Since Keri Olson was 29 years old, her life has been punctuated by life-threatening and life-altering illnesses, including two breast cancers, a melanoma and two benign tumors, one in her brain and another in her thoracic spine, which caused paralysis from above her waist down and required her having to learn how to walk again.
While illness does not define her, it has revealed invaluable lessons that Olson has incorporated into her everyday living, her life’s philosophy, her writings and her speaking engagements.
Olson’s is a story about living intentionally, healthfully and joyfully; living in the moment with gratitude and gentleness.
In this one-hour presentation, Olson shares the story of how she started writing at a time in her life of grief and illness and how her writing evolved into a daily practice that has resulted in discovering extraordinary joy in ordinary moments. She explores her journey with illness and loss, her search for joy in difficult times and her ultimate discoveries about the blessings that abound.
Olson is the author of an e-book, Time to Be: An Almanac of Short Essays About the Extraordinary Joy of Ordinary Moments, which was added in late 2015 to OverDrive, Wisconsin’s digital library system available through the state’s public libraries.
Time to Be is Olson’s second book. Her first book, published in soft cover in 2012, Healing Presence: A History of Caring, tells the story of Baraboo, Wisconsin’s unique health care history linked to the famous Ringling Bros. Circus. Olson also writes a blog called Time to Be, available through her website, www.keriolson.com.
Olson’s program is suitable for general audiences, libraries, healthcare organizations, religious and spiritual settings, wellness centers and women’s programs.
