While I fiddle with the outdoor holiday lights, my fingers stiff from a windy cold snap, I think, “Wasn’t it just Halloween?” While busy hands unsort, I’m drawn to the dots of light. While I await them to pierce through the darkness, I can’t help but to acknowledge what the lights suggest. Like a magnet, it attracts us to feelings of hope, aspirations and wishful thinking. My thoughts trail; I think of the past seasons. The simplicity in a winter morning’s low sunrise, a blue heron plucking food from a muddy river, a panorama of endless shades of green or lack of it in fall foliage have been my bursts of light.

Now that COVID-19 is behind us, we are pouring out of homes with spunky enthusiasm to be social, to travel, to experience a renewed spirit that was stolen from us in a flash. From holiday lights lining the eaves of homes, to inflatables swaying in front yards, to accents in splashes of red, we appear to be making up for the time lost after being sequestered during a pandemic. The light delivers joy in the midst of a very complicated world.

All the holidays and festive get-togethers aside, it is that the year has come to an end. It is a time for thanks and gratitude for all that the natural world has taught me, including helping me to find my niche as a writer.

I’ve taken the time to scroll through the many photographs I’ve taken over the past twelve months. Most are of the outside world where I’ve found inspiration for my writing, conversation to heal, guidance to help me to make decisions, to find a will to forge ahead with grace.

Whether it’s witnessing seasonal changes or the rooting of a small seedling, the natural world offers us endless wisdom and guidance. By immersing ourselves in nature, we can learn valuable lessons about resilience, adaptability, and finding our true selves.

And this is why I write.

And it is at this year’s end when I am itching with news to share! It’s about a metaphorically rich and reflective tale of sisterhood and strength; a story of hope and healing, of the choices that shape our lives, and the challenges we face as we seek to find our places in the world. My debut novel, THE WISDOM OF THE WILLOW, is now available for preorder: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, or at your favorite indie bookstore.

Order now, and receive it in the spring!

“My wish is that I have given the girls the wisdom of the willow to guide them in finding their places.” -Margaret Dowling, mother to Debra, Rose, Linney and Charlotte.

It has been five years now since Under the Birch Tree was published. As a learning curve in studying the craft of memoir, and teachable moments about what I’ve learned from reflecting on my past, the time has allowed me to understand even more this gift of a published book in watching it take root and grow. It has and always will be my compass.

“This is a must-read for anyone who has ever questioned their place in life.” -San Francisco Book Review

I’ve published essays, and expanded to two new writing platforms. Join me on “Craft Shorts,” short essays on the craft of writing found on MEDIUM, and “Nancy’s Substack,” a place to find simplicity in a complicated world is now on SUBSTACK. Add these for FREE to your subscriber list for publishing news, insights into the writer behind my work, and sneak peeks between the covers of The Wisdom of The Willow.

Thank you for your support this year as I continue my writing endeavors into the next. Please share your thoughts and comments on any future posts here, on this site, or on Medium or Substack to join the dialogue. I’d love to hear from you!

I hope you have found in this year a little wisdom from your connections to the natural world, and I wish you continued inspiration into the next.