An Interview with Diáne Mandle
Diáne is the only state-certified Tibetan bowl practitioner/instructor in California. and has given over 300 educational concert programs in thirty-two states as well as in India, France Costa Rica, Mexico and St. Croix. She has been a frequent guest presenter at the Museum of Making Music, California State University San Marcos, The Golden Door, The Deepak Chopra Center, Rancho la Puerta and KPBS. She is a featured expert in the video series Tao—Living in Balance along with healers such as Dr. Wayne Dyer and John Gray.
Diáne maintains a private sound healing practice in southern California where she also owns and operates the Tibetan Bowl Sound Healing School. She was part of the integrative therapy team at the San Diego Cancer Center and developed a successful sound healing program for incarcerated veterans with PDSD.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
The experience of witnessing the change in the inmates in the jail after just a few sound healing sessions was amazing. I felt it was so important to give this opportunity to trauma victims and incarcerated individuals, so writing a book and getting it into the hands of people who could open the door to make this happen was what inspired me to write.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I have worked as an actress, dancer, director of the American Cancer Society or Western MA and chamber of commerce director in Amherst, MA. I produced a French language radio program for WFCR, an NPR affiliate, as I am half French and have worked and traveled worldwide. I was a single welfare mother in the past.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
I wanted to create a title for the book that included the widest perception of incarceration. This so that readers would know that self-limiting thoughts and behaviors were also included in imprisonment. I was brainstorming with a friend who is an editor and she came up with the title. I loved it immediately.
What part of publishing your book made it feel real for the first time?
The cover design for the book is powerful for me. Having former inmates actually write the introduction and review it was what made it real for the first time.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, The Animals.
What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?
We are all capable of reaching the highest version of ourselves no matter what the starting point is in our lives.
What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?
It was so rewarding to get feedback from the inmates to include in the book. I was inspired by what they felt and said, so the process of writing went smoothly. I loved interpersonal stories so the creation of one that was also true was my favorite part.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
I have written a screenplay and am marketing it at the moment as well as writing a book about the aging process.
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