Helping others navigate through stressful life events was the motivation for Gary Petingola to write “The Response: Practicing Mindfulness in Your Daily Life.”
In his debut book, which launches Feb. 22, he shares insights, stories and easy to follow mindfulness exercises gathered throughout his career as a medical social worker.
Petingola is a retired medical social worker at the Health Sciences North. He was certified to teach mindfulness-based stress reduction through the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
He and his wife, Sheila Damore-Petingola, run Mindfulness on the Rocks, which offers an eight-week program that includes a combination of mindfulness practices, group sharing of experience with practice, and the exploration of topics such as mindfulness, stress and communication.
“The book is a compilation of stories and insights I shared on a weekly listserv for professional social workers from around the world,” he said.
He realized that what he had been sharing over the years would be helpful for others. “I added easy to follow mindfulness practices to each story and insight, making it a handy resource for daily use.”
Petingola will celebrate the launch of his book from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 22 at Taphouse Northern Grill and Pub.
He's also holding a book signing at Chapters Sudbury from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 1.
