About Michaela
Michaela Haas is the author of Bouncing Forward, Dakini Power, and Crazy America. She is an award-winning reporter and consultant. As a contributing editor for Reasons to be Cheerful and other renowned publications, she focuses on solutions journalism, environmental and health reporting. She is convinced that we can find solutions for even the most pressing world problems. Her awards include the Professional Excellence Award 2022-2023 by the Foreign Press Correspondents Association (AFPC-USA), First Place Columnist L.A. Press Club 2022, Winner ASJA Health Writing 2022, First Place for Environmental Reporting L.A. Press Club 2020, and more.
Bio
Michaela Haas, PhD, is the author of Bouncing Forward, Dakini Power, Crazy America (RandomHouse/Goldmann, 2017), co-author of Coco Schumann: the Ghetto Swinger, as well as contributor to and editor of several other books. She is currently a contributing editor to David Byrne’s solutions-focused platform Reasons to be Cheerful and Rotary International Magazine. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post, Curbed, AlJazeera, Psychology Today, Daily Beast, Yes!, and numerous other reputable media. Michaela speaks five languages and has published in English, German, and French.
As a successful writer, reporter and interviewer for Europe's leading newspapers (e.g., Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, Neue Zürcher), magazines (e.g., SZ-Magazin, GEO) and TV stations (ARD, WDR, BR), she has more than 20 years of media experience.
After graduating from the renowned German School of Journalism in Munich, she hosted a successful and award-winning 90 minute live-TV show for many years. In addition to her journalist work, she completed her PhD in Asian Studies at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University in Bonn, Germany. She has taught at the University of California Santa Barbara, the University of the West, and other study centers in America and Europe.
As a public speaker, her message of embracing mindfulness and human values has inspired audiences of every kind, from CEOs to college students, educators to engineers, nonprofits to business leaders.
Q & A with Michaela
Q. How did you come up with the title?
A. The title is a nod to civil rights icon Dr. Maya Angelou. She defines defying hardships as “bouncing forward, going beyond what the naysayers say.” I had the privilege of interviewing her for this book. Hearing her tell her story of overcoming such deep childhood trauma to become an international voice in effectuating positive change touched me deeply.
Q: You say, we are stronger than we think. What do you mean by that?
A. At first, I had suspected that just a few superhuman outliers, the likes of Malala and Mandela, managed to turn trials into triumphs. Though they surely exceed in courage and wisdom, they are not made of a different fabric than you and me. While caring for the very real pain of survivors who suffer from posttraumatic stress, trauma therapists tell us that most people will survive painful life events, loss, and accidents with few detectable long-term consequences. Actually, posttraumatic growth is much more common than PTSD. The research surprised me, too! We are so vulnerable, yet tenacious at the same time.
Q. What does this term “posttraumatic growth” actually mean?
A. Posttraumatic growth refers to the fact that we can grow from experiencing a crisis. Almost every trauma survivor I spoke with thought at first that they could never lead a happy life again. But the science of posttraumatic growth offers a new perspective of trauma and plenty of healing strategies. This perspective of the growth mindset makes a tremendous difference: if you show people how they can grow, they likely will.
According to Richard Tedeschi, posttraumatic growth’s leading researcher, as many as 90 percent of survivors report at least one aspect of posttraumatic growth, ...
SPEAKING
To book Michaela for a speaking engagement, please contact Wilene Dunn at wilene[at]wcdenterprises [dot]com www.wcdenterprises.com
Excerpt from Radio Paradise 2050
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interviewS
Listen to Michaela's interviews on the BBC, The Mighty, Rotary International (A Path Forward), Cynthia James’ Women Awakening, Sheila Hamilton's Morning Show on Kink FM, NPR Topical Currents, or Conversations Live.
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Banner image: Michaela Haas © Sarit Z. Rogers