For nearly 20 years it’s been my honor and privilege to be a colleague, writing partner, and most importantly, a friend of Phil Zimbardo. Back in the beginning of our fellowship, along with my husband, Richard Sword, we co-developed time perspective therapy (TPT), which is based on Phil’s groundbreaking time perspective theory. TPT was initially developed to help our clients suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS), many of them veterans of war.

Post-traumatic stress consists of three things: a traumatic event that leaves you feeling depressed and anxious for an extended length of time. Because TPT helps with the combination symptoms of PTS it also works for people experiencing any one of the symptoms. The fruits of our labor were published in our book The Time Cure: Overcoming PTSD with the New Psychology of Time Perspective Therapy (2012).

Rick, Phil, and I had a warm relationship. Throughout the years we had stayed at each other’s homes, traveled together, and had some thrilling adventures, like the time Phil Zip-lined down the slopes of Haleakala with us. He was in his mid-seventies at the time. Another when he and Rick went on a harrowing helicopter ride through the West Maui mountains and beyond.

Sadly, in mid-2014, these times came to an end. Less than two years after the release of The Time Cure, Rick passed away from gastric cancer. Knowing that I was devastated at the loss of my life companion, clinic workmate, and writing partner, Phil encouraged me to continue with the TPT manuscript we had started working on during Rick’s illness. After years of fits and starts, that book, Living & Loving Better, was published........

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