Dr. Tyra Manning’s story is both unique and universal, as it demonstrates the pervasive devastation of loss while demonstrating how courage and love can triumph. Tyra’s husband was shot down over the Laotian jungle while flying a top-secret mission during the Vietnam War. She learned of his death while she was hospitalized at the Menninger Clinic, where she was being treated for depression. Tyra’s worst fear had come true.
Determined to fulfill the rest of the dreams and promises she and her husband had made to one another, that she get well and become a teacher, Tyra persevered through the darkest of times. Ultimately, Tyra earned a doctorate in education from the University of Kansas, becoming one of the nation’s top school superintendents.
She has devoted her forty-year career to helping children achieve their highest potential. Since retiring in 2004, Dr. Manning’s mission has been to share her personal journey of hope with people who are experiencing depression, addiction, and loss.
Though she travels around the country delivering the messages and lessons in her new book, Where the Water Meets the Sand, Dr. Manning is a born and bred Texan. She currently resides in the Texas Hill Country.
Hamilton Movie Helps Americans Reexamine our Nation’s Founders
This past weekend, the long-awaited Disney Plus movie Hamilton was released to millions of people across the world. The cinematic adaptation of playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda’s historic theatrical production helped Disney Plus downloads increase by more 750,000 over a three-day span, up 74 percent from the company’s downloads in June 2020. Hamilton has taken the country […]
Remembering the Servicemembers Who Meant the Most to Me This Independence Day Weekend
July 4th is such an amazing holiday for all Americans because it reminds us of the pride and honor that comes with being a citizen of this amazing country. Our home, the United States of America, is a special place with people of all different backgrounds, ideologies, and shared experiences. One great part of our […]
Standing United: How Do We Get There?
In our current age of divisiveness, it feels to me as if we have somehow forgotten America’s motto, E Pluribus Unum, or out of many, one. Instead, our society appears to be increasingly splintered along fault lines defined by our unique differences. In article headlines and warring social media posts, we see our nation’s division evidenced in reports […]
