The journey from Ohio, where I was born, to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado has been filled with much pain as well as joy. After working as a registered nurse in Intensive Care-Coronary Care for many years, I was forced to retire due to disability. My joy has been in using these experiences in my writing, telling my patient's stories,as well as my own, in both prose and poetry.

My poetry, essays and short stories have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, mainly published by universities.I have published three books: Prayer To A Purple God, Mellen Poetry Press, 1996, 2004;Body Language: First Of All Do No Harm, (creative nonfiction) Purdue University Press,2009, and Queen of the Sugarhouse, (short fiction) Atmosphere Press, 2021.I have received writer's residencies from Ucross, Hedgebrook and the Rocky Mountain Women's Institute, Denver. I have received grants from the Neodata Foundation, the Arts and Humanities Assembly of Boulder, and the Katherine Sharp Rachlis Grant from Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, New York.