Michelle Paisley Reed (born August 11, 1968) is an American author who lives in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She has published two

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, four

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

books, and four

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

s focused on the psyche and spirituality.

Early life and education

Michelle Paisley Reed was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

on August 11, 1968. She attended high school in Fairfield,

, northeast of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

from

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

Career

After graduating from college in 1994, she worked as a reporter and features editor for the

Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a city in Solano County, California, located on the north bank of the Carquinez Strait in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. ...

Herald and

Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East ...

in Walnut Creek, CA. She then served as director of a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

enrichment program for children, program director for the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and finally as director of Renaissance ClubSport in Walnut Creek. In 2002, Paisley earned a Registered

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

Teacher (500 hours) certification from

Yoga Alliance The Yoga Alliance is a U.S.-based nonprofit membership trade and professional organization for yoga teachers, headquartered in Arlington Virginia. The organization created the title of Registered Yoga Teacher in the United States to refer to teac ...

and launched her own studio, Yoga Junction. It was originally located in

Suisun City Suisun City ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 29,518 at the 2020 census. Etymology The city takes its name from the adjacent Suisun Bay, which in turn is named ...

before moving to Green Valley. In 2005-2006 she worked on her first book after sending dozens of

query letter A query letter is a formal letter sent by a writer to magazine editors, literary agents Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially nov ...

s, eventually publishing ''Yoga for a Broken Heart: A Spiritual Guide to Healing from Break-up, Loss, Death or Divorce'' with

Findhorn Press Findhorn ( or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles (9 ...

in 2007. In 2008, she was forced to change direction, so she obtained certifications as a

Massage Therapist Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pa ...

, Cranial Sacral Therapist, Bowen Therapist, and

Hypnotherapist Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...

as well as studying

EFT A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

. In between appointments at her 2009-2010 job, she gradually wrote her first novel, ''All in Her Head''. Through what she described as a synchronistic

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

event, she completed an agreement with the Strategic Book Group (the only publisher she contacted) within one week. She has since owned a massage and yoga instruction studio, become a

Reiki Reiki is a pseudoscientific form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine originating in Japan. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which, according to practitioners, a " unive ...

Master Therapist (Third Degree) and conducted a limited number of seminars entitled "Journey to Self-Love".

Near death experience

At the age of 22, Paisley had a

severe allergic reaction Anaphylaxis (Greek: 'up' + 'guarding') is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of the use of emergency medication on site. It typically ...

to a medication she was given and her heart stopped beating for several minutes. After this

experience Experience refers to Consciousness, conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience i ...

, she threw herself into the study and practice of yoga,

hypnotherapy Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...

and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, searching for answers to her ordeal. After the publication of ''All in Her Head'', she studied P.M.H. Atwater's 2011 book ''Near-Death Experiences, The Rest of the Story''. Some of the motivation and themes in Paisley's novel were born from this life-changing event.

Selected works

Novels

* ''All in Her Head'' (2011) ''All in Her Head'' journeys into the psyche of Bridget Holiday, a 41-year-old freelance writer who is obsessed with her weight. She meets a beginning hypnotherapist who wants to help her confront her inner demons, but she instead regresses back to a time before her birth, when she is still in what the book describes as "spirit" form. Her yoga teacher guides her through this new astral world, where she meets with her dead boyfriend. When faced with her own life-or-death crisis, Bridget realizes that her only hope is to embrace the life she is already living. Paisley describes the book's message as "learning to love your inner self... and (opening) yourself up to connect with your soul mate and with your dreams." * ''All Over It'' (2012) Returning protagonist Bridget Holiday thought she was at peace; she had reached her goal weight, met the love of her life, and found her life's purpose as manager of the healing arts center once owned by her former mentor, Rosalina. In fact, though, her weight progress proved ephemeral, her partner hadn't proposed after three years, and she was again broke and miserable. With her aging parents ill, Bridget has to struggle with deep emotions that she thought she had overcome, learning to "(remember) the eternal nature of spirit and her joy’s resilience."

Power of 10 books

* ''Manifesting Miracles and Money: How to Achieve Peace, Purpose, and Plenty Without Getting in Your Own Way'' (2017) * ''Peace is Power: A Course in Shifting Reality Through Science and Spirituality'' (2017) * ''Keep Your Spirits Up: A Simple Guide to Lift Your Vibes Sky-high Without Struggle or Pain'' (2018)

Guidebooks

* ''Yoga for a Broken Heart: A Spiritual Guide to Healing from Break-up, Loss, Death or Divorce'' (2007) The book teaches readers how to use yoga to cure the hurt caused by the loss of a partner through death, separation, or divorce. It seeks to offer positive therapy by focusing on the stages of emotion after the loss and articulating yoga techniques across the difficulty spectrum, and give comfort and a sense of community through personal stories. It has been published in English, German, and Italian.

Upcoming projects

Paisley is in the editing stage for a forthcoming third novel, entitled ''All She's Got'', adapting it for film as well as crafting an original screenplay. She is a featured collaborator/speaker in the upcoming international film and television project "The Difference."

References

External links

Official Website

Author’s Page on Findhorn Website (Non-Fiction Publisher)

2011 TV Interview
on

KXTV KXTV (channel 10) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Broadway, just south of US 50 at the south edge of downtown Sacramento, and its tr ...

(ABC Affiliate)
2011 Radio Interview on “The Difference Radio”

The Difference Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paisley, Michelle 1968 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Writers from Seattle Writers from Sacramento, California California State University, Sacramento alumni American spiritual writers New Thought writers People from Fairfield, California 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Washington (state) American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers