Mary Flett Joins BAIPA Board

Isn’t it funny?  I can write about so many things, but when it comes to writing about myself, my fingers gnarl and refuse to type!  This is not false modesty; just the remnants of my Protestant background that trained me to believe that only braggarts speak of themselves.

My name is Mary Flett. I am one of your newly-elected board members and new to BAIPA. If I were writing a mystery, I would now delve into my hidden past and lay the breadcrumbs to be followed before the big reveal in the penultimate chapter. If I were writing historical fiction, I would offer a florid character analysis, ala Henry James. But, since I am neither a mystery or fiction writer, I guess I’ll just share that I write blogs on aging and recently retired as a clinical psychologist after 30 years in practice.

I used to tell folks I was a psychologist who writes; now I tell people I am a writer who used to be a psychologist. And who still gets tickled when people call me “Doctor” And who is new to the world of self-publishing. And who has found her tribe in the incredibly experienced and open-hearted membership of BAIPA. 

I admit to being flattered when I was encouraged to “run” for the Board and recognize that newbies are frequently tapped to serve. Still, I do bring experience having been on a variety of non-profit boards over the years. I am currently the Executive Director of the Center for Aging and Values, a non-profit I founded in 2016. I recently launched a sister company (Five Pillars of Aging) that offers workshops on all things essential for meeting the challenges of aging in the 21st Century. It is also my Press. 

My husband and I moved to Sonoma Valley back in 1996, and I remain here, although now a widow. Before becoming a psychologist, I was a paralegal and worked in estate planning, did some patent and trademark law work, and a lot of work in family law. I almost became a lawyer, but fortunately realized that while I loved learning about the law, I did not actually like the practice part. Before that, I had an incredibly wonderful but highly unsuccessful career in improv and stand-up comedy resulting in a wickedly quick wit and no money in the bank.

I am the published author of the highly successful bedside tome, Mastering the DSM-5: Integrating New and Essential Measures into Your Practice, which was published by PESI Publishing & Media back in 2014. (I am available for book signings as soon as COVID allows). My current endeavors are focused around three books which I am self-publishing: Aging with Finesse (a 3-volume series of insightful and delightful essays on aging), Embracing the Shift: Practical Strategies for Aging, and an yet-to-be titled book that I edited which provides a spiritual roadmap and guide to psycho-spiritual wholeness as an embodied spirit.

If you want to know more about me, please check out centerforagingandvalues.org or send an email to: [email protected].

My hope is that I will learn and grow as a writer and self-publisher, and I will be able to contribute to keeping BAIPA vital while I am on the board.