Please tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Mindy Dougherty, and I am the author of Mindy’s
Fight, and A Resilient Warrior. Which is an autobiography about my life and
overcoming abuse to become resilient. I have created a program called Feed My
City, which helps people learn how to garden to decrease anxiety, depression,
and post-traumatic stress disorder by learning how to plant the seeds and grow
plants for both myself and to give to others such as food banks and child advocacy
groups around the world. This program also teaches children nonattachment to
material things by growing plants for themselves and giving to others so they
also learn to give without expectation of return.
When did you start writing?
I have been writing since I was in kindergarten, but not
seriously until 2014 when I had some unfortunate events happen to me while at
the San Antonio, Texas VA Hospital that altered and changed my life as I knew
it. This is what I write about in both Mindy’s Fight and A Resilient Warrior.
What projects have been published?
I have published Mindy’s Fight e-reader and A Resilient
Warrior both an e-reader and my first paperback available on amazon.com and
www.feedmycity.net for those who want autographed copies of A Resilient
Warrior. I was also published in a medical journal for the C-Peptide studies I
did with The Barbara Davis Center for research of Diabetes and Endocrine
disorders.
I can be found at www.feedmycity.net which has a small video and my social media outlets available with podcasts of some of my poetry read out loud.
How did you select the title of your novel?
Throughout my life, I have encountered sexual abuse, incest,
and being tortured by the individuals that were supposed to be treating me at
the San Antonio, Texas VA Medical Hospital and Center. Since then I have had to
relearn how to walk, speak, and swallow making my life completely different as
I knew it before the events that occurred in 2014. I am recovering and with
therapy getting better with time. I feel through perseverance and resiliency I
have been able to inspire those who have wanted or needed some kind of hope to
prevent more suicides from happening. I also was speaking to high school
students before Covid hit and hope to resume this when changes are made and we
are allowed to do public speaking events again.
My inspiration for writing my book came from my grandma who
asked me to write a book twenty-one years ago. I am very glad I waited to write these
as I have been in three comas, have had three transplants, and four organs taken out to
include my appendix, gallbladder, duodenum, and pancreas making me a diabetic
in 2004 once my pancreas was taken out. I have been doing research and was
published in several magazines for diabetes prevention and awareness as well as
studies to help others find a cure for it. I have also been published in
Women’s Magazine and most recently Integrity Magazine in the UK, to help
inspire and give hope to those who are in need.
Currently, I am getting ready for the seasons to change to
get back to gardening and helping expand Feed My City, as I hope to be able to
spread awareness to local schools and possibly get into the jail system to
decrease recidivism and teach inmates that by gardening they can help their
communities flourish once they get out and hopefully become a better citizen
within their community.
I have had A Resilient Warrior bought internationally and hope to keep spreading my knowledge and inspiration to as many as will listen.
What are you reading at the moment?
I am reading scripts for future films that I have been asked
to consider producing and doing social media events for.
What do you like to do in your free time when you're not reading or writing?
I like to produce and act in movies as well as TV series. I
am also the social media marketer for a few projects and will be walking in the
canyon and gardening as well as meditating to keep me grounded.
Do you have any advice for other authors?
Writing will not make you rich so you may do this for the
love of writing but make sure you keep a day job as well because it sincerely
doesn’t pay much and a lot of time goes into it for not much return. For me, I
have found an inner justice and peace that I would not have been able to find
if I hadn’t written A Resilient Warrior. I also believe I am continuing to
inspire people to make their dreams come true and really hope to decrease
suicidal ideation amongst those who struggle on a daily basis.
And finally, can you tell us some fun facts about yourself, such as crossed skydiving off my bucket list.
I am a United States Army Veteran and served from 1995 to
1999 as a field combat medic. I became a trauma nurse after relearning how to
read in my 20’s as I struggle with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and
executive functioning disorder. I have had two stem cell transplants called
mesenchymal and exosomal stem cell transplants which have taken the burning
down to at least 50% and the swelling in my foot is never as bad as it was, so
I remain humbled, grateful, ad thankful to have legs that work.
I am in a film called Bridge of the Doomed which comes out in October 2021 and will be working in the future to continue to build Feed My City in areas that want to help their communities.
Webpage Linked-in Facebook Twitter Instagram
Link for National Stem Cell Institute video after personal success with Mesenchymal Stem Cells
National Stem Cell Institute Video
US Army Veteran Mindy Dougherty has a warrior spirit that will capture your attention. The resiliency and strength she embodies while overcoming childhood abuse, PTSD, and more medical adversities than one can imagine will inspire you. Navigating a lifetime of trauma could leave a person bitter and hateful, but Mindy takes a completely different approach. She uses comedy, gratitude, and gardening to influence healing for herself and others. Mindy’s garden, known as Feed My City, promotes healing, growth, and health for those who may be fighting their own battle for survival. Mindy Dougherty is the epitome of a resilient warrior, a fact that is showcased throughout this narrative of her life.
Mindy's Fight is the story about one Army female combat
medic's PTSD journey from childhood sexual violence to medical neglect at the
hands of the VA to finding herself.
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