About Me
Who is Ron Sasso?
Ron Sasso is one of those rare truly authentic individuals. He has his MS in Counseling and is a Licenced Professional Counselor...but he is so much more than that! He has done many different things in his life, including working for a Fortune 500 company, running an outpatient brain injury rehabilitation program, holding a political office in the second largest city in South Dakota, and writing columns for a newspaper. He has also been the lead singer for a couple of bands, did semi-professional acting, written screenplays, poems, essays, and even founded magazine in college that was both successful…and banned.
He spent time in college being homeless, living out of his car and in his tent while waiting for new dorms to be built. He eventually protested and successfully changed the system. He was so fascinating that a student journalist pleaded to be allowed write a feature piece about him and followed him around the campus for several days to get the feature story. During that time, Ron got his BA in English, taking every writing course that was available. Every writing professor he had tried to convince him to become a professional writer. But life had other plans…
After taking a solo trip cross country, Ron decided to leave his home state of New Jersey to embrace the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.
At the urging of his marriage counselor, he decided to pursue his Master’s in Counseling. He took a challenging path, interning at the local homeless shelter to provide free counseling services. He then began working for a nonprofit agency and advanced to director of its brain injury program.
While running the outpatient brain injury rehabilitation program, Ron presented at conferences on brain injury. He primarily focused on the social and emotional aspects of living with an unexpected disability. He presented at various conferences, including at Mayo Clinic.
Life is often unpredictable and he got to experience sudden unexpected changes in his life. An unexpected job change laid the groundwork for many more changes. The biggest surprise was a serious health diagnosis of systemic sclerosis, which carried with it a 50% mortality rate within five years. This led to more self-reflection than usual. It also led to more significant changes in his life.
He realized that in spite of his accomplishments, he had gradually lost his way and felt that part of him had died. He began journaling and writing with a goal of resurrecting his life. During this time, he also began raising awareness of the emotional challenges that quietly come along with a serious health diagnosis. He presented at several national conferences on topics that encompassed this issue.
His recently completed self-help book, “I’m Not Dead Yet!” recounts his journey and provides a roadmap for people who have lost their way to resurrect their lives.
My writing roots
My interest in writing began at a young age. My father would often sit down with me and we'd listen to music. He'd ask me what I thought a song meant and then we would read the lyrics and discuss it. It was very insightful.
In high school, I began writing poetry. One of my English teachers would have me do dramatic readings to my class and other classes that she taught.
Writing was always a part of my life. I took a solo trip cross country that had me journaling intensely about my unique journey. I eventually branched out to song writing, prose, screenplays, and journalism.
Writing is more than words connected into sentences. Writing is transformative. It a tool of self-expression that takes a person on a unique journey...
My style
My writing style is very down to earth and often conversational. I want to be able to connect with the reader on a personal level. This is critical to help a person implement change. I try to keep most of my writing light-hearted.