ABOUT SHELLY

Thanks for stopping by my site. As the author of both fiction and non-fiction and a speaker on topics as wide-ranging as self-talk, caregiving, writing, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the journey of faith in Christ, I come to blogging with a two-fold purpose:  to offer resources and encouragement and, hopefully, to stir your faith.

All of my writing flows from my life experience. For more than eight years my husband Dan and I cared for our parents in our home. Just months before that time, I was critically sick with a brain lesion that nearly took my life. During my caregiving years, I explored my relationship with God through writing. I’ve now published three caregiving books. My first, Precious Lord, Take My Hand: Meditations for Caregivers (Discovery House Publishers), now has more than 100,00 copies in print. Ambushed by Grace: Help and Hope on the Caregiving Journey (Discovery House Publishers 2008) discusses difficult issues in caregiving, such as forgiveness, boundaries, guilt, caregiver burnout, and how to share the load. My third caregiving book released in November of 2012: It Is Well with My Soul: Meditations for Those Living with Illness, Pain and the Challenges of Aging.

My first novel, Hallie’s Heart (Kregel Publications), won a 2008 Christy Award for contemporary fiction. This book explores topics of forgiveness and self-condemnation through the eyes of the main character, struggling antique store owner Mona VanderMolen and her fifteen-year-old niece Hallie, who believes she’s responsible for the accidental drowning of her younger sister. The sequel, Morningsong, explores issues of chronic illness and how we forgive those we love who disappoint us again and again.

In April of 2009, Moody Publishers released The Silent Seduction of Self-Talk. This books helps readers explore hidden layers of self-talk and pursue redemptive thinking. In 2010 I joined Daughters of Destiny women’s prison ministry, presenting evangelistic outreaches and teaching seminars to incarcerated women across the nation, based on the principles in The Silent Seduction of Self-Talk. Women across the nation are coming to Christ and renewing their hearts and minds through this outreach.

Because writing conferences and mentors have played such an integral role in my growth as a writer, I’ve been blessed to play a role in co-founding both the Cedar Falls Christian Writers’ Workshop in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and the Breathe Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Check out my website for more details at shellybeachonline.com.

I enjoy opportunities to meet my readers, encourage caregivers, cheer on writers, inspire students, and teach God’s  Word. I speak across the country at retreats, seminars, schools, caregiving and writing conferences. I’m a member of the Christian Authors’ Network, the Advanced Speakers and Writers’ Association, and the American Christian Fiction Writers.

As the Christian faith “expert” for Caring.com — the Internet’s most popular site for people caring for their aging loved ones, I write to an audience of nearly two million million. I’m also privileged to serve as a guest host for RBC Ministry’s online show Help for My Life, as well as to work in association with Music for the Soul, with dear friend and Dove Award winner Steve Siler.

I also invest much of my speaking about post-traumatic stress disorder and am co-founder of PTSDPerspectives with my friend and colleague Wanda Sanchez. Together, we present seminars in medical and mental health settings, as well as social workers, child advocates, law enforcement officers, and those in the caring professions.

A twenty-five year veteran of the classroom, I also serve as an adjunct professor at Cornerstone University (when I can find the time in my busy schedule).

My husband Dan and I have two adult children–both married–and one gorgeous grandson and more grandchildren on the way.

Enough about me. Leave a comment and share a bit of your story with us. Ask a question.

Thank you sincerely for stopping by.

Shelly