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Dan's Papers Who's Here: Donna McCue believes that the hand reflects "life's most precious passage, the journey to the self." In her most recent book Your Fate Is In Your Hands, she reveals that we all have the potential to access and utilize our natural psychic abilities, and we hold this power in the palm of our hands. How did her journey begin? As one of eight children in Syracuse, she would simply "know" that certain things would happen. When she was four years old she "knew" that her father would return a day early from a business trip, despite the fact that he did not call alert the family. Then she "knew" that the man living across the street would suffer a heart attack. Three days later he did Her mother asked, "How did she know?" All Donna could say was that she didn't know how she knew, she just did. Early in her life her gifts separated her from others. In addition to growing up in a tense and abusive family environment and being overweight, it was just one more thing that added to her feelings of alienation. One fateful day on her way to a meeting with a cold and unsympathetic social worker to discuss her abusive situation at home, who inevitably told Donna to "go home and be a good girl," she was drawn instead to a palm reader. Unlike the social worker, the palm reader was warm and compassionate and seemed genuinely interested in Donna's well being. And most importantly, the reading gave Donna hope. Donna never returned to the social worker, whereas her interest in palm reading began as well as honoring her own psychic abilities. Among the things that Donna "knew" was that she was going to be a movie star. When she was eighteen the opportunity presented itself. Viva, a local Syracuse girl, star of Andy Warhol's films and a staple in Warhol's Factory, invited Donna to look her up when she came to New York. Well, Donna did. Viva had a part in a movie at the time. The film was Midnight Cowboy directed by John Schlesinger. Her first day on the set, Donna introduced herself to Schlesinger and told him that she wanted to be a movie star. He responded, "Well, I think you should be too!" and sent her off to wardrobe. By the following day, she had a speaking part. Her intuition had been correct! Unfortunately, she ended up on the cutting room floor, yet in a way, her dream of stardom had been realized. It would take a bit longer before she could learn to depend on her psychic ability. "When something comes to you so easily and naturally, you tend not to appreciate it. I couldn't really claim and appreciate what I came into the universe to do - instead I struggled with things that were very hard. As soon as I went for what was natural, that was when I became successful." She went on to say, "I tell my clients to go for the things that are easy, the things that feel effortless, because I think that God wants us not to struggle." "I think that we're here to serve others and before you can serve, you have to know the truth about yourself. Writing this book was a difficult and painful journey for me. But I am glad that I had the fortitude and perseverance to complete it. And I am grateful for all the support I had along the way." In Your Fate Is In Your Hands, Donna details how to identify the various markings and aspects of our own hands, from the heart lines, life lines and head lines to the significant chains, islands, triangles, thin fingers, and bent thumbs. She identifies the tools to better understand our past, our personalities, and to transform our future. With these basics as a foundation, she describes how to use the principles of palmistry, including, truth, desire, gratitude, and service, to change our destiny and bring us closer to the meaning and purpose of our own lives. For example, the lines of the hand change every three to six months depending on the changes in one's life. Donna believes that it is possible to transform negative lines through positive thoughts and actions. Not surprisingly, she believes that you can overcome fate by maximizing your potential. "Consider me a psychic cheerleader for the soul who can give voice to your longings," she says. "Unlike other clairvoyants, my area of expertise focuses on relationships, finance and life paths. We are each born with a purpose, headed on a path. It's easy to veer far enough away from the path to convince ourselves that we can't see it. But it's there. I help you to understand what is stopping you from getting what you want." Donna's longing for service extends to the East End community which she is a part. In June, she paid a visit to Springs Public School in East Hampton, where she had the children make prints of their palms. She then read them pointing out and writing down the children's special attributes, such as "sensitive to the feelings of others," "good ethics," and "ability to do well in sports." In a thank you letter to Donna, the class's teacher writes that "The children's faces light up with excitement, and they enjoy telling each other about their own personal strengths. It's rewarding to hear a child say they are proud of themselves." Donna has two sons, the youngest of whom has inherited her clairvoyance. She sees it and honors it, a gift that she was denied in her own childhood. How is her family adjusting to her national success? "They've been so supportive and are just so delighted with my success." Donna lights up when recounting seeing herself on national television. She claims that the success of her book has made her "humble." She is filled with gratitude towards all the people who are reading her book and coming to her book signings. "I want to empower the readers to know that the gifts that I have, they can have too." Donna is a good storyteller and she particularly likes to tell the story of how she and her husband met, so much so that it has become part of the McCue family lore. "I read his hand and the first thing I blurted out was, you're going to marry me!" Without blinking an eye he answered, "If I'm going to marry you, perhaps we should have dinner first." Two years later they were married. Over the years, Donna has read the hands of many celebrities and artists, such as Willem de Kooning, Salvador Dali, William Styron and Faith Popcorn. She has worked as a consultant for the East Hampton Vice Squad and the FBI, she has appeared at corporate events hosted by Time Warner, Conde Nast, McCall's, Harper's Bazaar, and The New York Times and has given seminars and workshops for companies including HBO and Merrill Lynch. During the Merrill Lynch dinner she found herself, much to her own surprise, telling at least forty of the attendees that she saw them leaving their jobs. Only days later Black Tuesday descended, and aggressive downsizing began. Unfortunately for the brokers, her predictions had come true. Donna has also hosted a live, call-in public television show called Psychically Speaking for a number of years. In the early nineties, Donna was the numerology and astrology writer for Hamptons Magazine; recently she was featured in the September 1999 issue of Self magazine. Donna presently gives corporate and private sector workshops and seminars, geared towards helping others to get in touch with their intuitive abilities through a series of simple interactive exercises. She has just completed a national book tour promoting her book Your Fate Is In Your Hands and you can visit her on her own website, http://www.donnamccue.com. As Donna sat in my living room I was unable to resist the temptation to have her look at my palm. At the end of our interview I summoned the courage to ask. She was only too happy to oblige. If a year from now I am happily ensconced in connubial bliss you'll know that her predictions were correct. I'll be checking my palm every so often just to see if I'm on the right track. -Joan Zandell |
