Horses, Healing & Writing

Jean grew up in a rural area of Andover, Massachusetts. Until the age of 10, their home was across the street from the Shawsheen River, close by a cow farm with a dairy and ice cream stand, a Palomino horse farm, and a barn that housed horses, including some injured
racehorses in recovery. It was the perfect place for a horse-crazy kid like her to be raised.
Later, when the family moved across town, her heart remained on Lupine Road,
and to this day, when in Andover, she can’t resist a ride by the old homestead,
which she is pleased to say, is in very good hands.

As a kid, Jean saved her allowance, and any money earned from weeding or shoveling snow for neighbors, was used to rent a horse on weekends at Shannon Trails in Salem, NH, where she’d gallop through the woods. It wasn’t until the age of 36 that she and her family brought their first horse home. His name was Official Business, Biz for short. Jean’s first novel, Biz’s Journey Home, isn’t Biz’s life story, but the horse is the same color, age, breed, and has his name.

The Women’s Fiction novel, which has strong crossover potential for Young Adult and Teen readers, is her way of paying tribute to Biz - the horse that changed her life.

An avid animal lover, Jean was raised in a home with pets – dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, and fish. After she became a mother, Jean always had dogs, cats, and horses because she believed that all children need a pet so they can share their secrets, sorrows, and joys without
worrying that they’ll somehow be revealed.

Jean’s journey with healing began with horses. For decades, as a certified Equine and
Canine Massage Therapist, she has helped horses and dogs recover from injuries,
strained muscles from increased levels of exercise, and stress caused by changes
in their life circumstances and environments.

After years of tai chi training, she realized there was another dimension to healing
and enrolled in Reiki I, Reiki II, Advanced, and Reiki Master level training. Today,
as a certified  Reiki Master, she offers energy healing to animals and people.

In 2007, Jean was thrown from a horse and broke her back. At that time, she was
the editor of a weekly newspaper – a demanding position in a profession
that is essentially 24/7. While out of work recovering, Jean did a lot
of soul-searching born from the deep understanding that although a
100% recovery was expected, her accident could have had a very different outcome,
and life was too short to waste. She had been at odds with her profession, often seeing journalism as more destructive than constructive. Unbiased reporting seemed to be
disappearing and she no longer felt fulfilled.

Chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage therapy played a large role in her recovery, so when back on her feet, she answered the call to go back to school for massage therapy
– this time to help people in pain.

As a Nationally Board Certified and Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Medical Massage Practitioner, Certified Equine & Canine Massage Therapist, and Reiki Master, her mission is to offer healing to all who need it. She hopes
her writing does the same.