Shelly’s Bio

Shelly attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where she was the first female to graduate with a degree in Manufacturing Engineering.  After graduation, she moved back to her home state of Michigan and landed her dream job as a manufacturing engineer to start off her 20+ year career for Ford Motor Company. A few years into her engineering career, she decided to go back to school to get her MBA.

Shelly has spent over 30 years serving within her church congregation and community. She has always enjoyed serving others.

Shelly enjoys wood working and has amassed a workshop of her dreams.  She also enjoys being outside in the fresh air, trail riding in her ATV and enjoying the Great Lakes boating & jet skiing.

Shelly is happily married to her husband Glenn.  She is a step-mother, grandmother, and adored aunt!

Story Origin

I never set out to write a book. Surviving life was my goal. I offer Beautiful Ashes to those who have been victims of abuse, domestic violence, rape, tragic loss, or any flavor of life’s overwhelming adversities, those who have lost hold of hope. My goal is to help others find hope in their own life’s journey by being a guiding light to show that there is a way through tragedy.

Writing Beautiful Ashes was a 9-year labor of love with the support of family, friends, and a therapist in order to articulate these tragic events that I surmounted along with the accompanying thoughts and feelings.  Eliciting these feelings was central in conveying the depth of my experiences.

So far, Beautiful Ashes has received a 5-star IndieReader review, a second-place finish in last fall’s Bookfest Awards and reached #1 best seller status on Amazon in several different categories.  I have also engaged in over 20 different podcasts, radio interviews, speaking events and even have done several personal appearances at book clubs both in person and via zoom. I am active on social media in many different trauma and inspirational groups trying to share my life lessons from overcoming such adversity. I know that I am helping many people from around the globe find hope because they are personally reaching out to me via email, social media, and private messages.  I now have friends in Australia, Africa, Europe, Canada, and most states with whom I interact regularly because of my book.