About Me
Continued from the Home Page
I participate in 5K and other events for cancer awareness. I educate on women’s health and wellness and provide support to cancer patients. In spite of my diagnosis in 2016 with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, I live life to the fullest. Thanks to God, my body is currently stable. You can follow my journey on my BLOG.
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Now, about that doctorate. I earned my Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision and served as a university professor for more than a decade where I received awards for teaching and mentoring masters and doctoral counseling students. I maintain a small private practice supervising students and associates who are seeking professional licensure (LMFT) in Texas.
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I retired from my full-time job to focus on my health, writing books, and spending time with my family. I am married to my college sweetheart (Tim) who is my biggest fan. Our two adult children (Bryan and Elizabeth) are both married and gave us seven wonderful grandchildren (five girls and two boys) who provide “Nana” with many ideas for future children’s books that could take another lifetime to publish!
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My YouTube channel demonstrates my very first Meet the Author event at a local elementary school, and includes some fun and crazy videos of me and my favorite weirdos. Subscribe to my channel for more!
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About my background
Growing up in southern Ohio was familiar to me as I read J. D. Vance's memoirs in Hillbilly Elegy. In fact, we grew up on the same street in Middletown, about a half-generation apart. A hillbilly by birth, and the youngest of three, I was a painfully shy child. It was a desperate challenge to look other people in the eyes.
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At the age of 14 I came to understand family dynamics in a very personal way. After my parents divorced my mother moved with three teen-agers to accept a new job in Florida, where she would later struggle to make it. I found solace in books. In stories. In drawings. In writing my own journey down, one notebook after another. A disadvantaged white girl, homeless at times, I never thought I would be able to go to college or have a successful career.
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But I did it!
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I first spread my wings in a small, private liberal arts college, where I would finally come out of my shell. I opened my eyes, looked up, did my homework, sang on stage and played the piano in various traveling groups. I earned my bachelor's degree in youth and music ministry. I would meet and later marry my college sweetheart.
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That college saved my life.
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A few years later I would earn my master's degree in marriage and family therapy. As a big picture thinker, looking at an individual's systems and not just the individual made sense to me. It is there in 1990 where I would publish my first book--a research thesis--after studying the effectiveness of a marriage enrichment program. (It was effective.) I found systemic skills and perspective useful in our work with church leaders, both here and in Australia where our family served for four years.
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My doctorate would follow nearly two decades later, after raising my family. This professional degree in counselor education and supervision lead to leadership roles, mentoring opportunities, professional presentations at national and regional conferences, publications in journals, publication of a resource book for school counselors, my doctoral dissertation, more articles, a book chapter, and a self-help book several years later.
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But, it wasn’t until 2020, in the height of the pandemic, that I finally listened to my inner voice and challenged myself to become a published writer in the children's arena. Thank God I did.
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I’m fortunate to have translated this creative writing ability into my magnum opus... a series of children's picture books and chapter books. I only wish my mother could have lived long enough to see it come to fruition. Writing children's books gives me freedom to soar into a new career, while expanding in the field of marriage and family therapy supervision.
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I always strive to learn and develop my literary style and voice, approaching every challenge I come across as an experience to grow and mature as a writer. The positive feedback I receive from my grandchildren as I tell them my stories, read them my books, hug their necks and take in every "I love you Nana" is enough to keep me going.
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I am also branching into the world of illustrations, which is a bit scary and exciting all at the same time. I hope to meet yet another challenge of hiring myself as the primary illustrator for (at least some of) my future books.
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To find out more or to discuss a potential project, please don’t hesitate to contact me.