Debra Macleod also known as Debra May Macleod is a Canadian author, novelist and marital mediator. She is the founder of marriage coaching program Marriage SOS.
History
Debra is a graduate of
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
and the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
. She underwent conflict resolution and mediation training at the ADR Institute of Alberta. Debra has worked as a marital mediator and media resource.
She has been featured as a contributor and expert in TV, radio, newspapers, magazine, and online media including
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
,
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
,
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
, Fox TV,
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Internationalism
* World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship
* Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community
* Cosmopolitan ...
,
Men's Health
''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries; it is the bestselling men's magazine on American newsstands.
Started as a men's health magazin ...
,
CBC TV,
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
, and China Post.
Debra is the author of six historical fiction novels set in ancient Rome, centering on the
Vestal Virgins
In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were Glossary of ancient Roman religion#sacerdos, priestesses of Vesta (mythology), Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals ...
.
Marriage SOS is designed as an alternative path to traditional couples therapy or psychological counseling. The program is an adapted style of shuttle mediation with a focus on insight and
empathy
Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...
into both sides of marital disagreements. This focus is designed to improve the overall dynamics in the partnership while simultaneously resolving specific areas of conflict and improving communication. There is also an emphasis on balancing
emotion
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...
al and
sexual intimacy.
The program has seen success with both film and
oil industry
The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products ...
workers and
executives.
Bibliography
* The Vesta Shadows trilogy (Brides of Rome,
To Be Wolves, Empire of Iron)
* The First Vestals of Rome trilogy (
Rhea Silvia
Rhea (or Rea) Silvia (), also known as Ilia, (as well as other names) was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome.Livy I.4.2 This event was portrayed numerous times in Roman art. Her story is told in the ...
,
Tarpeia
In Roman legend, Tarpeia (; mid-8th century BCE), daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of The Rape of the Sabine Women, their women's abduction for what sh ...
,
Amata
According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...
)
* Marriage SOS: 30 Lifelines to Rescue Your Relationship in One Month (2014)
* Marriage SOS: Oilpatch Edition: How Oilpatch Couples Can Prevent Relationship Blow Out & Stay Together Even When Apart (2014)
* Couples in Crisis: Overcoming Affairs & Opposite-Sex Friendships: A Fast & Innovative Approach to Rebuild Trust & Revive Your Marriage (Not Talk It To Death) (2015)
* Stop Fighting to Get Along: Practical, Painless Ways to Improve Communication, Interactions & Conflict Resolution Skills in Marriage
External links
Official Website
Author Website
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Debra
Canadian women non-fiction writers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
University of Alberta alumni