New York Times bestselling author Gail Sheehy will speak about Passages in Caregiving: The Most Memorable Passage in Your Life. Her presentation is designed to help turn stressful, life altering situations for caregivers and healthcare professionals into a controlled and healthy process for everyone involved.

As a featured speaker at the annual Central Coast Bioneers conference, produced by local nonprofit Ecologistics, Inc., Ms. Sheehy's revolutionary Passages (1976) remained on The New York Times bestseller list for more than three years and has been reprinted in 28 languages. A Library of Congress survey named Passages one of the 10 most-influential books of our time. In The Silent Passage (1992), she broke the taboo surrounding menopause and opened a dialogue vital to maturing women's health. In New Passages and Understanding Men's Passages (1995) she revisited the stages of adult life and mapped out a completely new frontier entitled "second adulthood." In Sex and The Seasoned Woman: Pursuing the Passionate Life (2006), she lent her observant eye to the opportunities and challenges facing women concerning sex, dating, new dreams, divorce, remarriage and living passionate lives in their “second adulthood.”

As a literary journalist, Ms. Sheehy was one of the original contributors to New York magazine. A contributing editor to Vanity Fair since 1984, she won the Washington Journalism Review Award for Best Magazine Writer in America for her in-depth character portraits of national and world leaders, including both Presidents Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Margaret Thatcher, Saddam Hussein and Mikhail Gorbachev. Ms. Sheehy is a seven-time recipient of the New York Newswomen's Club Front Page Award for distinguished journalism.

Central Coast Bioneers is delighted to bring to San Luis Obispo the noted author Gail Sheehy, who has chronicled every major turning point for 20th-century Americans. Ms. Sheehy knows firsthand the trials, fears, and rare joys of caregiving, and provides invaluable advice and guidance. She examines the arc of caregiving and identifies the crucial stages and the challenges and rewards, and offers insight for successfully navigating the journey. With empathy and formidable research, interspersed with poignant stories of her experience and that of other successful caregivers, she addresses the needs of this enormous and growing group. With Gail Sheehy as your guide, this presentation on Passages in Caregiving is sure to help turn stressful, life altering situations for caregivers and healthcare professionals into a controlled and healthy process for everyone involved.

Bioneers, a popular annual conference held for 21 years in Marin County, will be represented locally at the second annual Central Coast Bioneers conference in San Luis Obispo.  Central Coast Bioneers is a project of Ecologistics, Inc., a local non-profit agency dedicated to finding breakthrough solutions for people and planet.

The lecture will happen on Saturday, October 15 from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at the SLO Vet’s Hall located on 801 Grand Avenue. Following her lecture, Ms. Sheehy will sign copies of Passages in Caregiving from 8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $35 and it is recommended to register in advance.

Register online at https://register.ecologistics.org or call (805) 548-0597 for mail-in/fax-in registration form.

Members of the public are invited to attend. The event is a benefit for the Hearst Cancer Resource Center.

Registration is now open for the Central Coast Bioneers conference, held October 14, 15 and 16, 2011 at the San Luis Obispo Vet’s Hall. Attendees can choose to attend all offerings over the 3 day event, or select from weekend, single day, select field trips and events or “sampler pass” options. Student pricing is also available.

Admission is free for bioneers conference Total Immersion Pass holders. More information about the conference can be found at http://www.ecologistics.org/centralcoastbioneers