MEET SHANNON

The unexpected turns that brought me here.

I've always believed that some of life's most meaningful stories begin when things don't go according to plan.

My own life certainly hasn't followed a straight path. There have been unexpected turns, beautiful adventures, heartbreaking seasons, new beginnings, and people who arrived at exactly the right moment.

Along the way, I've learned that the journeys we never planned are often the ones that change us most.

The Unexpected Turns

Long before I called myself an author, I was fascinated by people and the stories they carry.

I built a career in healthcare education and continue to work in the medical field, where I've had the privilege of meeting people during some of the most vulnerable and transformative moments of their lives.

Those experiences deepened something I already knew: every person has a story, and being willing to truly listen to one another can be incredibly powerful.

The Places That Changed Me

Travel became another important part of my story.

I've always been drawn to the possibilities that come with going somewhere new—the winding roads, historic cities, coastal villages, unexpected conversations, and moments when strangers somehow become friends.

Ireland and Scotland hold particularly special places in my heart, but what I love most about traveling isn't simply seeing new places.

It's discovering how a journey can change the way we see ourselves and the world around us.

An unexpected encounter on the roads of Scotland.

Finding My Voice

“Again and again, I was reminded that stories have the power to make us feel less alone.”

That love of travel and storytelling eventually led me to create and host the podcast Travel Time Stories: Real Journeys, Real Stories, Real Healing.

What began as a place to share travel experiences became something much deeper. My conversations began exploring healing, grief, relationships, resilience, reinvention, mental health, family, and the experiences that shape who we become.

As my podcast grew, so did my appreciation for the connections that happen when people are willing to share their experiences openly. That same belief shapes the way I approach speaking and connecting with others—through conversations about resilience, healing, and the unexpected journeys that shape our lives.

Eventually, those conversations also helped give me the courage to pursue a dream I had carried for years: writing books of my own.

The Stories I Was Meant to Tell

My debut novel, Wrong Turns, Right People, grew from many of the things I treasure most—lifelong friendship, travel, laughter, chosen family, second chances, and the people who walk beside us through every season of life.

At its heart is a question I think many of us eventually ask: when all our carefully made plans change, who will be standing beside us?

My memoir series, Map Back to Me, tells a different kind of story—my own.

It is a deeply personal journey through trauma, survival, faith, heartbreak, healing, and the long process of finding my way back to myself. Sharing that story requires a different kind of courage, but I believe there is purpose in telling the truth about both the darkness we survive and the hope we discover afterward.

Although my fiction and memoir may look different on the surface, they come from the same place.

I write about connection. I write about resilience. I write about friendship, healing, reinvention, and hope.

Most of all, I write about people finding their way—sometimes with a map, sometimes through a wrong turn, and very often with the help of someone walking beside them.

“The journeys we never planned are often the ones that change us most.”

When I'm not writing or recording podcast episodes, you'll usually find me spending time with family and friends, reading with coffee nearby, planning another adventure, baking something delicious, or dreaming about returning to Scotland.

I'm grateful that my own unexpected journey has brought me here, and even more grateful for the people I've met along the way.

If you've found your way to this little corner of my world, I hope you'll stay awhile. There's always room for one more story and one more friend around the table.

There's More Where That Came From

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