Frida and Me: Art. and One Woman's Triumph Over PTSD

In 1976 Nancy Weintraub was a rebellious teen a child of the 60s a free spirit. She and a friend set out against her parents' wishes to spend a year in San Miguel de Allende attending art school and perfecting their Spanish. Nancy was in heaven as she experienced international travel and the art scene but a horrific accident in a lonely Mexican desert took away her life as she knew it. As her family friends many doctors and complete strangers made heroic efforts to save her life many of her hopes were dashed forever. Unknowingly suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Nancy spent the next 10 years running from one bad situation to the next. Trying to reinvent herself she changed her name to Eli. Her healing really began after learning about the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo whose life mirrored her own in so many ways and meeting an art therapist. Through art therapy she came to realize that Nancy had died in the wreckage on that rain-slick road and she didn't know the person who had emerged. It seemed her free-spirited gypsy self was gone. Gradually the artist and writer Eli emerged from the shell of Nancy and through art she found her way back to life and love. Frida and Me takes the reader through this remarkable woman's journey from the giddy days of her once-in-a-lifetime adventure through the darkest abyss imaginable putting her on a new path toward helping others recognize art as a tool to heal. Her inspiring presentations have helped trauma victims and clinicians alike and readers of her story cannot help but be affected by her courage and determination. As she states in the Prologue This book is about that journey and my proven experience in the use of art as a tool to help overcome the overwhelming patterns of PTSD. I literally have art and art therapy to thank for saving my life. Praise for Frida and Me: A must-read Eli reveals her early life months in Mexico studying art and then the trauma of near death after a horrible bus accident and the physical and emotional damage that resulted. She is courageous in revealing her deep soul searching experiences and years of healing ultimately with the help of her compassionate counselor and art therapist. - Judy Wright MS Program Manager of the University of New Mexico's Employee Health Promotion Program (retired) I cried when I read this book. Eli Weintraub grabs you with a memoir that reads like a novel and just doesn't let go. What an amazing journey and what fortitude this young woman called upon to find her life again after she nearly lost it. This is a powerful story! - Connie Shelton USA Today bestselling author An astonishing story of art's abilities to heal physical and psychic trauma. The artwork and accompanying narrative of Frida and Me carry the reader through the artist/author's difficult journey following a horrific bus accident. The account courageously highlights the witness of art in service of the soul. - Linney Wix Ph.D. ATR-BC Professor Emerita I was moved by Eli Weintraub Maurx's story and the courageous healing work that she undertook using art. She was able to trust the honesty and depth of her powerful images and my hope is that her story will inspire others to use creative expression in their healing journeys. --Deborah Schroder ATR-BC LPAT
Paperback: 280 pages

Publisher: Lotus Flower Books (September 19 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1945422696

ISBN-13: 978-1945422690

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 12 ounces