AUTHOR
Award winning author Terry Helwig, a naturalist at heart, with a master’s degree in counseling psychology, writes about the solace and well-being she finds at the intersection of mother nature and human nature.
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Her highly anticipated book, Shifting Shorelines: Messages from a Wiser Self, a Gold Winner of the 2022 Nautilus Book Awards, describes not only the shoreline of the barrier island where she lives, but, more importantly, it explores the changing shoreline of life. Helwig’s writing celebrates hope, wisdom, and fresh perspectives for navigating life’s journey and challenges.
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Her coming-of-age memoir, Moonlight on Linoleum, won ELLE Magazine’s 2012 Grand Prix Nonfiction Book of the Year.
DEAR READER
Dear Reader,
We live in a time unlike any other. News and social media connect our world instantaneously. As a result, we’re bombarded with stories of pain, atrocities, misinformation, hatred, and fear. This incessant barrage of information can be numbing at times—eroding our joy and overwhelming our spirit.
My new book Shifting Shorelines reveals the joy buried beneath the full range of human experience. Life is neither good nor bad. It is sacred. Two of my greatest teachers have been nature and synchronicity. Shifting Shorelines is my most soulful writing; it is an ode to nature, the passage of time, and the ripening of wisdom.
I’m not a prolific writer. I’m more of a prolific lover of life who sometimes writes about experiences that sadden, frighten, and, more importantly, gladden me. I “pick up my pen” (my euphemism for turning on the computer) because my soul begs to say:
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This gift of human life is so precious. Let’s not squander a minute of it.
I trust my sister, Nancy, to whom Shifting Shorelines is dedicated, would agree. She died of pancreatic cancer seven years ago. Before she died, I whispered that I would be dedicating my next book to her. She leaned her forehead against mine, squeezed my arm, and whispered: I had a feeling you might do that.
So here’s to Nancy, who longed for more tenderness and kindness in the world, who wanted to right so many wrongs, who made me feel wiser, taller, and happier whenever we shared the same space—which was not nearly long enough.
But the joy of sharing life with Nancy remains.
Listen. Can you hear it? That sacred hum vibrating beneath each day?
Terry