Stephanie Mines
Current City, State, Country
Birth City, State, Country
Biography
Neuroscientist Dr. Stephanie Mines has studied and researched the effects of shock and trauma for more than thirty years. She has written more than five books helping readers to understand the neurological effects of these events, including when they occur and subsequent consequences to health and well-being. Her perspectives have included that of a survivor, a professional, a clinical researcher, and a healthcare provider. Her broad but thorough work has resulted in the development of a Regenerative Health paradigm whereby people can understand and transcend traumas for well-being. Through her non-profit, The TARA Approach, her work is available and used by organizations such as hospitals, universities, social service agencies, domestic violence shelters, midwifery schools and more, both in the US and in other countries.
Our planet is a living organism subject to shock and trauma. To facilitate the transformations and practical actions needed to offset climate change resulting from the Anthropocene, she developed Climate Change & Consciousness, an international and intergenerational community of visionary, high-impact activists. She is also an accomplished award-winning poet. Her poetry has been published in anthologies and clapbooks. With The Great Physician: Medicinal Poetry for the Anthropocene she sets forth her call for each reader to understand earth’s trauma and shock in personal terms and to engage a response that is restorative and salvific.
What is the relationship between Judaism and/or Jewish culture and your poetry?
I was born into a refugee home where the primary language was Yiddish. My family, all of whom lived in proximity of my grandparents (aunts, uncles, cousins), exhibited various degrees of trauma and dysfunction as a result of a history of persecution and the haunting conditions of poverty and scarcity. My nuclear family bore the burden in particular of my father’s mental illness. I found my sanctuary in the synagogue down the streets which had difficulty with my insistence on remaining there and intruding myself into everything. This was not suitable for a girl! I began writing as soon as that was possible. Before writing I told stories within myself. This saved me. When I grew up I combined my intimate knowledge of trauma with my passion for writing and became a neuroscientist and an author. I feel that all my writing, whether poetry, prose, fiction or nonfiction, is shaped by these origins.
Published Works
Poetry
The Great Physician (Kindred Media, 2023)
Belly Poems (National Endowment for the Arts, 1980)
Two Births (Random House, 1975)
Prose
The Secret of Resilience (Inner Traditions, 2023)
They Were Families: How War Comes Home (New Forums, 2015)
New Frontiers in Sensory Integration (New Forums, 2014)
We Are All in Shock (Red Wheel Weiser, 2005)
Sexual Abuse/Sacred Wound (Station Hill, 1996)
Author Site
Video Reading
Current Title
Education
University of Pittsburgh, B.A. in Literature
San Francisco State University, M. A. in Creative Writing
Union Institute, PhD in Neuropsychology