Diana Raab, Ph.D.

Diana Raab is a memoirist, poet, blogger, workshop facilitator, thought provoker, and speaker. She’s the award-winning author of eight books, including two memoirs—Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal and Healing with Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey—and four poetry collections, the latest called Lust. She’s also the editor of two anthologies, Writers on the Edge: 22 Writers Speak about Addiction and Dependence, and Writers and Their Notebooks. Dr. Raab has published more than 1,000 articles and has been anthologized in various publications such as The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, The International Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, Qualitative Report, Boiler Room Journal, Elephant Journal, Boomer Café, The Writer, Passager, and Rattle. She was also a Pushcart nominee. Her doctoral research focused on the transformative and empowering aspects of memoir writing, connecting Maslow’s theory of metamotivation and creativity, and emphasizing the advantages of reaching one’s full human potential. For more than fifty years, Dr. Raab’s passion and expertise has been writing for healing, transformation, and empowerment. She has been on this creative path since she was a young girl, when her mother gave her a Kahlil Gibran journal to help her cope with the suicide of her beloved grandmother. She is also a two-time cancer survivor who inspires others to chronicle their journeys as they seek wholeness and self-realization. Dr. Raab is very interested in creativity and what drives the creative process. In addition to a PhD in transpersonal psychology, she holds a BA in health administration, nursing, and journalism; and an MFA in nonfiction writing. She is also a registered nurse and was a medical journalist for more than 25 years. Dr. Raab serves on a number of boards, including Poets & Writers, and Beyond Baroque; and she is a trustee for the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She blogs regularly for Psychology Today and also pens an inspirational monthly newsletter featuring writing for transformation, psychological tidbits, book reviews, and upcoming events. Readers may sign up on her website at: www.dianaraab.com.