The Surviving Spirit Newsletter August 2026

Aug 26

‍ ‍Hi folks, here’s the latest issue. If you’d like to be on the mailing list, please contact me via this website. Thanks & take care, Michael

Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy

Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran

The Surviving Spirit Newsletter August 2026

Hi folks,

I hope all is well for you in your corner of the world and finding peace and joy in your life. All is well with me; in fact, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind of book activities and musical endeavors. I joined a band as a drummer again and loving it - Fridays Alibi; we had our first gig Aug 7th and it was great!!I’m still playing the guitar and singing, but drumming was my first gig for many years as a professional musician. I’ve long missed the camaraderie of performing with fellow musicians.

My memoir is doing well and grateful for all of the praise and kind words shared with me by readers, whether online, in person or by email. Here’s an example that was shared at Amazon, one of several Five-Star ratings

A Story That Turns Darkness into Light

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2026

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Some books are written. The Lunchbox Theory was survived first, then written, and you can feel the difference. Michael Skinner does not flinch. He recounts a childhood shaped by abuse and trafficking with an honesty so unguarded it would be easy to take for granted, except that he never lets his story become only its darkness. This is a memoir about what was done to him, yes, but even more about what he has done with it: the long, unglamorous work of turning pain into meaning, and silence into voice.

What moved me most is the strength it must have taken to carry this and then to write it. Not just to live it, but to hold it as a life story and shape it into something that offers other people hope. Skinner writes as both a man who unraveled under the weight of buried memory and one who found his way back to music, to fatherhood, to advocacy. He invites you to sit with him and bear witness.

I came to this book and found, unexpectedly, that I felt less alone in it. That is no small thing for a writer to give a reader. For anyone who has known childhood trauma, or who loves and works alongside those who have, The Lunchbox Theory is a gift: gritty, tender, and genuinely hopeful. I would HIGHLY recommend it.

If you’ve read my book, please consider writing a review at Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, Amazon, etc. Thank you!!

Also, The Lunchbox Theory: Lessons Learned from Trauma and Abuse is available as an Ebook [Casemate, Barnes and Noble and Kobo] and Kindle @ Amazon.]

Please let me know what you’d like shared in future issues of the newsletter. This one is a bit shorter due to summer time, busy with all of the above and learning a new platform to send the newsletter.

Take care, Michael

Newsletter Contents:

1] ] The True Happiness Company: How a Girl Like Me Falls for a Cult Like That by Veena Dinavahi @ Goodreads

2] ‘The best gift Mom gave me was a peaceful death’: Linda Perry on cancer, abuse and her intense documentary - Music @ The Guardian News by Fiona Sturges

3] Inner Compass Initiative - Doing mental health differently

4] Around 1 in 5 young people use AI chatbots for mental health advice By Aria Bendix an d Angela Ya ng @ NBC News

5] ] Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks says he knows the real cause @ Big Think

6] Marilyn Monroe’s Unearthed Letter Details Traumatic Psychiatric Hospital Stay by Shweta Chakrawarty@ Reality Tea

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” Malala Yousafzai

“Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” Rosa Parks