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AUTHOR AMY MOTTO

Las Cruces author, artist Amy Motto: ‘I have found so many missing pieces’

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First, there was a poem about Amy Motto’s beloved mutt, Cassie, who brought home every kind of treasure and “spit it out on the floor” for her owners. That became a children’s book, which Motto wrote and illustrated, giving away more than 100 copies to local children.

Now, Motto is working on her autobiography, which she is again writing and illustrating.

A family and marriage therapist with a fine arts degree, Motto was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1990.

“What am I going to do now?” she thought. “How do I get from losing my abilities to walk and work and not feeling sorry for myself?”

That’s when Motto “picked up a pen and pencil” and begin writing and drawing.

“I’m not a giver upper,” Motto said. “I’m a perseverer. I’m a believer in God and I think he’s using me.”

She wrote a poem about Cassie, a rescue dog, and Cassie’s wide collection of “treasures,” which included acorns, bugs and flowers, that could be placed in the pockets of the coat her husband Ralphbought for Cassie at Goodwill.

The poem became a book called “Puppies Need Pockets,” which Motto published in 2018.

“I’ll never have to leave behind/Those treasures of a puppy kind,” are two lines from the book.

Amy and her husband moved to Las Cruces 24 years ago and owned Cassie for 14 years, until the dog’s death in 2010. At one point, Cassie was named the prettiest dog in Las Cruces during a contest at Young Park.

Now, Motto, 70, is at work on her life story, which she is calling “Nothing Wasted.”

In addition to physical and behavioral health challenges, Motto has dealt with abuse, divorce and children and family issues.

She went through multiple hospitalizations and was taking 30 medications at one point, Motto said. Working with her doctors and going “one medicine at a time,” she has cut that down to three, which will soon be only two. Motto made her empty medication bottles into Christmas ornaments.

“I’m feeling good,” she said. “My thoughts are better, clearer.”

“I always cared about people and wanted to be helpful,” she said, knowing “people around me are hurting and broken,” dealing with “many physical and emotional challenges. This is why I wanted to write a book.”

Motto and her older brother were raised by a single mother who was a workaholic, Motto said. That meant much of their care was left to a succession of housekeepers. But she still learned a great deal from her mother, who rose out of poverty to earn a doctorate, Motto said. She taught Motto about working hard, being a survivor and being creative.

Motto said she has discovered “along this journey of learning” that many of her health issues have been caused by the childhood trauma she suffered. As a therapist, in her own therapy and during the work on her forthcoming book, Motto said she has come to a better understanding of her mother, and also of her father, who suffered from post-traumatic stress and a broken back from his military service during World War II.

“I went through a lot of hell,” Motto said. “A lot of good things came out of it. I have no regrets.”

“Nothing Wasted” should be ready for publication this fall, she said, and will include photographs and her own illustrations. The book will be dedicated to her husband, Ralph, “for all his loving support and feedback.” The couple has been married for 28 years.

To find out when “Nothing Wasted” has been published, search “Amy Motto” on amazon.com. Check the box to “follow the author” for notification.

Amy Motto

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