I’m Denise Pimentel, born and raised in that unforgettable New York State of Mind, specifically Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. I now live in the suburbs of New Jersey, but as the saying goes, you can take the girl out of New York, but you can’t take the New York out of the girl.

I am a writer, educator, speaker, advocate, podcast host, and visual artist. My work is often described as witty, raw, and honest, balancing depth with clarity. Much of my recent writing centers on resilience, mental health, stroke recovery, grief, faith, and the ways people rebuild when life changes without warning.

I have been writing since elementary school, but my most personal work came through the eight-year journey of completing my memoir, Unshaken: A True Story of a Bleeding Mind, Broken Body, and Buried Grief. The book explores my lived experience with bipolar disorder, multiple psychiatric hospitalizations, trauma, abuse, grief, motherhood, stroke recovery, and the faith that helped carry me through some of the hardest seasons of my life.

After years of fighting for stability, I had finally reached a healthier place in my mental health when everything changed again. In late 2024, I suffered a life-altering stroke that forced me to step away from the classroom and spend months in therapy recovering from physical and cognitive challenges. During that season, my cognitive therapist encouraged me to write daily as part of my healing. That practice led me back to Unshaken, a memoir I had begun years earlier during a manic episode but later set aside while focusing on teaching, motherhood, and rebuilding my life.

Writing started as part of my recovery, but it became something much bigger. It became the place where I could process what had happened, make meaning from it, and begin turning pain into purpose.

For a long time, I wrestled with whether to share my story publicly because of the stigma surrounding mental illness. Eventually, I chose honesty over silence. Today, I use my voice to encourage others who are walking through mental illness, physical recovery, caregiving, grief, or any season where life suddenly feels unfamiliar.

My work has been recognized by the New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma, which invited me to serve as a New Jersey author representative at its Mental Health Awareness Month event in May 2026. I have also been featured in the Bridgewater Patch and The Breeze, and have received letters of support and encouragement from state and national officials, including the White House, as well as Angel Studios, now known as Angel.

Before stepping away from the classroom due to my stroke, teaching and motherhood occupied much of my professional life. I hold a B.A. in Elementary Education and History, and an M.A. in Liberal Studies with a concentration in American Studies, both from Kean University. My graduate thesis focused on women who served in the Vietnam War, a reminder that overlooked voices matter and deserve to be heard.

In addition to writing, I create visual art through painting, sketching, and pyrography. I am deeply inspired by the Renaissance, a period when art, philosophy, creativity, and faith helped reshape the world. That influence continues to form both my creative and intellectual work. Although my original plans to sell artwork at the Somerville Street Fair were interrupted by the pandemic years ago, I have continued to share and sell many pieces through social media. Life may shift, but purpose and creativity endure.

I also host Unshaken Voices, a podcast available on Podbean, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. It is a space for anyone who has been through the storm and is still standing. The podcast is geared toward caregivers and fighters living through the realities of mental illness, recovery, grief, trauma, caregiving, and spiritual resilience. Through honest, hope-filled conversations, I explore mental health, healing, personal stories, and the strength people find when they keep going.

Writing is how I process, reflect, teach, heal, and connect. Through my memoir, art, podcast, and advocacy, my hope is to remind others that even when life breaks, purpose can still rise from the pieces.

From broken to Unshaken.

Unshaken is available in print, ebook, and audiobook formats, with the audiobook narrated by me for readers who prefer or benefit from listening. A cinematic book trailer has also been released, along with themed merchandise designed to amplify the book’s broader message of hope.

Proceeds from Unshaken are shared with organizations NAMI (the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization) and Overlook Medical Center (the hospital that had carried me through almost two decades of treatment), because this work is not just personal — it is mission-driven.

Community Involvement
Glorified Writing LLC is a proud member of the Somerset County Business Partnership (SCBP), supporting connection, growth, and service within the local community.

 A teaser for my Cinematic Book trailer for Unshaken, which played in theaters. It will return to theaters at some point.