Hello friends, it’s week two of the blog series”Tell Me a Story” and I am over the moon excited for you to meet Dr. Aura Imbarus, and to introduce you to her new book, “Conversations With the Past“. It’s a pleasure to have her as my featured author today. If you missed last week’s featured author please click HERE.
Dr. Aura Imbarus is an awarded educator, freelance journalist, motivational speaker, and author of the critically acclaimed Amazon best-seller and Pulitzer Prize entry, Out of the Transylvania Night: A Story of Tyranny, Freedom, Love and Identity (Bettie Youngs Books, 2010), a memoir detailing her life in Romania during the Communist regime, and an upcoming self-help book, Conversations with the Past: A Journey Home (Rainbow Ridge Books, Sept 2020). She was featured on NBC, ABC, CNBC, Good Morning San Diego, Forbes Romania, etc.
Dr. Imbarus is also the president and founder of See Beyond Media, a company focusing on adolescents’ challenges in the 21st century, having as its launching platform See Beyond Magazine (www.seebeyondmag.com) and of Raw and Real with Leo and Aura podcast, where on a light and humorous tone she is examining and dissecting social issues. Dr. Imbarus is a licensed hypnotherapist, having trained with Dr. Brian Weiss and Dr. Wanita Holmes.
She also sits on the Advisory Board of CA Ballet, is a member of the Royal Society of St. George, SACC – Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce; she is also one of the founding members of RACC – Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce, CA.
In her free time, she is taking ballroom dancing. She loves car racing, skiing, yoga, sailing, and traveling.
Chapter 1
My Awakening
“Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.”
—John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
Looking back at my life, I realize I have as much fun now as I did in my childhood, if not more. My experiences are varied, my joie de vivre doubled, my trust solidified, my happiness increased, and my inner joy skyrocketed. I am an adult who plays and looks at life through the lens of a child. My job, as a high school teacher at one of the best, highly awarded high schools in Southern California, two South Bay colleges, freelance journalist, and founder of See Beyond Magazine, is my life and my calling. As a result of my knowledge and experiences, I can guide others toward fulfilling and attaining their goals. I teach while learning from my students at the same time. We are all students of life, and, as there are no coincidences, we are always at the right place at the right time, for the right reason, whether we realize and accept it or not. My awakening happened one night when I retraced my life in a couple of minutes, from the day I was born to that frozen moment in time, making me realize how fragile we are, but at the same time, how powerful we can be.
Driving my car off a cliff? Pills? What scenario I choose to end my life. How painful would that last moment be? Crazy thoughts bounced around in my head while my heart raced. I was sweating, lightheaded, and tormented. After the loss of my mother, who meant the world to me, life was passing me by without me even being present in it. Nothing had mattered anymore, and many times the idea of crossing over—for that was the place where many of my beloved ones were—had sprung up like a weed in a field of flowers. Life is important if there is a meaning and a purpose behind it. At that moment, it felt that I lost them all.
I trudged out of my pond of my tears, grabbed my car keys with no clear intention. I opened the garage door; inside its blackness sat Bobo, my orange convertible, purchased before my financial catastrophe, my only significant remaining possession. Bobo awaited, top down, ready to navigate the road of life. I turned the key, revved the engine, and pulled out of the garage.
From a dark sky, soft raindrops fell in a misty, melancholic veil washing away the trails of my own tears. I’ve never been fond of rain, but that night, it perfectly reflected my state of mind. No, I would not put the top up. I needed to breathe, to feel alive. The darkness of the coastline mirrored my mood. My neighborhood of Palos Verdes had never seemed so beautiful and mysterious. The breeze tousled my damp hair as I let the gentle rain chase me in the dark. Mile after mile, one curve followed the other until the coastal view disappeared.
Ahead of me lay an impenetrable abyss. I didn’t know my destination; I had no specific route. I followed the road, and the rain followed me, now falling rapidly, pelting my face, chilling me to the bone. I felt sick. I slowed the car and hit the button to bring the top up…..
Are you ready to read the rest? Please click on the book cover and come back and let me know how much you loved the book (smile).
Connect with Dr. Imbarus at auraimbarus.com
Follow Dr. Imbarus on Social Media: Instagram please tell her Katherine sent you!
Next week’s featured author is Cheryl Smith.
WOW! Congratulations, this book sounds amazing!!
@tisonlyme143
Her own magazine and more – she is quite the professional!
Her words just drew me in, and now I want to read “the rest of the story!” Thanks so much for sharing these amazing stories with us, Katherine. You are such a blessing!
Aura, Congratulations on your book and all your successes!
Delightful!