We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Denise VanBriggle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Denise, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
In 2008 I was co-facilitating a prison writing program when I was a doctoral student at Penn State University, Capital Campus, and one of the professors recommended a seminal memoir to ground my work with incarcerated individuals: Jimmy Santiago Baca’s A Place to Stand. When I read the last page, a certain knowing washed over me. I remember thinking, I will meet this man one day, and meet him I did. I met him quite by accident fifteen years ago at the National Council of Teachers of English annual meeting in San Antonio, TX. That chance encounter completely changed the trajectory of my career. I ended up retiring from teaching in 2011, after which Baca tapped me to collaborate on a book for educators entitled Feeding the Roots of Self-Expression and Freedom, published by Teachers College Press in 2018. During the pandemic, I published my own collection of poetry, Erato: Love, Loss, and Longing in Image and Verse, for which Baca wrote the foreword.
Over the last fifteen years, I have followed the path of healer and have become a shamanic energy medicine practitioner. I continue to integrate writing into my healing practice at The Center for Wellbeing near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Wisdom gleaned through this experience? Trust your gut. Believe in divine timing.
Denise, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I believe I covered some of this in my answer to the previous question, but I’d be happy to share additional information here. I worked in education for over 30 years and prior to that I worked in government. High stress led me to a host of auto-immune issues, some of which became debilitating. I sought natural and energetic solutions to relieve my symptoms. Once I experienced the positive effects, I wanted to share the magic with others and now serve my clients through reiki, shamanic energy medicine, crystal and sound healing, and story.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In 1988 I was happily engaged in my student teaching at a local school district, This experience was the last hurdle before graduating with a degree in Secondary English. I couldn’t wait to start my career and have my very own classroom! Fate tried to derail me. First my father-in-law passed quite suddenly in the middle of my practicum, but I kept my focus and graduated with honors. Within a month of graduation, I was tapped to teach junior English and Creative Writing at a beautiful school district about a half hour from my home. Can you say Dream Job? Mid-year, my mother died unexpectedly. Double whammy, indeed, but I refused to let Fate have her way. I kept all the parts of my life moving and ended the year being named Outstanding Young Educator.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The more degrees, certificates, accolades one amasses, the greater one’s self-worth. No, no, no. Not true. Self-worth is intrinsic, not extrinsic. I absolutely love to learn and early on found myself in a paper chase to prove my worth. After much experience, frustration, and hard knocks, I’ve come to understand that loving yourself is–and always will be–an inside job.
Contact Info:
- Website: denisevanbriggle.com
- Facebook: Feedingtheroots
- Other: Dr. Christian Kcomt & Associates drkcomtcenterforwellbeing.com
Image Credits
Erika L. Dupes