Nancy Houser-Bluhm

I was so timid with some aspects of my life, but the woods emboldened me.

–Mary Keeley, Whispers for Terra by Nancy Houser-Bluhm
  

Launched on Earth Day, Whispers for Terra is Nancy Houser-Bluhm’s debut novel, a story of life in our forests and our soil. Mary Keeley, a young woman struggling after a divorce, spends time in the woods to relax and find respite; she discovers another purpose for being there.

As a speech pathologist at a rehabilitation and long-term care facility, Mary helps elderly patients communicate. Mary remembers when she loved her job, but now she says, “I am not sure when I started the slide from passion to mere competence.”

Whispers for Terra narrates the journey of Mary’s healing and transformation, beginning with the faces in the trees, visions that go back as far as she can remember. However, her recent conversations with a patient prompt her to realize there’s a meaning to it. In the past, ninety-seven-year-old Lena, blind and hard of hearing, saw the faces, too.

Mary continues her trips to the woods, especially to sit on her selected log near Matt, a tree she’d named when she first began her visits. Gradually, she begins to feel souls, and more energy from Matt and the other trees, a welcoming whisper as the breezes weave through the forest. She talks to them, and they respond.

Nancy Houser-Bluhm created other “entities” in this magical realism novel that watch Mary and know she has a unique ability to communicate. They ask her to carry a message about the earth – specifically, its soil. Mary, initially overwhelmed, leaves the safety of her privacy and begins to trust and share her experiences. She’s surprised when she encounters others marked to carry the earth’s message, too. Together they use their resources and technology to bring more awareness to soil conservation.

Like Mary in Whispers for Terra, Nancy Houser-Bluhm worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist, retiring after forty years. Skills used during her career spilled over into her communing with nature and vice versa. She lives in the foothills, west of Denver, Colorado, with her husband Jon and miscellaneous pets. Nature is in her bones. She and her husband have lived in Michigan, Oregon, Michigan again, and then Colorado. She’s been a rock climber and continues to enjoy biking, skiing, camping, nature, yoga, and writing. Journaling led to her blog: Minderings, a place for the wanderings of your mind, and pieces written for local newspapers. During a writing class, Nancy created the unexpected pleasure of Whispers for Terra.

Nancy Houser-Bluhm named her book in honor of the earth’s land – the definition of terra. Along with enjoyment, readers of Whispers for Terra are gaining an important message, the necessity of taking care of our only home, Planet Earth. Nancy hopes that every human inhabitant chooses at least one cause to support. It can be soil; it can be plastic pollution and the ocean. There are many other choices. Make an impact.

Book Cover Fun: On Nancy\’s Instagram account, she posted a challenge (dated 12/27/2021) to readers to find and count the faces on the cover of Whispers for Terra. Here\’s the cover shown on her website. 

Nancy, thank you for this beautiful image of Hanging Lake, a designated national natural landmark. I know from the picture that I’d love to be there! 🙂

~Anita~