Barbara J. McDonald Nichols, Ph.D.
Yuppie Hippie Yogi
A Journey of Self-Discovery and Healing
Trauma begets trauma. That is the theme that is illuminated in this true story of one woman’s attempt to deal with the emotional scars that grew from an untethered and frightful childhood. She describes her youthful, haphazard search for her place in life as she stumbled into dangerous circumstances that could have cost her her life. The story follows her through three drastic identity changes over a period of five years, from that of a social-climbing, fashionista, to a free-thinking, free-love hippie commune member rejecting materialism, and finally to a celibate Hindu nun in a yoga ashram under the guidance of a psychopathic guru. Set during the cultural shift of the 1960s and 1970s, this story also traces the lives of her older unmoored brother and their risk-taking friends who, while dodging the draft during the Vietnam War, sought to change the world while navigating their own inner worlds of angst and anger. Adventure, suspense, and eccentric characters catapult the reader into countercultures, subcultures, and back again to relative normality.
Available in eBook and Paperback on Amazon.com
“A captivating exploration of self-discovery, this memoir recounts personal challenges and family upheavals during periods of profound social change. It’s a poignant story of hope, resilience, reconnection, and love, a true page turner. I loved her writing and her story.”
—Cheryl Cross, M.A., mental health psychotherapist
My Story
Barbara J. McDonald Nichols, Ph.D., earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Winona State University in 1977 in social work and psychology, graduating magna cum laude. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Human Development from St. Mary’s University, Winona, and a master’s and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University. As a psychologist, she focused on treating victims of sexual violence, abuse, and neglect. Influenced by her training in meditation, Dr. Nichols developed unique forms of hypnotherapy and visualization to facilitate deep and lasting healing for children and adults. While professionally retired, she studies functional medicine for mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
