This is the story about the Evans, a family of four, two parents, and their two children forging a middle-class life in central Florida. Jack is a professor at the university, and Natalie is a homemaker. This is also a story about the demons haunting us throughout our lives. As Natalie explained it to Jack when they were first dating, “I was raised by parents who should’ve divorced, but didn’t.” As a girl, Natalie stumbles upon her parents’ secret and plays her role in their lie. “Men can’t be trusted.” This is what Natalie takes away from these early years, so she places her faith in the beauty found in art. That’s until Natalie meets Jack during her final year of college. Jack needs her. She believes needing to be needed by her husband and her son will keep the demons she’s buried to stay buried. However, life has different plans for Natalie after she learns her second child—Joy—has Down’s syndrome.
POSITIONS
Professor, St. Petersburg College | St. Petersburg, Florida | 1998 - Present
Adjunct Faculty, Argosy University | Sarasota, Florida | 2004-2011
EDUCATION
Ed.D., Counseling Psychology | Argosy University | 1998
M.A., Sociology | The University of South Florida | 1994
B.S., Sociology | Florida Southern College | 1992
WRITING SELECTION
Fiction:
(2020). Natalie’s Joy: A novel. Open Knowledge Books.
(2014). Shrink wrapped: Stories from a psychologist’s unconscious. Moonshine Cove Publishing.
(2013). Unreasonable sanity. Moonshine Cove Publishing.
Nonfiction:
(2021). Bad moon rising: The sociology of emerging social problems. Open Knowledge Books.
(2008). Psychology in the first person: Classical & contemporary readings in psychology. Kendall Hunt.
LICENSURE
Florida | Licensed Mental Health Counselor, # MH5966
Idaho | Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, # LCPC9579
New Mexico | Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, # CCMH0218891
Pennsylvania | Licensed Professional Counselor, #PC015929
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists