ABOUT ME
Photograph by Maribel Acosta, published under CC-BY-SA
Welcome to yolandebrener.com. I am an English writer living in New York, author of the memoir, Holy Candy, about why I joined the Unification Church and married a stranger, and ultimately why I left the Church. I have worked as an actress, filmmaker, singer in an all-girl band and disciple of an alleged Messiah. Above all, I am a seeker and a lover of the arts. My search for love and meaning has led me to unexpected places; my blog here will cover some of my adventures into the realms of relationships and spirituality. My essays have been published in New York Press, nerve.com, Anthem Journal and Harlem World. My short story, The Swan Sister, is in the anthology, Beyond Belief. My film scripts have been funded by the British Film Institute and the Arts Council of Great Britain. I won the 2010 NYC Parks Department Poems in the Park competition. My memoir, Holy Candy, won First Place in the 2014 Writer's Digest Self Published e-Book Awards in the Life Stories category. I still enjoy asking life's big questions.