A reflection of her life: By sharing her experiences, Dekker tries to help others

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Author Kelly Dekker writes about her life through a spiritual prism in the newly released book titled “A Soul Unfolded A True Story.”

A former Dickinson resident, she writes under the pen name of Ora Kelly Williams. It’s a true story, but the names of people and locations are changed.

“When people ask me why they should read my book, I tell them, ‘If you have dated a priest, a felon and a Mexican, then you have a story,’” she said.

The book is a reflection of her life leading up to becoming a licensed massage therapist, core synchronism practitioner and clinical hypnotherapist, she said.

She recently moved her practice to Bismarck. Her family includes a grown daughter, Kristina, also living in Bismarck.

“The reason I wrote it was because through all the years of doing massage, people confided in me and I’d tell them what’s going on in my life,” she said.

“People dealing with issues tend to isolate themselves, but they’re not the only ones going through this,” she said. “We didn’t have the same situations, but everybody has the same feelings. I realized by sharing my experiences, it was helping people.”

Dekker compared her life to a 1,000-piece puzzle tossed into the air. She learned there was a pattern in the disarray — a connection to the center.

“I have had the fortunate experience of seeing the puzzle pieces of my life come together,” she said. “It is still a work in progress, but many of those random events weren’t random at all. They all had a place and a purpose in my life, which allows me to feel a wholeness that many never do.”

Dekker was born in Missoula, Mont., but reared in North Dakota, where she graduated from South Heart High School in 1989.

She described her life as a journey of self-exploration and growth. She’s played the roles of daughter, sister, mother and friend.

“Life is spent juggling those roles,” she said.

Dekker said she’s always been involved in healing work.

“I do energy work — a healing energy — which tends to make people curious as where this energy comes from, but it’s their own energy,” she said.

Through core synchronization, she works to help the body achieve balance.

“Through hypnotherapy, I want to know what other secrets are hiding in my psyche,” she said.

Dekker’s 319-page book is broken into four parts: Growing pains, falling, hope and going home.

“It’s very much a journey,” she said. “I’ve learned to trust in your abilities and your strengths to know your unique characteristics and to be true to yourself,” she said.

Jess Forster of Dickinson read excerpts of the book while she and Dekker were working together.

“It was nice to be able to read the book in front of the author,” Forster said. “She’d see my reaction while I was reading — I had no idea the experiences existed in her life. “It was piecing a puzzle together — it was fun.”

Forster has given the book to friends. In one thank-you note, the comment was, “Thank you for my gift — I laughed, cried and was entertained. It was refreshing and enlightening and I just now laid it down.”

The book is available as a paperback and Kindle through Amazon.com.

Tags: lifestyle, dickinson, local