Lynda Monk, MSW, RSW, CPCC is a Registered Social Worker, Certified Professional Co-Active Life Coach, and the Director of the International Association for Journal Writing - IAJW.org. Lynda is co-editor, with Dr. Eric Maisel, of two books, including Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists, and Clients: A Complete Guide to the Benefits of Personal Writing and The Great Book of Journaling: How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning, and Purpose. She is theco-author of Writing Alone Together: Journaling in a Circle of Women for Creativity, Compassion and Connection. She developed Life Source Writing: A Reflective Journaling Practice for Self-Discovery, Self-Care, Wellness and Creativity. Lynda regularly teaches, writes, and speaks on the healing and transformational power of journaling and expressive writing. She also has expertise in burnout prevention and resilience. Lynda has been supporting and educating helping professionals and caregiving organizationsfor over 25 years. She lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, where she starts each day with journaling, meditation, and a good cup of coffee before her busy family awakens. Julie Ryan McGueis an American writer, a domestic adoptee, and an identical twin. In her writing, she explores finding out who you are, where you belong, and making sense of it. She is the author of three award-winning books: Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging (She Writes Press, 2021), Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family, and Kinship (Muse Literary, 2023), and Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood (She Writes Press, 2025). In September 2025, Julie published Jack and Lullu Go to the Tree Farm (Muse Literary), the first book in the children's book series: Let's Go with Lulu . Her work has appeared in Writers Digest, Story Circle Network Journal, Brevity Nonfiction Blog, Imprint News, Adoption.com, Adopting.com, Lifetime Adoption Adoptive Families Blog, Adoption & Beyond, and Severance Magazine . Her personal essays have appeared in several anthologies, including Real Women Write: Seeing Through Their Eyes (Story Circle Network, 2022), Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis (She Writes Press, 2022), Real Women Write: The Power of Friendship (Story Circle Network, 2024), and Real Women Write: In the Garden (Story Circle Network, 2025). She splits her time between Michigan City, IN and Sarasota, Florida.