Books by Susan Doiron
The Caretaker: An Adult Fairy Tale
$15.00
A Fairy Tale about the Caretaker is a fairy tale about a woman who unconsciously took on the role of a caretaker at a young age.
The tale tells about her journey to discover how she got there in the first place and, moreover, to choose a conscious way to inhabit this caring role. A caring role that reflects who she really is and her values.
We fill many roles in our lives. We are siblings, children, friends, partners, parents, grandparents, employees, bosses, teachers, and students. We could be the fun one, the smart one, the serious one, the spontaneous one, or the planner. These are just a few examples of endless role choices.
Some roles we choose, but many roles are chosen for us…or we just fall into them unconsciously because it’s what we’re expected to do, what we see modelled, or to just survive, day to day. Rarely do we choose a role consciously.
Eventually, we may become deeply unhappy in the roles we occupy. We may begin to recognize that we’re playing a role that doesn’t authentically reflect us or our values. We grow weary and feel like an impostor.
We may feel stuck in a career that we no longer feel connected to (did we ever?). We may grow resentful toward our partner. We may feel weary from the constant family drama.
The knee jerk reaction, then, is to get rid of the role completely. To quit that job, have an affair/leave the marriage, and move across the country. Or worse, we may turn to destructive methods to numb from our daily existence through alcohol, drugs, binge eating, or zoning out in front of the television.
But, friends, there is another way. It just takes some self awareness and courage to figure out a way to reshape the role as an expression of who we really are. In other words, figure out how to do things our way.
A Fairy Tale about the Caretaker is a fairy tale about a woman who unconsciously took on the role of a caretaker at a young age. The tale tells about her journey to discover how she got there in the first place and, moreover, to choose a conscious way to inhabit this caring role. A caring role that reflects who she really is and her values.
I wrote this fairy tale to share important messages that I’ve learned, both through my own personal experience and in my professional life as a counsellor. I have also grown to appreciate how fairy tales can take on complex concepts such as caretaking and convey them in everyday language that is easy to understand. In my experience as a counsellor, I see how people who struggle with this caretaking issue already feel overwhelmed. To consider trying to absorb information in an extensive step-by-step self-help book on this topic may feel completely daunting to them. For them, the fairy tale genre is a better fit for this subject matter. Most of us would much rather read a story than an advice book. This goes back to being read to perhaps.
It is my hope that as you read this story, you’ll absorb the messages and reflect on what they mean in your own life. As with most fairy tales, there is an entertaining story presented, but it is the messaging behind the story that is the real take-away. The message that fairy tales offer is that people can face adversity, but, if they believe in themselves, they can overcome obstacles.
Belle’s Search for Meaning: An Adult Fairy Tale
$15.00
Life is meaningful when we actively and lovingly engage our creative gifts or powers in the world to make it a better place
As a clinical counsellor with 18 years of experience, I see many people struggle with this question, and so I decided to use my counselling and journalling strategies to write a book to help guide people through periods of self-discovery.
Belle’s Search for Meaning: An Adult Fairy Tale will share the same bookshelf as other self-help books dealing with the search for a meaningful life; however, what distinguishes it from other titles is that it’s in the form of an adult fairy tale, using elements of the fairy tale genre to draw the reader in and communicate complex ideologies in a comprehensible (and entertaining) manner. By turning aspects of our personality into separate characters, I’ve given voice to abstract concepts, therefore making it easier to understand those particular elements of our individual psyche.
In Belle’s Search for Meaning, the reader meets Belle, who is on a search for meaning, after experiencing dissatisfaction with a recent career decision. While staying at a friend’s cottage after resigning from her job, she takes this time away to rest, reflect and catch her breath. While out walking one day in the woods she finds a pathway that leads to her soul world. A world that is strangely familiar where she is able to connect to something larger than herself. It is here that she finally discovers what she is seeking.
While I was inspired to write this book in response to my own personal struggle to listen to what was in my heart rather than simply responding to the obstacles in my path. As a professional, I am drawn to help others discover what desires to live in the world through them. We all have creative gifts or our own powers. We all have a creative way of expressing ourselves. This creative expression is not limited to art. Politicians, athletes, and entrepreneurs, for example, have a creative way of expressing themselves. This creative expression comes across as authentic and instills confidence for those who benefit from the gifts that they have to offer.
Belle’s Search for Meaning: An Adult Fairy Tale is available online through Amazon.
Journalling with Soul
Journalling with Soul is the third publication in Susan Doion’s Finding Blue Beach Glass personal and vocational development series.
Susan is passionate about helping people discover who they really are and, by extension, finding a way of being and doing in the world that gives meaning and purpose to their lives. Applying a spiritual practice or discipline such as journalling provides that dimension of depth, value, relatedness, and meaning for our lives that we all seek.
The guided meditations contained within this book evolved from Susan’s journalling and are deep and mystical in nature. They are her own personal stories told from the soul’s point of view.
Journalling with Soul would benefit anyone who
- seeks a pathway toward their true calling,
- wishes for a more attentive, deeper personal relationship with soul, and/or
- desires access to a source of wisdom that gives depth and meaning to the small details of life, as well as life’s major decisions and changes.
After experiencing Journalling with Soul, Susan’s hope is that her readers allow the stories to capture and captivate them into forming a deeper appreciation and intimate relationship with soul and its desire to make a difference in the world.
Journalling with Soul is published through Amazon. It is available online at Amazon.ca.
Finding Blue Beach Glass: A Personal Development Workbook
This workbook would be helpful to people who are looking for meaning and purpose in their current work or personal lives; those who are seeking a career or interest pathway that illuminates deeply held interests, and those who are planning a retirement transition and wish to pursue aspects of their lives that may have been pushed aside while they were busy making a living or raising a family.
Susan is passionate about helping people discover who they really are and by extension a way of being and doing in the world that gives meaning and purpose to their lives. She emphasized that we tend to focus on external signals when choosing careers (money, status and approval of others) rather than focusing on the internal ones. Even though people achieve success during the course of their careers, if what they do is not reflective of their core self, they may become unhappy and dissatisfied.
To purchase Finding Blue Beach Glass: A Personal Development Workbook, contact Susan directly at susandoiron@peicounsellor.com or purchase online at: Amazon or Barnes and Noble
Finding Blue Beach Glass: Uncovering the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
One of Susan’s favorite beach activities is scavenging for beach glass. Beach glass is created when broken shards of glass become smooth, frosted, and precious, transformed by the gentle lapping of water and the persistent rubbing of sand. Typically, she finds brown, white, and sometimes green beach glass but rarely blue. Blue glass is a rare find indeed! For her, finding blue beach glass is like discovering the extraordinary in the everyday joys and difficulties of life. Her hope for her readers is that they will find glimpses of the unique person they are within and the story that is unfolding for them; that they will heal the rough edges that long to be smoothed out; and that her readers will discover and rediscover that wisdom from within that is available to all of us.
To purchase Finding Blue Beach Glass go to Amazon: Finding Blue Beach Glass on Amazon
Or if you live on PEI, you can purchase it at the Bookmark.
Click on the link below to view a sample excerpt from Finding Blue Beach Glass:
Finding Blue Beach Glass Book Excerpt
Book Reviews
I highly recommend her and her book.
Susan Doiron has been a valued colleague for several years. She is a bright, enthusiastic, inspiring woman and professional. She is engaged with life in a way that inspires the lives she touches. Her creativity and intelligence is invaluable to her profession and to all those who work with her. She has a real, yet optimistic view of life and a great sense of humour. She takes delight in learning and exploring life. She is skillful and deeply connects with others which make her an effective and valued therapist.
I am so happy to hear Susan has published her book. It is a wonderful way for people to connect with her effective and delightful healing talents.