Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Beth Shelton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Beth, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is the ability to adapt and learn from adversity or difficult experiences. Everyone has it; we’re born with it. I’ve been adapting and learning all my life.
When faced with daunting struggles, my favorite adage comes to mind: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
The highest peak in Colorado is Mt. Elbert at 14,440 feet. My sister and I, mildly sedentary and nonathletic, had trained for months and were excited to tackle our first fourteener. But halfway up the mountain, my sister stopped and said, “You go on. I’ll wait here.” She was worn out.
Wanting desperately to get to the peak, I continued without her, but I was slow. Pretty soon dark storm clouds developed. The last place you want to be is on a mountaintop in a lightning storm, so I turned back, and we hiked down feeling exhausted and beaten. I hated admitting defeat.
Two years later, after my sister had lost her battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma, I asked a friend, Brenda, if she would hike Mt. Elbert with me on my second attempt. We were just two middle-aged teachers, slightly out of shape, but she agreed and off we went.
The challenge was different this time. I wasn’t starting from scratch. I was starting from experience.
Putting one foot in front of the other, we made it to 13,000 feet. I could feel my lungs and limbs struggling, my knees screaming in pain. Imagine climbing 86 flights of stairs to the Empire State Building’s Observation Deck. Four times. While wearing a mask. At this pace, would we beat the expected storm clouds?
In my weak moments, I thought, “What am I doing? I’m just a math teacher, not an athlete. My knees are killing me. I might pass out in this thin air.”
Then I would remember the photograph of my sister inside my backpack. Bringing her picture to the summit was symbolic of honoring her life.
The view was spectacular with mountain peaks below us as far as the eye could see, a sight that most people will never see in person.
We made it to the summit around 1 p.m. without a cloud in the sky and no lightning.
Holding my sister’s picture next to the National Geodetic Survey marker at the summit, I snapped a photo and wondered if she was watching from heaven.
Resilience is about second chances. If you fail, regroup, bounce back, and try again.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Today, I’m living my best life writing and being a grandmother.
After meaningful careers as a professional musician and mathematics educator, I made a hard pivot into another personal dream – writing family stories into historical fiction. Fulfilling my wish for future generations, I write stories about our ancestors’ origins and their authentic lives. I want the children and grandchildren to read about their forebears’ inspirations and aspirations, especially from an era where travel and communication looked very different from today.
Remembering our past, where we came from and how we got here, gives us knowledge and hope for the future.
When I began my journey into writing six years ago, I stumbled into a group in the Dallas area, The Rough Writers, coached by an accomplished editor and writing teacher, Lee Sneath. Made up of several authors, some experienced and some novices, this excellent writing group gave me advice and encouragement as I learned and experimented with different writing styles and publishing opportunities.
Sugarland, my first self-published collection of family stories, captures Louisiana ancestors traveling down the Mississippi River from Illinois to South Louisiana in the 1890s.
Hear the Dirt Sing, published in April 2024, was inspired by a 1956 news article. The historical fiction story features a farming family of unmarried sisters, my husband’s distant cousins. Taking place in the early 1900s, the setting is my home parish in northeast Louisiana, a land cut from the wilderness with a beautifully messy history. The sister farmers survived devastating hardships, stories deserving to be told and remembered.
My paperbacks and eBooks are available on most popular platforms.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three characteristics that have affected my life choices are: 1. I love to learn.
2. Trying new adventures gives me a boost of adrenaline.
3. I hope to encourage others to reach out and discover their talents, take chances, and strive for their dreams.
Wisdom I’ve learned from others on my professional journey:
1. Surround yourself with smart, kind people.
2. Seek experts in your field of choice.
3. Learn from your mistakes and learn from criticism.
I grew a thicker skin when I stopped being so sensitive to correction, criticism, and rejection. This made me a happier person and a better writer.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My parents were active in their small-town community, and they led by example. As life-long learners, they strived to leave the world better than they found it. They didn’t spend a lot of time lecturing my five siblings and me on what we should or shouldn’t do.
Mom served on the school board, taught Bible studies to inmates, served on her church board, worked for Dad, and chauffeured her six children to and from doctor appointments, band practice, and school activities.
Dad ran an accounting firm, owned a dress shop, built houses, sold real estate, and brought home stacks of books from the library whenever he got a hankering to learn something new.
My parents raised us in a small, Louisiana town with limited resources, but they made every effort to provide opportunities and educational experiences.
I believe my faith, resilience, and desire to learn new careers and take risks came from my parents’ influence. I am forever grateful to them for being such positive role models.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ebshelton.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/bethbshelton
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/beth-b-shelton
- Other: medium.com/@ebshelton
Image Credits
Sharon White Photography
