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Never Accept Your New Normal
Take it from Dr. Michael Longyear—former Clinical Director and researcher at the NeuroLIFE Institute at Life University in Marietta, Georgia, and co-owner of the Brain Optimization Institute in Jacksonville, Florida. After suffering a catastrophic spinal stroke, he was told he would never walk again. But this book tells a different story—one of resilience, science, and the power of the human nervous system to heal. Not only did Dr. Michael walk again, but he also rebuilt a life of purpose, service, and functionality after his injury.
This is more than just a memoir. It’s a blueprint for possibility. Dr. Michael challenges the idea that a diagnosis is a life sentence. In his words, a diagnosis is not a limitation—it’s simply information. It doesn’t have to define your identity or become your new normal.
With a deep background in clinical neuroscience, Dr. Michael walks readers through the exact principles he used to recover, blending personal experience with powerful stories from patients he’s helped. He explains complex neurological concepts in a way that’s clear, relatable, and empowering. This isn’t fluff or feel-good science—it’s real, research-backed neuroscience that uncovers how the brain and body can adapt, rewire, and heal.
If you’ve ever been told to “accept your limitations,” this book will give you the courage—and the tools—to question that story and rewrite your own. And give you hope to Never Accept Your New Normal!
The Sad Heart Behind The Smile
Everyone sees the smile. No one sees the sadness underneath.
Behind every polished answer and brave face is a story of survival—a silent struggle that most will never notice, let alone understand. The Sad Heart Behind the Smile is that story. It’s a raw, unfiltered journey through the shadows of depression and anxiety, woven with the quiet desperation of someone who spent years searching for a deeper purpose.
Dr. Meaghan McGinnity Longyear appeared to have it all together—great family, nice things, the outward markers of a “good life.” But inside, she carried a sadness she couldn’t explain and a heaviness she couldn’t shake. She spent decades feeling like something was wrong with her—like her emotions were too much, her sensitivity a flaw, her sadness a secret she had to bury just to function.
In this vulnerable memoir, Dr. Meaghan pulls back the curtain on the internal battles so many fight in silence. Through her own healing work and in supporting patients on their paths, she uncovered a truth that changed everything: we are far less alone than we think. So many people are quietly hurting, wearing smiles as armor, trying to hold it all together while falling apart inside.
This book is for the ones who laugh in public but cry behind closed doors.
For the ones who’ve mastered the art of appearing fine.
For the ones who’ve wondered, “What’s wrong with me?”—when the real question was, “What happened to me?”
The Sad Heart Behind the Smile is more than a memoir. It’s a mirror for your own hidden heartaches. A companion for your darkest days. A lifeline when you're tired of pretending. It’s a message whispered straight to your soul: You are not broken. You are not alone. You can heal.
This is your invitation to finally be seen. And maybe, just maybe, to see yourself with kinder eyes.
