The Heartbeat of Creativity

Creativity and Parkinson's Disease don't usually occupy the same space, but they have in the life of Margaret Blackwell, a creativity consultant who in 1996 at the age of 50 was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. She completed her research (M Phil) into the nature of creativity at Dartington College of Arts and Exeter University in the UK before heading to the US to pursue her spiritual development, and to become an adjunct professor and successful creativity consultant. Margaret Blackwell is now 71 and lives in London. She has had DBS brain surgery. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 opens the door to Margaret Blackwell's life story where we find the origins of her passionate interest in creativity and traces the development of her skills and experience as a creativity consultant. Her life took a very unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and in this part of the book she shares how she has steadfastly met the challenges of this debilitating disease with no known cure in creative ways. Part 2 describes a new way of understanding what creativity is, and has grown out of the investigation described in Part 1. It can be used as a guidebook on how to live a creative life with examples offered to give confidence and help develop new skills. Case studies of successful collective creativity are also included to give a glimpse of the emerging possibility of how complex issues can be creatively resolved, and how people can work together in positive ways. Each part of the book is made up of a series of short 'bytes' or stories. This book is the result of a steadfast, loving and creative collaboration between two women over ten years.