An Interview with Dr. Debra Webb: Author of Practicing Mindful Living

Debra Webb is a wife, mother, grandmother and life-long learner. As a teacher she learned the power of believing in yourself and positive self talk. She started her own journey of choosing to live in balance with a sense of peace and joy over 30 years ago and continues to practice the thinking and skills to increase this in her life. She lives in Phoenix, AZ and Gleneden, Oregon with her husband where she enjoys family dinners, gardening, and walking in the desert or on the beach.

Tell us about your book.

Practicing Mindful Living has been in process spanning 45 years including work from sixteen to sixty. This book engages readers in daily thinking and activities to live a more balanced life focused on finding purpose and joy. The daily reflections are meant to provide a new way perspective and a opportunity to practice intentional awareness of your mind, body, and spirit.

Why did you want to write a book?

After almost a life time of daily writing, I wanted to share my thinking with my daughters and grandsons. It is important for each of us to lend our voice to make the world better in whatever way we can. I want to model that for my family to encourage them to lend their own voice out into the world.

As a writer, what is your schedule? How do you get the job done?

I write each morning as part of practicing mindfulness and being aware of my own self talk in order to center my day. The writing can last from 20 minutes to 60 minutes. When I decided to compile my life time writing, I spent no more than three hours a day for two years working on sorting, selecting, and compiling what I wanted to put out into the world.

Tell us about the genre you wrote in, and why you chose to write this sort of book.

The genre actually chose me. Practicing Mindful Living crosses self help, reflection, and poetry. While my own reading is varied, I also enjoy and benefit from reading self awareness, poetry, and reflective selections daily.

Who are your biggest writing inspirations and why?

My biggest writing inspirations are my daughters and three grandsons. I want to leave some wisdom and a path for living a joyful life. There is so much negative and divisive rhetoric that pounds at us all. To provide a new perspective to those I love so dearly inspires me to write and share my thoughts.

How do your friends and family get involved with your writing? What do they think of your book?

My family and friends were significant to both the topic and the publication. It is important to me to share my thinking with those closest to me but also with a larger audience. In addition, after completing a draft of the book, I sent out daily reflections to a group of family and friends for the entire year gathering reaction, reflections and input to make adjustments in the writing.

What are your plans now your book is published?

I have used my book in workshops focused on practicing daily to live in balance with more joy.

Why did you write about this particular subject?

Engaging and practicing mindful balance is a daily practice for me. I am aware of how difficult it is to create balance and choose healthy thinking. The writing was beneficial for me, and I am hoping it is also helpful for others.

What did you learn on your journey as an author?

I learned it takes courage to put your thoughts out into the world and you can easily find yourself second guessing your work. Allowing others to peek into your private world is a risk so in the process of opening yourself up your are moving toward being an author.

What’s next for you as an author?

I am currently providing coaching and training to educational leaders integrating mindfulness. I am thinking and reflecting on how to write my next book for leaders in education.