Tsara Shelton|Writer & Coffee Sipper
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"Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself, A Collection of Stories that Slowly Grow Up, by Tsara Shelton, one of eight children, mother of four, and wife, is a gripping and powerful read." ~Linda Della Donna, author of A Gift of Love, BookOrBust.com
"It is seldom that a woman can live through so many intense experiences
and somehow remain a person with a sunshine attitude. This book grows up
and takes you with it. Must read." ~Lynette Louise aka The Brain Broad, author, speaker, international mental health expert, show host, and mom
"Spinning in Circles reads to me more like journalling, as if Shelton forgot that the collection would be in the hands of strangers throughout the world. I often praised her bravery, unable to fathom how anyone could be so candid in their darkest moments." ~Books for the Soul, Bookclub
Spinning in Circles and Learning From Myself: A Collection of Stories that Slowly Grow-Up
By Tsara Shelton
(That's me!!!)
I've been growing up, and I've been writing. The stories in my book are a selection of the ideas and struggles I've unveiled while doing both. Parenting, autism, sex abuse, cultural relations, and poverty are just a few of the issues I write about with the goal of revealing my own answers. My stubborn joy insists on finding beauty in hardships and hurt, and for my children I insist on believing the world can do the same.
I invite you to visit my site periodically so that I can share upcoming book signing events or giveaways (and my stubborn joy!) with you!
~Tsara
Available on Amazon (USA): Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself
Or Amazon (Canada): Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself
Also on Barnes & Noble: Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself
& Powell's: Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself
Even BAM: Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself
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Book Review:
I wrote this book for my sons. I wrote this book hoping it would go out into the world and fix it for them. Make it open to diversity, comfortable with mistakes, inclined to listen rather than preach and judge.
I wrote this book with impossible expectations, and that’s okay, because I wrote this book with the purpose of teaching my sons the value and power of impossible expectations. I heard everyone tell my mom that my brothers would end up in institutions, and I saw my mom choose instead impossible expectations, and I saw them become comfortable independent men. I know the real value of impossible expectations.
- See more at: http://www.specialneedsbookreview.com/2015/11/12/interview-tsara-shelton-mom-of-four-writer-of-musings-daughter-of-autism-expert-lynette-louise/#sthash.OO9pzqCC.dpuf_________________________________________________________________________________
Talk About Everyday Experiences in a Powerful Way with Intentional Storyteller Tsara Shelton
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Written from a life lived on the edge of society, Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself, by author Tsara Shelton, offers an insightful and powerfully uplifting collection of ideas and stories. She shares writings on a range of subjects spanning several stages of her life with topics including women’s issues, marriage, prejudice, abuse, mixed-race relationships, equality, culture, and more.
Shelton—a mother of four—opens up about the difficult elements in her past, but offers a positive, realistic perspective on those events. As the oldest of eight children, she discusses in detail her childhood in Toronto, Ontario, and how she learned to live thanks to her brothers and her mother—all on the autism spectrum. Shelton reveals how she dealt with being a pregnant teenager and how her beliefs help guide her parenting.
As Shelton progresses through life’s stages of growing up, she shares the importance and validity of each stage, always with an eye for answers and an infectious joy in the never ending journey that is growing up.
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The Random And Thoughtful Musings Of A Story Addict
I love to write.
Sometimes (actually, a lot of the time which pleases me immensely!!) other people like to share what I write with their audience. Here are just a few places where you can find my stuff and get an idea of the diversity of my... well... ideas!
OpEdNews.com
From my author profile: As the mother of four wonderful teenage boys I spend a lot of time figuring out who I am so I can teach them to do the same. I also hear myself holler, "Stop Eating!" an awful lot! As my boys get older, I get louder about sharing my beliefs and ideas. Again, as a way to comfortably ask them to do the same.
http://www.opednews.com/author/author65632.html
Blank Spaces Magazine (Canadian Literature - Print)
Volume one, Issue Three March, 2017
From my author bio: Tsara Shelton is an avid writer of musings, a sipper of coffee, a
reluctant performer, and an unapologetic story addict. As the mother of
four mostly grown boys, she loves discovering and sharing her own
beliefs so that she can comfortably expect her sons to do the same. Her
book, Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself: A Collection of
Stories that Slowly Grow Up, wants badly to gets its own place and stop
talking about Tsara, but it’s just not looking likely.
http://blankspaces.alannarusnak.com/2017/02/cities-in-books.html (link to article preview)
The Mighty
From my author profile: Tsara Shelton is an avid writer of musings and an unapologetic story addict. As the proud mother of four mostly grown boys, she loves discovering and sharing her own beliefs so that she can comfortably expect her sons to do the same. And having grown up surrounded by autism, her beliefs have grown in fertile eye opening ground indeed! Tsara works tirelessly sharing the impressive international projects her mom (Lynette Louise aka THE BRAIN BROAD) works even more tirelessly creating, helping families and individuals with disabilities worldwide. www.tsarashelton.com www.brainbody.net
http://themighty.com/author/tsara-shelton/
Your Teen for Parents Magazine (print)
Vol.8 Issue 1 Sept-Oct 2015
From my author bio: Tsara Shelton, mother of four and author of Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself, blogs at Autism Answers with Tsara Shelton.
http://yourteenmag.com/2015/09/raising-son-with-autism/ (link to article)
Books for the Soul: Author Interview
It was a true honor to be interviewed for Books for the Soul! I love the literature highlighted there and the thoughtful nature with which it is reviewed. The questions I was asked were candid and challenged me to dig deep for answers. It was a wonderful experience!
https://bftsbookclub.com/2016/11/07/interview-tsara-shelton-on-women-taking-accountability-for-rape-raising-colorful-boys-and-more/
Life Lessons on Good Enough Mother
I was honored to participate in the Life Lessons series. I think I most enjoyed answering the second question: If you could go back and say anything to your 16 y/o self, what would it be? I invite you to read my answer to this and many other questions. Then take a look at the other wonderful Life Lessons shared from so many others!
http://www.goodenoughmother.com/2015/12/life-lessons-tsara-shelton/
Special Ed Post
An example of book review I wrote
http://specialedpost.org/2014/01/23/new-rhyming-picture-book-starring-a-girl-with-disabilities/
Author Interview on Mandy Eve Barnett's Official Blog
I like talking about my writing, and I like writing about it too! Here is an author interview I had fun taking part in.
http://mandyevebarnett.com/2015/09/07/interview-with-tsara-shelton/
Archway Publishing Guest Post
I was honored to write a guest post for my publisher's blog. Follow the link below to learn a bit about my publishing experience and the fun of marketing.
Discovering my Marketing Plan while Marketing
This Extraordinary Life by Rachel Quatkemeyer
A book that one of my essays is published in. The book is a beautiful collection of posts, poems, and essays written for parents and people with autism. Please consider getting a copy for yourself!
Follow this link to read costumer reviews and get your own copy of This Extraordinary Life on Amazon.
And so on and so forth! I have had articles published in the local papers, on fabulous disability sites, beautiful parenting blogs, politically flavored news sites and more.
Always I feel honored.
xoxo
Cerebral Palsy and The WingMaker
by Lynette Louise aka THE BRAIN BROAD
Take a moment to peek at the book This Extraordinary Life, put together by my friend Rachel Quatkemeyer. A lovely and honest collection of stories written by parents of autism as well as autistic individuals.
Follow THIS link to view the book (along with customer reviews!) on Amazon.
A Beautiful Story
Take a moment to remember a favorite book or movie. Remember how it encouraged you to feel, and think, and consider the motives and beliefs and struggles of others. Relive the way it validated some of your own emotions while at the same time challenged some of your ideas and assumptions.
Breathe in that beautiful story and all the gifts it gave you!
Now imagine that same story but written with terrible spelling and poor grammar, or told with bad acting, unflattering lighting, and clumsy edits. It's the same story, but the words are blunt where they could have been powerfully descriptive, or the wrong form of "your" glares at you picking a nerve, or a bad actor keeps saying "supposebly"....
Perhaps you would then have chosen to quit reading or watching in favor of moving onto a well polished tale. After all, you're busy and there are many such stories! Or perhaps you'd feel relief, or even joy, knowing that you are actually better than this storyteller. Instead you choose to experience the entire story with pity, searching for and highlighting the parts that prove your own betterness. Then there's those who will stay in the story only to laugh and pick apart the glaring mistakes that they wouldn't have made, the right way was so easy for them to learn themselves. Of course, they will ignore the truth that they too had to learn it.
But those who choose to enjoy and love and be moved by the story are gifted indeed!!
And most deeply and beautifully affected are those who know that the story is beautiful regardless, yet take the time--without rush or desperation--to help that story present itself in a way that makes it easier for a larger audience to understand, knowing that the story may feel unloved and afraid to be itself over time without some tips or edits. Knowing that it may hide on a dusty shelf believing with more conviction over the years that it is of no value, while dust collects and people don't even laugh or feel sorry for it anymore, seeing the yellowed dusty pages or warped and cracked movie case, they only ignore it.
They don't even consider it a story worth thinking about at all, and the story itself can't help but begin to believe it.
Imagine you take the time to teach and show and explain some of the grammar, spelling, lighting, camera angles, and delicious delivery tricks involved in storytelling. You work with no eye on the clock or calendar, no intention to please others or tell a different story that may have a more popular viewpoint or more money making explosions or gratuitous boob shots, but only to tell that same beautiful story with a little more confidence and a desire for it to be better understood and appreciated.
Stories that are beautiful exactly as they are, but become even brighter and farther reaching when offered a friend with the time and love to help them tell it.
We are all different parts in different types of beautiful stories. Don't make the mistake of pandering, or trying to be only a bestseller or blockbuster.
Be the story that has value for you, and the rest will follow naturally.
Being your own beautiful story will take all kinds of shapes over your lifetime! And sometimes it will mean being the person who helps another person's beautiful story reveal itself. Like Annie Sullivan did for Helen Keller.
And that's a beautiful story indeed!!
Miracles Are Made: A Real-Life Guide to Autism
by Lynette Louise, The Brain Broad
Have a look at my mom's amazing, honest, funny, action oriented, and smart parenting book.
I invite you to enjoy my book and explore the value of storytelling with me!
"When I write I feel like I'm disappearing into more of me." ~Tsara Shelton
I invite you to peek at and purchase Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call to Heal our Wounded Nature by my insightful friend Burl Hall. He has birthed an important and lovely book that will speak to your heart and your soul. And it will remind you how to live fully!
Grab your copy on their website: Envision This! Media.
Just Words is an anthology celebrating 34 Canadian
authors and their work as featured during the first year of Blank
Spaces, a literary arts magazine birthed out of small town Ontario. And one of those Canadian authors is me!
Follow this link to add this book to your Goodreads to-read list!
