: About Me

J. Marie Ruen is a writer, web designer, editor, and passionate people-watcher with over twelve years of experience creating content for the Web. She has worked with artists, writers, athletes, and musicians to help them bring their stories to life via the Internet.

A Metro Detroit native, her diverse interests include music - especially rock, pop, new wave, and electro - 19th-century American history, astronomy, travel, pop culture, and spirituality - with a particular focus on the work of Joseph Campbell.

Her writing draws upon her experiences on the road, her studies in comparative religion, and a lifetime of living with and loving people with mental illness.

Marie aspires to be a professional agony aunt.

My passion is ...

connecting with others and making difficult-to-understand concepts understandable.

I know too much about ...

nothing. You can never know too much about anything.

My parents always told me ...

not to interrupt.

My childhood ambition ...

was to be a pioneer (be it Laura Ingalls Wilder or Sally Ride).

My favorite memory ...

involves walking in the Atlantic Ocean, skirt swirling in the water around my knees, while a full moon shone overhead and lightning flashed in the distance.

Why I write ...

to connect with the world around me, to share the gifts of experience I've received, and to receive the same gifts of others.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

affects me on a profound emotional level.

My first job ...

was working in a library. I read more than I worked.

My best moment ...

has yet to come.

My inspiration ...

comes from the people I meet, and the things I learn from them that I didn't know before.

Health & Fitness > Alternative Therapies How massage is used as medicine

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Experts, professionals, and patients agree: massage isn't just about pampering yourself. It's about improving and protecting your health. Doctors, hospitals, and medical insurance companies are beginning to recognize massage therapy - a popular treat for relaxation at spas and resorts - as a legitimate treatment and preventative measure for injuries, some sicknesses and diseases, and stress-related health problems. From everyday aches to the crippling pain that comes with severe injuries, patients increasingly turn to massage as an alternative or supplement to medication. "Working those kn...

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Writing:

• Marketplace Approved Writer
• Helium Charter Member