitches right over home plate. Parents stood ...

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Day #10

6/6/2010 11:00:00 PM

The Healing That Slipped Away

I was there on 25 July 2007 when Jim came to Dr. Nemeh's office for an acupuncture treatment. I saw the dramatic improvement in Jim's mobility. He told us he felt much less pain. I heard the elation in Dr. Nemeh's voice when he predicted a return of Jim's appetite, and advised him to eat as much protein as possible.

I felt the joy.

Inside the Antonelli minivan, spirits were high as it pulled into to Mitchell's on Detroit Road in Rocky River: Jim had the taste for home made ice cream. Along the way Jim, John, and Cartie listened to the newly released Springsteen double-album (Live in Dublin) I had bought and presented to Jim. When I listened to my own copy I had been captivated by Track #6 on Disc #1: "O Mary Don't You Weep." I told Jim that I thought it an amazing song. Jim smiled with his eyes and he mouthed, "One of my favorites." His eyes sparkled as John forwarded the disc to that track, and he was able to hear The Boss' live performance of this favored song.

Click here to see and hear Springsteen's ...

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Day #18

5/28/2010 3:42:10 PM

Family Ties

I wish I could hit the pause button on this weekend.

All of my children are home. It's rare; it's wonderful; and it's for far too short a period of time.

We have come together to celebrate my son Connor's graduation from Elyria Catholic High School. Please forgive me for being unable to wrangle as many hours as I need to craft a blog. I will pick up this countdown column just as soon as I am able.

maura

Click here to view highlights of my son's high school graduation.

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