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Words and Wine

Each month Kona Stories hosts an event with local and traveling authors. This event happens the First Tuesday evening of the month starting at 6 PM. Authors are available to talk story while you are getting your plate of appetizers and glass of complimentary wine. Authors then give a 15 minute talk about their book and themselves, the writing and publishing process or a short reading from the book. After all the authors presentations there is a time for individual questions and book signings with the authors. Expect 2 - 3 authors to attend each month and the evening to wrap up around 8 PM. Dress is Aloha casual wear.

August Authors are:

Vyana Reynolds went to law school to make a difference in the lives of women and girls internationally, focusing on human rights.  After a little over a year of civil rights trial work in Oakland, California, she founded her own law firm for almost 20 years.  After selling her law practice in 2016, she moved to Kona, Hawai’i, to open Mermaid Dreams Bed and Breakfast, the 2017 winner of the “Best of the West” Award.   Her mermaid sanctuary provided the perfect healing space where Vyana overcame her lifetime struggle with food addiction.  She created a 13 Step Program which provides daily spiritual affirmations, nourishing wisdom & inspirational stories, leaving the reader so fulfilled that food takes its rightful place (a back seat rather than a driving force).  The program is not a religion, so all faith traditions are honored.  She hopes to empower others to find freedom from addiction with this inspiring new program.      

Diving Into the Divine Feminine:  13 Steps to Freedom from Food Addiction

If you don’t like dieting, then this book is for you!  This book guides the reader to freedom from compulsive eating through 13 mythic steps.  It provides 13 weeks of daily affirmations, inspirational readings and powerful practices.  This is not a religion. It’s a daily personal experience of our Divine connection from a feminine perspective, such that we:

*Remember who we really are.
*Rediscover our power.
*Rekindle our passion for life, and
*Refocus our attention on creating more of what we love. 

The result is that any obsession with food and body image falls away naturally and is replaced by celebration of victory of the human spirit. 

 

Kimberly Dark is a writer, professor and raconteur, working to reveal the hidden architecture of everyday life one clever essay, poem, and story at a time. She uses humor, surprise and intimacy to help audiences discover their influences, and reclaim their power as social creators. Kimberly teaches in Sociology and Women's Studies at CSU, San Marcos. She also teaches writing and theatre courses for Cal State Summer Arts.

 

Kimberly Dark has written award-winning plays, taught and performed for a wide range of audiences in various countries over the past two decades. She is the author of Love and Errors, a book of poetry and Co-Editor of the anthology Ways of Being in Teaching.  Her essays appear in popular online publications such as Everyday Feminism and Ravishly. Her poetry and prose are available in various literary and academic publications. Kimberly's storytelling performances and interactive lectures make big, complex ideas relatable at campuses, conferences, companies and anywhere people seek startling revelations and positive change. Beloved by diverse audiences, Kimberly crosses boundaries to show how we must engage all the wisdom and verve we have to create the most compassionate, fair and inclusive world we can.

 

Lyla Bashan is a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Lyla is currently serving in Armenia as the Director of USAID’s Sustainable Development Office. This office covers all of USAID’s programs in Armenia, which are in the sectors of economic growth, democracy and governance, health and social reform. Directly before Armenia, Lyla served in Washington, DC in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia and also in the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. Previously, she served in Tajikistan as the Team Leader for Democracy and Governance, Health and Education. Her first USAID tour was in Guatemala as a Democracy and Governance Officer.

Prior to joining the USAID Foreign Service, Lyla was a Civil Servant at the Department of State. There she served as the Conflict Prevention Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa in the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. Before that, she assisted in undertaking one of the US Government’s largest foreign assistance reforms by helping to start the Office of the Director of US Foreign Assistance. Once the reforms were initiated and the office established, she served in the office as the Country Coordinator for West Africa. Prior to joining the US Government, Lyla worked for several non-governmental organizations, including Mercy Corps and InterAction. She has an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University and a B.A. in International Affairs from Lewis and Clark College. Lyla is fortunate to have an amazing husband and two incredible children that join her in adventuring around the world.

It’s a big world out there, and it needs your help. Global poverty, social inequality. Famine, conflict and climate change. These are just some of pressing challenges we face, and why we need you to turn your passion for social justice into a global career of conscience. Global: An Extraordinary Guide for Ordinary Heroes will help you learn how the international system works, the key problems and players, and how to kick-start your do-gooder career. Whether you’re a budding diplomat, an aspiring international development expert or anything in between, this is a must-read book for the changemakers of tomorrow.

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Kimberly Dark

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Date: 08/07/2018
Time: 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Place:

78-6831 Alii Drive
Suite 142
Kailua Kona, HI 96740
United States