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.
Honoring My Late Husband, 1st Lt. James L. Hull, this Memorial Day
I’ve written extensively about losing Larry Hull, my late husband, and our daughter’s father, whose plane crashed in Laos in 1971 during the Vietnam War. Larry is one of thousands of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during that difficult and divisive war. Before he left for war, I promised Larry he would be buried […]
What We Can Learn From “Letting Go” and “Acceptance” for Mental Health Month
This Fall, I’ll release my new book, Your Turn: Ways to Celebrate Life Through Storytelling. In Your Turn, I invite readers to interact with and reflect on a variety of life topics including gratitude, addiction and spirituality. I challenge them to critically examine their relationship with some of the most influential moments in their lives […]
The Kindness of Strangers
I’ve written previously on how powerful the practice of “paying it forward” to strangers has been in my life and the lives of those around me. This past week it was my turn to be the recipient of the beneficence of strangers. As I was out running errands and taking my new rescue dog Yogi […]
