Charlene Gorda Costanzo is an award-winning author, experiential event facilitator, speaker, wife, mother of two adult daughters, and grandmother of twins. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University and an M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.
She loves to read, write, travel, swim, hike, dance, dabble in art, learn new things, befriend strangers, and - most of all - be with her family. Hearing from readers is right up there with spending time with family and being in nature.
Originally from New Jersey, she has resided in New York, Texas, Arizona, and Florida. During a one-year book tour to launch The Twelve Gifts of Birth, Charlene and her husband enjoyed the adventure of living in a motorhome in 48 of the 50 states.
The Twelve Gifts series of fables began in 1987 when Charlene wrote The Twelve Gifts of Birth as a life message for her then teenage daughters. Twelve years later she published the book and discussed its message in schools, shelters, prisons, churches, and hospitals throughout the United States while traveling in that motorhome, which they called "George." Because that was their only home for a year, when children asked, as they often did, where do you live, Charlene delighted in answering, "Right here" and that was the truth. For a few days they lived in Fargo, Saint Paul, Portland, Oklahoma City, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Shreveport, Atlanta, Boston, Erie, and in many more cities throughout the United States.
The Twelve Gifts for Healing was written while Charlene was in treatment for advanced Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2001. "Cancer led me to examine my convictions and look at these twelve life gifts more deeply. Truly, they helped me heal," she says.
The Twelve Gifts in Marriage came from the ups and downs, ebbs and flows, and hurts and healings that are a part of every long-term marriage.
After she wrote The Twelve Gifts of Birth, Charlene mused about a scene in its opening. What might have happened when, "The wise women came to understand that the twelve royal gifts of birth belong to every child...they yearned to proclaim the gifts to all children...but the customs of the land did not allow that." What happened was The Thirteenth Gift. This fourth work in The Twelve Gifts series also explains why so many people world-wide are fascinated with stones.
Touchstones: Stories for Living The Twelve Gifts is a collection of true "Chicken-for-the-Soul-like" stories that demonstrate the gifts at work in people's lives.
Opening The Twelve Gifts: A Touchstone Sampler is a like sampler box of chocolates, except, instead of chocolates, the samples are of Today's Touchstone daily inspirations. They are sweet and enriching but calorie-free.
The Twelve Gifts from the Garden: Life Lessons for Peace and Well-Being is a collection of stories inspired by nature in the botanical garden at Sanibel Moorings on Sanibel Island, FL. More significant than what The Twelve Gifts from the Garden is about, is what it can do. Charlene hopes that readers will feel as if they have been transported into the garden and transformed by nature - comforted, nurtured, and encouraged by the many native and exotic trees and flowers and how they demonstrate The Twelve Gifts.
Website: https://www.charlenecostanzo.com/
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26 min