Why Yvonne Perry Wrote a Book for Empaths

I’m celebrating the release of Yvonne Perry’s new book that I believe many people will find helpful. Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You (WhoseStuffIsThis.com) is a guidebook to help energy-sensitive people who exercise so much empathy toward others that they cause themselves emotional, mental, and physical distress. Whose Stuff Is This? teaches these intuitively-gifted people how to manage energy overload and recover from empathy fatigue.


Yesterday, Yvonne visited Beyond Words Radio Show on Believe in the Moment radio station where she was interviewed by Joanne Sprott. Today, she is my guest blogger as she answers some questions posed to her. You may have questions of your own to ask her. She will be coming by this blog several times today, so be sure to ask your question by using the comment feature under this blog post.

QUESTION: Why did you write this book for empaths?
YVONNE: Like most empathic people, I have always wanted to help others avoid suffering. As strange as this may sound, the one way empaths do this is by taking on the problems of others and suffering on their behalf—kind of like a surrogate for affliction. The other person feels better, but the empath feels horrible. This is done in ignorance. Empaths have no idea why they feel so bad or have such emotional mood swings so much of the time. Many are diagnosed as bipolar or having some other mental illness. Medication is often prescribed rather than dealing with the underlying cause, which is energy-related.

This is not just an isolated problem; many compassionate people, who do not understand how to set energetic boundaries, pick up energy, emotions, feelings, and illness from their environment and the collective unconscious. Over the past ten years, I’ve researched and tried all kinds of things to alleviate empathy fatigue—not really knowing the term for the kind of “backlash” I was dealing with. I knew it was spiritually related because when I prayed for others, many times they got well and I began to feel whatever discomfort they had been struggling with.

Thankfully, I found herbal remedies, as well as visualizations, meditations, prayers, etc., that brought me to a path of emotional maturity (using the gift of empathy wisely without paying a personal price). It occurred to me last summer that I needed to share what I had learned. Since writing is my forte, I started writing my blog (http://weareoneinspirit.com) about some of the spiritual practices and protection tips that I use to keep my energy field clear and balance my chakras.

It wasn’t until a psychotherapist friend of mine, Dr. Caron Goode, suggested I write a book that I decided to gather all this information into a guidebook that could be used by the millions of energy-sensitive people out there to set boundaries and manage the overload of energy they pick up. We both feel the time is right and there is a need for the material. She provided insight on the psychological aspect of empathy and I wrote about my personal journey through the empath wilderness and how I learned to psychically protect myself as I moved toward wholeness.

With more than two dozen proven and effective ways to clear your energy field of external clutter, this guide employs empowering, proactive techniques to manage your personal energy. The book contains a list of resources that includes books, classes and groups, practitioners, quizzes and tests, radio shows, videos, CDs, and DVDs to help empaths take the next step in developing their intuition.

QUESTION: How long did it take you to write this book?
YVONNE: I started gathering information and interviewing both mature and untrained empaths in July 2010. The first draft was ready by the end of December. It took another month to edit and proofread the book, garner endorsements, get the cover designed, and the interior formatted for print. The e-book version was published in Amazon’s Kindle Store on January 21, 2011. So, from idea stage to public presentation, it took about seven months.

QUESTION: What other books have you written?
YVONNE: The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children was inspired by my grandson, Sidney, who started demonstrating spiritual gifts at an early age. I was concerned that he might also be an empath, and I wanted him, and others kids like him, to avoid the needless suffering I had endured. It turns out that he is an example to me about how effortlessly this gift can flow through a person without causing turmoil. He is very intuitive. As a toddler he was clairvoyant (seeing in the spirit realm), but as he matured, he began getting psychic information through dreams. He still hears in the spirit realm. The Sid Series is a collection of stories that emerged during the adventures Sidney and had together, but they deal with topics most adults tend to avoid with children: death, afterlife, ghosts, healing, racial diversity, caring for others, meditation, and spiritual insight. The book is about entertaining children, but it also teaches parents how to open a mature dialogue with them. http://theSidSeries.com

Another book I wrote is More Than Meets the Eye, True Stories About Death, Dying, and Afterlife (http://deathdyingafterlife.com). This book is designed to provide comfort for those who are dying, as well as for the caregivers and family who are left with questions when their loved one passes. When I wrote that book, I had a lot of disembodied spirits coming to me. I didn’t know why ghosts were visiting me, but I felt I was supposed to help them. Writing that book helped me find answers not only to know what the ghosts needed, but for protecting my energy field as an empath.

QUESTION: In addition to writing your own books and carrying out your spiritual mission, you are a freelance writer, who ghostwrites and edits for clients. What is Writers in the Sky all about?
YVONNE: Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services (WITS) is a network of freelance writers, ghostwriters, and proofreaders. My team and I provide writing, editing, and proofreading for books of all genres as well as articles, bios, resumes, Web text, and business documents. I only write for clients in the metaphysical/spiritual, self-help, and health/healing genres. See writersinthesky.com for details.

QUESTION: Where can we find you online?
YVONNE: weare1inspirit.com or WhoseStuffIsThis.com are my spiritual Web sites.

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonneperry
I’m on Twitter as @WeR1NSpirit and @Writersinthesky, or you can check out my Facebook pages:
We Are One in Spirit
Kids Who See Ghosts
Writing and Editing

Come along on the virtual tour with us. Tomorrow’s blog stop will be at Positively Present. See the entire tour schedule at http://tinyurl.com/EmpathTour.