User:Jcarreno/Terry Helwig

Terry Helwig (born 1949) is a writer from the southern United States, best known for her memoir, Moonlight on Linoleum. . In addition to writing, Terry has a Master's degree in counseling psychology. Terry is also the creator of The Thread Project: One World, One Cloth. The Thread Project is and artistic endeavor and international exhibit, in which thousands of threads, representing world unity and celebrating diversity, sent by peple from every continent were woven into seven magnificent tapestries that have hung many places, including the UN.

Biography
Helwig, who was born near Glenwood, Iowa, graduated from Regis University with a B.A. in communications in 1970 and worked throughout her twenties as a Registered Nurse and college nursing instructor.

She got her start in writing when a personal essay she wrote for a writing class was published in Guideposts and reprinted in ##Reader's Digest### She went on to become a Contributing Editor at Guideposts#

Her first books, God’s Joyful Surprise ###HarperCollins|Harper SanFrancisco##, 1988# and When the Heart Waits #Harper SanFrancisco, 1990#, were spiritual memoirs describing her experiences in contemplative Christianity# The Dance of the Dissident Daughter #Harper SanFrancisco, 1996# introduced themes from ##feminist theology###

Her first novel, ##The Secret Life of Bees## ###Viking Press|Viking##, 2002#, was written over three and a half years# It has been produced on stage in New York by The American Place Theater and been adapted into a ##The Secret Life of Bees #film#|movie## by Fox Searchlight, starring ##Dakota Fanning##, ##Queen Latifah##, ##Jennifer Hudson##, ##Alicia Keys## and ##Sophie Okonedo### Her second novel, ##The Mermaid Chair##, was published in 2005, and made into a Lifetime movie ##The Mermaid Chair #film#|of the same na#e###

In 2006, Firstlight, a collection of Kidd's early writings was released in hardcover by Guideposts Books and in paperback by Penguin in 2007# This compilation of inspirational stories, spiritual essays, and meditations has been translated into several languages and has over 200,000 copies in print#

Kidd's new book, Traveling with Pomegranates, co-authored with her daughter Ann, is a mother daughter travel memoir due out in 2009#

Kidd has acknowledged ##Henry David Thoreau##, ##Kate Chopin##, ##Thomas Merton##, and ##Carl Jung## as influences#

Kidd is currently Writer in Residence at ##Phoebe Pember## House in ##Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston##, where she lives with her husband, Sanford #Sandy# Kidd, two children, Bob and Ann, and a ##Labrador retriever|black lab##, Lily#