Welcome! I’m the creator of Uprooted 🌱 She Blossoms, the author of Growing Forward When You Can’t Go Back, and the writer of a gazillion articles, blog posts and ebooks. I’ve been a freelance writer and blogger since 2008.
Vancouver BC is my home base, but my favourite place to live and write is on the road in Ruby, my Pleasure-Way Tofino camper van. I travel with my bike in the summer, my toque in the winter, and my notebook in all seasons.
Odds ‘n Ends
My undergraduate degrees are in Education and Psychology from the University of Alberta, in Edmonton. My Master of Social Work (MSW) is from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver.
I lived in Kenya, Africa for three years. I taught Grade 8 Language Arts and High School Journalism at Rosslyn Academy, an American school for ex-pat students in Nairobi.
My mother is Christian, born and raised in Canada. My father is Jewish, born and raised in Israel. I met him for the first time in Jerusalem when I was 29.
I started volunteering with the Big Sisters/Big Brothers organization in 2012; my “Little” Sister was 11 when we were matched. I myself was a Little Sister in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan when I was 10.
I didn’t get married until I was 35. Bruce and I met for the first time when I was an 18 year old waitress and he was a 21 year old bartender at Chi Chi’s Mexican Restaurant in Edmonton. We were friends for a 17 years before we married.
We struggled with infertility and can’t have children because of azoospermia (male infertility). We chose not to get in vitro fertilization (IVF), though we did try intrauterine insemination (IUI). The fertility treatments failed; we decided not to adopt or foster kids.
I started my original “Quips and Tips” blogs in 2008 under The Adventurous Writer, which means I have a gazillion blog posts from a million years ago. They represented who I was then, not necessarily who I am today.
I’ve written several “She Blossoms” books and ebooks, and have been earning a full-time living as a blogger and writer since 2008. My first and most popular ebook is Letting Go of Someone You Love.
I bought a 2021 Pleasure-Way Tofino camper van for my 50th birthday. Now all I want to do is wander the world, witness and write. And make videos…
When I turned 50, I started my Uprooted 🌱 She Blossoms YouTube channel. Here’s one of my favorite and most popular videos:
I made it before my first cross-Canada road trip – I thought a pixie cut would be easy to maintain on the road. It was my first time using clippers, and it turned out a lot different than I envisioned.
My “She Blossoms” Blogs
I created over a dozen blogs when I started my “Quips and Tips” in 2008. I dubbed myself The Adventurous Writer.
Here are the websites that lasted – they’re untended, wild and overgrown, but they still carry my fingerprints and heartbeat. They’re also a great source of income!
- How Love Blossoms (marriage, relationships, and healing from breakups, divorce, and other losses in love); and
- Blossom Tips (life, work, family, career, and spirituality).
And my really really old blogs:
- She Blossoms – my original love and relationship articles.
- Life Blossoms – my early articles about goals, life, family, and work.
- Writing Blossoms – the first blog I started in 2008! Writing, blogging, getting published.
- Health Blossoms – mostly articles about trying to get pregnant and dealing with childlessness.
My previous She Blossoms newsletters can be found on Uprooted 🌱 Laurie Pawlik.
My “Official” Bio
Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, MSW, is the author of Growing Forward When You Can’t Go Back (Bethany House, 2019). She has over 25 years of teaching, social work and writing experience, and has contributed to publications such as Reader’s Digest, Chatelaine, Spirituality & Health, Writer’s Digest and More. She created the “She Blossoms” family of blogs and ebooks (including her bestselling ebook called How to Let Go of Someone You Love), and has recently finished her first novel (Almost Sage).
Voila! Now you know everything you need to know about me. Feel free to comment below; I’ll try to respond but I’m often on the road and have a hard time keeping up with the online world.
Stay amazed,
Laurie
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Hello, I have always wanted to write my life story, but I told myself I am not good at it, I don’t know what I am doing, it doesn’t sound professional, so I gave up. I really feel like I am not good at anything. I want to write about what I know. I can’t seem to find anyone who will let me do that. I can write about mental health and about substance abuse. I have a lot of mental health problems and always have so i can definitely write about that. I have also had addiction problems and can write on that. I could use some training I will say that. I just need a chance. Thank you for your time and please email me back please and let me know what you think. Lisa Lewis
Do you write book proposals for authors?
Dear Laurie,
I found you whilst searching for, “How to write better sentences.”
You and I have been through a lot and I have to be a little jealous because you have found your light.
I married in 1981 and collapsed on our honeymoon with what turned out to be testicular cancer and sadly it changed the direction of our relationship. Especially after it was confirmed we, (I) could not have children.
After six years we divorced amicably. Alone I was never able to find myself until in 1997 Jesus found me. That year an old friend I first met in 1980 came back into my life, and we fell in love. She had always seemed different to ‘our’ friends, and in 1997 I discovered why, she already knew Jesus.
We have a wonderful life together, but I have still not found myself.
When I turned sixty, I decided, with Alison’s encouragement, to do what I had always wanted to do; be a writer and an artist.
My journey before Christ I can only describe as ‘interesting’. And I am telling my story through a fictional character in my almost completed, first in a series book, “The Grocer.” My stories are countless and at sixty-two I am panicking to get them down with the guidance of a wonderful group of writers I met in Qatar, “The English Creative Writing Circle.” Back home now in England, I join them weekly on Microsoft Teams; reading, commenting, encouraging.
However, I now face that big step of getting published.
I have nearly died three times, so it should not be that big of a problem, should it??
Bless you and thanks for your blog – A great find – wish we were neighbours.
God Bless
Garry
Wow!How the Universe works! I am at (another) crossroads in my life and have always dreamed of working as a freelance writer. Our stories have many similarities; starting with my mom is Christian and my dad is Jewish. Except, I’ve been blessed to always have two steady, parents in my life. I currently work as a “waitress” (with Covid nothing feels normal, especially in a restuarant!) and am finishing a Horse Guided Life Coaching program. I have an undergrad in Psychology and often think about getting a MSW (I’m 46 this month, shouldn’t I have a “real” job/career???). Although I love learning about the coaching and counseling stuff, I think what interests me most is hearing people’s stories and our collective resilience. I don’t know how to break into the writing world though, and being a writer is my truest dream. I love that you had a Big Sister and are a Big Sister. I have two biological daughters and have always felt called to be involved in a mentoring or even the foster care system (hello MSW).
Anyway, nice to “meet” you and I will definitely check out more of your writing.
Warmly,
A. Ragan