Meet November Author of the Month Diane Chrestman, LCSW. She introduces Buddhist psychology and the Five Hindrances as a way to notice patterns in emotional pain and approach those experiences with greater compassion.

Diane Chrestman, LCSW, asks what happens when one person treats plans as firm and the other sees them as tentative. Our November Author of the Month offers examples of how to clarify expectations and protect your time without apologizing for it.

Real victimization exists, and Diane Russell Chrestman does not minimize that truth. But in this candid reflection, she explores what can happen when suffering becomes an identity. Using lived experience, ACE awareness, and Internal Family Systems language, she examines the victim role as a protector, the relief it can offer, and the courage it takes to build a life beyond the worst things that happened to us.