Change lifeAbout -talesforlife

• Start living a well-balanced life. ...

My photos reflect some of who I am via places I love to be as I explore two of my great passions, outdoors and inside near my desk– where I spend 6-8 hours writing per day, up to four times a week. And I write on the go, too. Story is my true love and it is everywhere.

I am a retired addictions and mental health clinician who has worked in human services over thirty years. In that work were manifold stories of hardship, loss, courage and triumph. Now I can devote to writing as much as myself as possible. Time is precious. Five children have long been raised, my husband works (not for too long, we hope) so the house is quiet. Since I have survived several health crises, I greet each day with anticipation and gratitude.

Language can well illuminate and renew life. It has never been more crucial for each person to find his or her voice and be heard, especially those who’ve lost personal power and with it, enough hope. A central tenet of my living and writing is that God resides within us and about us and when we reawaken to this we are able to give and receive powerful compassion of Divine Love. This, alone, transforms us. Nature also informs me with enrichment of body, mind and soul. I’ve not had an easy life; suffering is something humans all have in common even if we do not see it at first. So, too, we share a kaleidoscope of wonders, the pleasures of learning, the fulfillment of sharing our lives. When I am most actively engaging in life, the more dynamic living on earth becomes.

The arts became integral to my life in infancy. I was raised in a musical, performing family. I’ve enjoyed a personal history with music, dance, theater and visual arts as well as writing. I have published some of fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry over many decades. I like to draw and paint; photography later became another great adventure (even published a photo, to my surprise). It was an honor to be nominated for a Pushcart Prize for a novel excerpt published in an issue of the anthology VoiceCatcher. It’s all about the joy of inspiration and the labor of honing skills, then sharing results. A strong thread that runs through all this is that the arts heal as well as entertain.

I’m happy to have you along for the ride as I craft the tales that find me, waiting to be revealed. I hope you find something of interest. Let me know your thoughts as you read and look about!