Look and Listen

Biography

Mary T. Ficalora was born in 1960 in San Jose, California. The spirit of the peace movement, the women’s liberation movement, civil rights, sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll heavily influenced her judgment. She's also the daughter of an IBM engineer. Her family spent most of the 1960s and early ’70s living in South America and Italy. Globalization—who and what the United States says it is versus who and what it is from an overseas perspective—has also heavily influenced her judgment. The reality that we are currently living in an Age of Corruption has heavily influenced her judgment. Ficalora's formal education is in film and television production. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a producing fellow certificate from the American Film Institute. Professionally, Ficalora spent years in television production, working her way up from grip to production manager and producer. After becoming a mother, Ficalora likes to say, her real education began. She left the entertainment business for a new way of life. Ficalora also returned to seeking answers to the many spiritual questions she has from her devout Roman Catholic youth. Ficalora began working in the education field and has taught preschool, elementary, and high school students. For over ten years, she has also coordinated, produced, and attended continuing education courses for psychologists.

Inspiration

Discovering that our self-perceived level of powerlessness directly correlates to our level of mental health and or illness has been a powerful influence on Ficalora and her work. Helping readers recover personal power is a driving force behind Ficalora's writing.