S L FlowersBorn and raised in the Midwest, s.l. flowers loved playing outside in sunshine and snow, baking, singing, reading, and, of course, teasing her younger brothers. She learned to play the piano, flute and French horn but really wanted to play the drums.Her happiest moments were creating stories or connecting with Nature, often by climbing trees and blowing in the wind as the trees swayed. When s.l. was 16 years old, she travelled throughout Europe with her mother and grandmother for two months. Her favorite city was Vienna because the orchestra playing the Blue Danube could be heard throughout the park as dusk turned to night. After graduating from the Honors Program in Psychology at the University of Illinois, she moved to the Colorado Rockies and worked at a ski resort for five years, the first year blissful as a ticket checker for the lift department. This was a glorious experience for the girl who always wanted to live in the mountains, big forests and untouched spaces. In her mind's eye, the brilliant white snow swirling off of Jaque Peak against a perfect cerulean sky is still breathtaking In her late twenties and early thirties, s.l. continued her interest in the healing arts by studying acupuncture and Polarity Therapy in the Boston area and then earning 720 hours in Massage Therapy in Santa Fe, NM. During this time period, she also worked for, lived with, and studied the Medicine Wheel and Wisdom Wheel teachings under Grandmother Twylah Nitsch of the Seneca tribe. In 1994-1995, s.l. backpacked across New Zealand and then worked as a nanny in Australia. Creating stories to comfort and entertain Gracie, her sweet and precocious charge, opened another world of imagination and storytelling. Although studying with Grandmother Twylah was an exceptional opportunity, the sojourn into New Zealand was her life and soul changing experience. In her journal s.l. wrote "... as I have travelled the lands of New Zealand and have met her people, I have travelled the landscape of my heart and discovered my soul." It broke her heart to leave New Zealand and took many years for the grief to subside. Upon s.l.'s return to the United States, she lived in various areas of the country. She worked as a massage therapist, a garden fairy at a full service plant nursery where she learned to drive a tractor, an office manager at a community college, a ward clerk at a hospital, and more. Experiencing these different parts of the world, people and professions expanded and enriched her personal understanding of life which extends into her writing. Several years ago, s.l. flowers moved to the Corvallis, Oregon area. She thoroughly enjoys this warm-hearted, community centered, and globally-minded city. She plans to stay to continue her writing, art, teaching, deep friendships, and connection to Nature. Read More Read Less