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Charlene Gorda Costanzo
Charlene Gorda Costanzo is an award-winning author, workshop facilitator, wife, mother of two adult daughters, and grandmother of twins. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University and an M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

Originally from New Jersey, she has resided in New York, Texas, Arizona, and Florida. During a one-year book tour to launch The Twelve Gifts of Birth, Charlene and her husband enjoyed living in an RV in 48 of the 50 states.

The Twelve Gifts collection of books began in 1987 when Charlene wrote The Twelve Gifts of Birth as a life message for her own, then teenage daughters. Twelve years later she published the book and discussed its message in schools, shelters, prisons, churches, and hospitals throughout the United States.

The Twelve Gifts for Healing was written while Charlene was in treatment for advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2001. “Cancer led me to examine my convictions and look at these life gifts more deeply. Truly, they helped me heal,” she says.

The Twelve Gifts in Marriage comes from the ups and downs, ebbs and flows, and hurts and healings that are a part of every long-term marriage.

The Thirteenth Gift is a novella that celebrates the wonderment that dwells in our hearts and helps us to see the world with reverence, gratitude, and joy.

Touchstones: Stories for Living The Twelve Gifts offers true tales that demonstrate life’s gifts at work in everyday life.

Charlene loves to read, write, hike, swim, dabble with paint, travel, and meet and talk with readers. Please feel free to write and tell her how you came upon The Twelve Gifts messages or ask any questions you may have about The Twelve Gifts. If you would like Charlene to speak or present a workshop in your community, let her know about that too and she will explore possibilities with you.

Most of all, right now, she loves to play with her grandchildren and to create ways for all children to better recognize and appreciate their inner gifts and resources. Helping children of all ages to build inner strength and self worth is the intention of Charlene’s work.