By Cathy Ingalls
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Friday, December 22, 2006 12:00 am
Albany author Debra Slover believes it's not life's circumstances that destroy one's goals and dreams. Rather, it's a dampened spirit.
Slover, an Oregon State University graduate and a former high school teacher in Lebanon and Jefferson, said she came to that conclusion after reflecting on her life of growing up with an alcoholic father and a depressed mother, who eventually committed suicide.
As an adult, Slover became aware that she was repeating her own family's patterns. After hearing actress Mariette Hartley talk about her father's suicide, Slover, who grew up in Lebanon, began an intense examination of her life.
"The floodgates to my soul opened, and I began to cry," she writes.
Slover, 54, offers her view of life in her new paperback "U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within." The 147-page book sells for $18.95 and is available at Tom's Garden Center in North Albany and Camerons Gallery and Gifts at the Heritage Mall.
The book is illustrated by Darlene Warner, also of Lebanon.
In her book, Slover writes that true leadership is not a title, position or a job; it's a way of life that expresses imagination, purpose and spirit. She shows how to attain goals using a garden metaphor to help readers tap into their imaginations, dreams and spirit.
"All plants have a primary shoot called the leader, which eventually blooms," she writes. "Like plants, each person is a leader waiting to blossom."
To get her message across, Slover uses a farm fable motif, whose central character is Hugh, a lost sheep who represents the heart, mind and spirit in each person.
Hugh wanders onto the Leadership Farm, where he meets Leda, a nurturing and compassionate gardener; Leda's husband Aristotle, who represents purpose and aim; and Annabelle, a border collie, who represents favor, grace and life's beauty.
In the end, Slover states that true leadership is not measured by what people do or what they achieve but by "who we are."
Cathy Ingalls can be reached at cathy.ingalls@lee.net.
BOOK SIGNING
What: "U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within," by Debra Slover.
When: 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Camerons Gallery and Gifts, Heritage Mall.