Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below is a list of some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) of Cindy L. Herb

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Why did you become a writer and speaker?
Answer:  As a result of journaling my painful childhood experiences, I became a writer. I decided to publish a book when I realized others could benefit from reading my life’s tale of suffering and healing.  I became a speaker as an additional way to inspire others with my true-life story of healing from emotional pain and trauma.

What is the name of your book?
Answer:  Awakening the Spirit: The Open Wide Like a Floozy Chronicles

Has your book been endorsed by notable experts, celebrities or leaders?
Answer:  Maria Shriver, First Lady of the State of California, award winning American journalist and member of the Kennedy family wrote, “I know you will inspire others through your personal story of overcoming pain and suffering. I applaud you for having the courage and strength to share your extraordinary story.”

Prior to writing this book, how many years of writing experience did you have? What other writing have you done?
Answer:  When I worked in the corporate environment, I was in charge of training and motivating new associates during most of my 24-year career. In that capacity, I wrote and developed numerous training materials, including detailed administrative and procedural processes. I prepared written confidential performance development feedback on a yearly basis, as well as for grievance and other personnel related meetings, as needed, for junior associates. In addition, in the role of consultant, I frequently wrote and signed company letters and reports. Lastly, I wrote and designed computer-generated letters to handle specific client needs for a Fortune 500 company, resulting in standardization, accuracy, and efficiency.

What personal or professional background qualifies you to write and speak about your topics?
Answer:  I am uniquely qualified to speak about healing from adverse events because I have first-hand experience of healing from many life-changing events, including:

• a childhood rape at age 9; 
• the inappropriate sexual contact from an alcoholic father; 
• being stalked and pursued by sexual predators;
• growing up in a dysfunctional family;
• a near-death experience; 
• being mugged at gunpoint; 
• surviving melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer; and 
• living with many debilitating illnesses. 

In addition, I have enjoyed a long and successful career in the corporate environment, training associates to perform at their highest potential through development, motivation and encouragement.

What educational background do you have?
Answer:  I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree that I received in May 1979 from Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, TX.

What is a quick synopsis of this book?
Answer:  In this autobiographical narrative, author Cindy L. Herb details the many adverse and troubling circumstances she has faced throughout her life, beginning with a childhood rape. In dealing with her life-changing events, she questions the purpose of her life and the actions of others. In Awakening the Spirit: The Open Wide Like a Floozy Chronicles, she chronicles her inspirational journey and the simple process she uncovered that permits healing…leading to a life full of love, good health and happiness.

What is your philosophy and core message?
Answer:  My philosophy and core message is there is a path to happiness that embraces a direct, intuitive knowledge of God. I approach the validation of information in a scientific manner. From my personal discoveries, I have determined that God is everywhere and we are all parts of the whole. Therefore, no being or thought can ever be separate from that whole. Because of this realization, I have discovered that guilt, shame and anger are a function of the mind, not the spirit, and simple adjustments in thinking can dissolve these emotions. Tragic events occur not because God is punishing us, but rather as an individual challenge to allow the spirit of God to flourish in us.

What are you passionate about?
Answer:  On July 31, 1966 at the tender age of nine, a stranger raped me while I was throwing papers for a local newspaper. Because of that trauma, and the reactions of guilt and shame by others, I felt isolated and alone. I now, as a healed rape survivor, passionately advocate a way to overcome obstacles and understand adverse events that may have occurred in people’s lives.

Why should people hear what you have to say? How will they benefit?
Answer:  People can benefit from what I have to say because they will come away with a plan on how to end pain and a deep understanding that they are never alone. 

What do you want your audience to take away from your message?
Answer:  I wish to inspire my audience by my story of healing from adversity, and to be motivated to find their own joy and purpose in life. 

What do you most want your audience to remember about you?
Answer:  I wish my audience to see that despite suffering severe trauma during my life, I am now very happy and joyful, and I am no longer haunted or burdened with guilt and shame by the events of my life. Indirectly, this knowledge has helped me work a more constructive path.

Who can benefit from your help or message?
Answer:  Virtually anyone can benefit from my message, especially those who have suffered a painful past or feel uncertain about their future.   

List the most important thing that a reader of your book will be able to do after reading the book that they could not do before.
Answer:  Realize that guilt, shame and anger are a function of the mind, not your spirit, and they can be conquered with simple adjustments in thinking.

What emotional reaction does your book evoke from readers?
Answer:  Regarding the actual events – shock, distress, sadness, concern, and empathy. Otherwise, others will feel comfort, hope and inspiration in finding another who has experienced adversity, but who has also overcome the pain and found happiness and joy.

List some of the reasons why your book is unique.
Answer:  My book offers a different spin on spirituality—one that enhances western religious philosophies and offers an alternative way to look at healing. Exploring spiritual truth and mysticism, it embraces a direct, intuitive knowledge of God and approaches validating information in a scientific method. It supports the premise that we are all part of one whole and not separate from each other or God.

Is there a logical or limiting local or regional relevance for your book?
Answer:  The autobiographical events transpire in Dallas, TX and provide a glimpse of life in the city during the 1960’s, particularly in the Oaklawn neighborhood of the city. They include the effects of the Kennedy assassination on the mind of a small child living in the city where the assassination occurred. As the tragic events center upon a childhood rape, the book highlights ineffectual belief systems in a family living in the Bible belt, and the effects of those beliefs on people’s perception of sexuality. 

Are there controversial elements of your book?
Answer:  Yes. The book graphically outlines my childhood rape, as well as subsequent events, including a pelvic exam, the inappropriate sexual fondling from my father, and the stalking of sexual perverts. It intimately exposes the inner workings of my family, vividly depicting situations witnessed by me as a child, including hearing my parents having sex, household arguments, an attempted suicide by my mother, and other deep, dark, family secrets. It also divulges some of the experiences and visions I had while working with a local shaman, bringing to light the mystical path of spirituality.

How does your book relate to current events, people in the news, or topics of interest in today’s world? 
Answer:  Rape and sexual abuse, especially of women, is prevalent around the globe. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 1 in 6 American women and 1 in 33 American men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. In addition, college age women are 4 times more likely to be sexually assaulted. Every 2 minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted.

Despite all these statistics, many victims remain silent and do not report the crime because of the shame and guilt associated with the act. My book explores the reasons for such emotional reactions and a way to end the silence, whereby victims can begin to heal. In addition, I hope that by exposing and discussing the crime openly, victims will be more willing to lead authorities to take action against the perpetrators, so that they can be taken off the streets.

Additionally, people everywhere are looking for our connection to a greater being. Humanity has been struggling with the concept of good and bad, or light and darkness since the beginning of time. My book gives insight into this spiritual connection and gives people hope for finding true joy through the spirit within.

Within the last few years, there has been a great deal of media exposure to our spirituality, from Oprah Winfrey’s Soul Series to NBC’s Heroes to feature films such as The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington. Even the History Channel has been ramping up its programming in anticipation of a changing climate where we question whether we are in the ‘end times’ as described in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Many believe that we are on a collision course with the end of the world, perhaps as early as December 21, 2012. As this date approaches, many are searching for a greater meaning to life and our connection to God. My book hopes to raise other’s awareness to this connection, inspiring others to lead a more constructive path that can lead us to hope for the future, instead of dread.

In the research for your book, did you come across any surprising facts, figures or statistics?
Answer:  Yes, I discovered the following interesting facts:

• The law of quantum physics proves that our thoughts actually do affect our world and everything including us, is connected.
• Numerology, a mystical divination tradition bound by spiritual evidence, and representing the relationship between numbers and living things, was popular among early mathematicians, such as Pythagoras.
• Researching my personal numerological data, I was astounded to uncover uncanny connections between my own personal numbers and events that had transpired in my life. These connections were too numerous to be mere coincidence, proving a deeper meaning. For instance, I discovered the following:
  • Every person not only has a blood type, such as O, A, B, or AB, but he or she also has an Rh factor in his or her blood. Most people have a positive Rh factor. However, only 6 to 7 percent of the US population has a negative Rh factor. My father was Rh positive and my mother is Rh negative. If such a couple conceives a child, a big problem for the fetus can develop and stillbirth is inevitable without the infusion of immunoglobulin to the mother. At the time of each birth in our family, immunoglobulin was not known to prevent the incompatibility. Remarkably, even though the odds were against it, all seven of my parent’s children miraculously had a negative Rh factor, creating no incompatibility between our mother and each of us. My parents were, therefore, able to have seven full-term children, despite the probability for failure.
  • Although it is currently estimated that 1 out of every 6 American women will be victims of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime, totaling about 17% of the American female population, only 15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12, representing less than 3% of the American female population. (source, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). I was one of that 3% of the population.
  • Nine out of 10 American rape victims are female, but one out of every 33 American males will be victims of rape in their lifetime, totaling about 3% of the American male population (source, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).

Do you have a weblog?
Answer:  Yes, my blog can be found within my website at http://www.cherbchronicles.com/category/my-blog/

What are some of your speaker topics?
Answer:  The following are some of my speaker topics: 

• Journaling to Heal Pain
• Raped or Sexually Abused: How to Get Your Joy Back 
• How to be Spiritually Full 
• Are There Angels Among Us? 
• Recovering from Falling on Your Butt: Getting Back Up
• Finding Solutions When Life is Not Working
• How to Overcome Adversity and Find Your Joy
• How to Discover Your Purpose