THUNDER BAY — This year will mark 10 years since the world was shocked by bombings that killed three people and injured over 260 in an act of domestic terrorism at the Boston Marathon.
Thunder Bay runner Natalie Lehto was already across the finish line when two bombs went off on Apr. 15, 2013, so she escaped physical injury.
But it traumatized her psychologically, and despite the passage of time Lehto remains emotionally impacted to this day.
About five years ago, she sat down to write about her experience with the hope that it would help speed her along the road to recovery.
When she finished the memoir last year, she decided to self-publish Like the Glide of a Dragonfly, in which Kirkus Reviews says she "does manage to artfully demonstrate the many ways that one can travel the road to recovery."
Kirkus also describes how Lehto "effectively captures the seeming randomness of trauma's effects."
Although she wrote the book as a healing exercise, she hopes readers will benefit from her story as well.
"What I want them to get out is that we all have stuff to deal with. Everybody has 'stuff,'" Lehto told TBnewswatch.
"For me, I live with a bit of fear, but it's really important for me to teach my kids and to hopefully teach others through this story that even though I have these fears, I need to get up and keep going. You need to find ways to keep going."
The mother of three, who believes she's still coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, described the first of many panic attacks she experienced after the bombings.
Ironically — as it turned out — it was at a book club meeting where a few women were excitedly talking about an upcoming trip to Boston.
"It was about all this lovely fun stuff, and how beautiful the city was. My body had this physical reaction to their comments. I could not stop it. I know it's a beautiful place but I don't see beauty in it."
Lehto has never returned to Boston and has no plans to do so.
But running remains an important part of her life, she said.
"To quit running wasn't an option. They weren't going to be able to take that away from me. They already took enough in my heart and soul, so putting on my shoes and continuing to do what I love to do was really important for me."
She chose the title for her book because she feels dragonflies exemplify what people need to be ready to do when they encounter challenges.
"Dealing with situations that were cropping up, dragonflies kept coming back into my life ... in the story you'll see there's so many weird situations where the dragonfly just seems to be a part of me. I love the symbolism of it."
Lehto said that, like most people, she dislikes change, but the dragonfly is a reminder to her that we need to be okay with change, and "roll with it, glide with it and move with it."
Besides being a marathon runner, she is a fitness and lifestyle coach, a certified kinesiologist and a certified Pilates instructor.
Like the Glide of a Dragonfly can be purchased online through sites such as Amazon, Kindle and Kobo.
